It was a different kind of Thanksgiving.

Typically, Thanksgiving is a blur. And a bit stressful. In all honesty, as much as I want it to be all about family, Thanksgiving feels like one big checklist.

I don’t think I ever fully appreciated the day.

But this Thanksgiving was different.

To begin with, we kicked off the holiday early!

Look who came to visit the Saturday before! Our youngest.

And look who she brought along. Her BF!

So we pregamed Thanksgiving with some quality family time!

We drove up to FDR State Park (which is only a few miles north of where we live) and did some hiking.

We played games of Settlers and Yahtzee.

And then, on Wednesday, after Reed got home from work, we took off for Florida where we met up with our two oldest—Kristin and Logan, and Logan’s GF Sarah.

We still ran a Turkey Trot Thanksgiving morning.

But in shorts.

And the rest of the day was simply spent being together.

The kids played some volleyball on the beach…

We mini-golfed.

 

Thanksgiving dinner was at my sister Nancy’s. I don’t know how long it’s been since I have been able to celebrate Thanksgiving with both of my sisters and their families! It was so special to be able to spend time together.

I am forever grateful for the effort they put into making a delicious meal. All I had to do was make cranberry sauce and desserts.

And this year, instead of putting up the Christmas tree on Friday, we relaxed on the beach (never been a Black Friday shopper).

After a sun filled day, we got cleaned up and went out for dinner with my sister and her family.

Dinner was followed by a stroll through the Florida Botanical Garden in Largo.

And then bright and early Saturday morning, we took Alli and her BF Logan to the airport. 😦

Later that morning we took Quinn to a dog friendly beach, so she could get some exercise. She wasn’t a fan of the waves, but she did like trying to make the seaweed squeak by pressing it with her nose. (It didn’t, in case you were wondering. Just made her nose look like she had been sniffing an illegal substance.)

That afternoon we met up with my sister and my nieces and checked out sand sculptures on Treasure Island.

For dinner that night we made Pudgie Pies at my sister’s house.  (I think this would have made my dad happy!)

There was also some corn hole and Settlers that night.

Then ‘just like that’, it was Sunday afternoon and we were dropping off Kristin, Logan and Sarah at the airport, and on our way back home.

It was a long ride.

And this morning I woke up up feeling empty and sad.

The house was quiet; Reed had left for a business trip before the crack of dawn.

There were remnants of Alli and Logan around the house.

Quinn wasn’t even good company

And while I am not relishing this feeling, I do realize how fortunate I am to be feeling this way.