Thanksgiving week was spent in Illinois.  A couple of days in Chicago followed by a trip to Cherry.  After a great night with my parents, they whisked the kids away with them and we spent a couple of days in Chicago.  The pizza place gave dough to the kids to play with during dinner and they, and Nonnie found all sorts of things to do with it.

Sunday was a day of debauchery, but I got to spend it with my sisters and a dear friend, Justin.  I am in there, I'm just hidden behind a couple of sisters, I think you can make out a corner of my eye.  (talk about being short)  Either way, it was a rare day in many ways, wonderful, but not to be repeated, in any way.

Meanwhile, the snow was falling in Cherry and the kids were taking full advantage of it.

Another day was spent getting ready for the Thanksgiving feast.  While Reghan worked on homework, the little two got busy on the pies.

Finally Reghan got to hop in to start baking.

Nonnie pulled out some of Grandma B's aprons so we all got to work with Grandma literally by our side which added a little extra spice to the dinner this year.  Auntie Jewlz roasted a goose and Reghan worked beside her every step of the way.

Ashlyn was busy with her hands in anything that resembled dough.  If you don't see the video below, click on the following link.  Ashlyn's Rolls

When they realized that Poppie had real guns in the house, they quickly had their first lesson in handling various types.

Even Ashlyn helped with Steven's yummy Parker House Rolls.

One of the highlights of the day before was Heath's haircut.  Three years of growth chopped off. 

There was a huge temptation to leave it like this, a throw back to my high school days, but it kept getting cut till we had a different boy sitting in front of us.

Thanksgiving morning Ashlyn made sure to make sure we all looked "beautiful" by painting everyone's nails a sparkly purple.  And I mean everyone.

Back in the kitchen Ashlyn and Auntie Amy got busy on some fried bread for breakfast.

After dinner Ashlyn had some of us join her individually for a show.  She would give her sidekick a melody and she would sing along to it.  Yes, we all stayed in our onsie pj's all day and it was glorious.  If you don't see the video below, click on the following link.  The Stage Belongs to Ashlyn

As the day came to an end, old friends started to stop by and out we ventured into the cold cold night for our traditional fireworks display.

It was pretty chilly that night but the crowd kept growing.  It sure was a great way to end the holiday festivities.

The next morning the Lego's were pulled out and Auntie Jen Jen went to work building her latest masterpiece and passing down some of her Lego expertise to her nieces and nephew.

Although it was a full week, it seemed like only a day or two.  We miss everyone so, but that week we found our new vacation spot for next summer so we have another fun week to look forward to.