Living in the Moment - November

Oh My!  Seriously?  December?  How did you get here so fast!? I guess it is time for my monthly "Living in the Moment" post!  This is a project I am working on with a group of A-MAY-zing photographers where we write a blog post once a month detailing the little things in our lives that mean so much.  It is a project devoted to not always worrying and thinking about big stuff, but instead, keeping cognizant of the small stuff - the little moments in life that truly mean the most.

This month, I really tried to do a "photo an hour for a day".  A way to capture the entire day in photos!  And I did a fairly good job - I definitely took more photos during some hours than others.  And I know I missed a few hours here and there.  But I think I got a pretty good variety of shots from one entire day!

And if it is November, you know that that "day of photos" is probably going to take place on the big November holiday of Thanksgiving!

In our neck of the woods, our respective families live about an hour away from each other.  We used to try to cart the kids to both sets of grandparents for Thanksgiving, but soon enough, decided that it was just too hard.  Two Thanksgiving dinners in one day is too much turkey no matter how you slice it!  And we really just weren't able to truly enjoy the holiday as it is intended.  So, a few years ago, we decided to end the chaos and instead spend Thanksgiving with one side of the family on one year, and spend it with the other family, the next year.

This year was my family's turn.   My family is further away so we always just plan to spend the night at my mom's.  So even though I don't have to cook (much) or clean, we do have some craziness packing up 3 kids for a night away.

But our Turkey Day starts early in the morning when good ole Daddy takes Miss Christina turkey hunting!  They get all gussied up in camp, Daddy gets his gun ready (just in case) and off they go! Christina and her dad just love it,  although it is actually more like a walk in the woods wearing camouflage and usually results in not seeing neither hide nor hair of any sort of turkey....but it is a tradition nonetheless.

And THEN we packed up the car, tossed in a few munchkins and "over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house we went!"

And we are here!  What a gorgeous and most perfect day!

My youngest's first call of duty was to do a quick search for the treasure of the day - my (40+ year old ) rubber ducky!  Yes, that was my very own childhood duck.  Kallie loves rubber ducks (?) and I happened to tell her about my "oversized" duck when I was a kid.  Well, she was hell bent on finding that thing!.  And I can't believe she did!  But now it has a new home and a new (very happy) owner.  An owner who not only takes the duck into the bath with her, but dries him off and takes him to bed with her.  But, I digress.....

After the duck was found, the next stop was my sister's!  This is where the actual Thanksgiving festivities were taking place!  When we first arrived, sweet Caroline was fine hanging out in the living room watching the game...at first.....

But as the crowd grew, and the noise picked up a notch or two, she soon decided she did NOT enjoy being in the midst of the chaos and we found her a nice quiet place to hang out for the afternoon...she was much happier.

Soon enough the tables were set - 3 tables in fact - and dinner was ready!  We have a fairly big group at my sisters, 3 tables full!   Two "adult" tables and one "kiddie" table!

And, actually, due to the fact that I really was "living in the moment", I didn't take any photos during our actual dinner!  And I am SOOOO bummed I didn't!  :(((

After dinner, there was more fun with lots of kids running and running and running.

And adults chatting and laughing while relaxing by the fire and sitting in the hot tub!!!!

And we ended the night with some entertainment by my nephew!  Apparently, a fairly talented juggler!

It was a crazy but wonderful Thanksgiving twinged with a bit of sadness as two very important members of our family are no longer here - my dear Dad and his sister.   It definitely is a bit strange as the years go on and  the faces around the table change.  But I guess that is life and that is why we need to live in our moments - they are gone too fast.

Now please read through the circle of blog posts from the other participating photographers!  Next stop - JUDE!

Thanks for stopping by!  Until next time!