Our family did something a little different this year for Thanksgiving.....we rented a mountain house in the Tennessee mountains!
There were 21 of us in all - it was my whole family plus my aunt/uncle/cousin & her family from Cincinnati - so we had to find quite a large place. Luckily, my sisters are super planners and found a great house in La Follette, TN. Bonus: it was on a lake!
Everyone arrived at different times on Wednesday the 22nd. The Statons from Charlotte and Anderkins/Briners from Cincinnati arrived around lunch time and were the first to explore the property.
The last time I saw my cousin Betsy (picture on far right, top row), was 4 years ago! (This same group rented a mountain house in Asheville, NC for Labor Day). Since then, there have been a few more kids added to the clan (Otis, Gibson, Charlie Kate, and Nora), so it was fun to finally have all the cousins together!! The kids ages were as follows: 10, 9, 8, 7, 5, 2, 2, 10 months, and 3 months.
Another reason to celebrate was Poppy's birthday!!! He turned 68 and the kids were thrilled to decorate the house, wear party hats, and use obnoxious hilarious blowers.
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| Aunt Lora & Uncle John gave Abby an electronic drum set for her birthday in early November, and couldn't wait until Uncle John could give her some tips! |
THURSDAY
Thanksgiving morning started off right...with mimosas, play time and a long hike!
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| Nate and Abby cannot get enough of Gibson & his hugs! :) |
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| Abby was a *wee* bit more excited about our hike than Nora. Ha! |
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| The kids loved their bunk bed room! We let the 5 big kids (plus Gibson) sleep in there, and they loved making forts too. |
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| Afternoon snooze |
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| Anxiously awaiting Thanksgiving dinner! |
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| My sisters and my honorary sister/cousin, Betsy |
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| Our view of the lake |
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| THE WHOLE GANG!!! #covepointthanksgiving2017 |
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| We had quite the Thanksgiving feast and lots of chefs! |
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| Cleaning crew |
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| The kids were *so* excited to finally try out the hot tub!!! |
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| John is a NUT and decided to take a dip in the freezing lake! |
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| In the kids' words, this was the "perfect ending to the best day ever!" #movienight #popcorn |
FRIDAY
Friday morning, the kids had *so much* fun pulling each other around in this blanket! I seriously think they did this for over an hour.
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| Poppy & Otis |
Then, around 10 am, the stars aligned and this was able to happen:
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We had girl time in the hot tub without kids!!!
The littles were napping and Charlie & Mike took the big ones exploring/hiking.
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| Sister walk! |
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| Love this little dude. |
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| Charlie & Mike (and Poppy!) took one for the team, and took this gang off our hands for awhile |
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See those little four specs down there?!
Those are the kiddos skipping rocks. They *LOVED* going down there by themselves.
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| John put on a (pizza) clinic and made everyone pizza for lunch! |
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| After lunch, while the kids were napping/resting in the bunk room, the oldheads retired to the basement for some quiet time. |
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| I can't get enough of Otis! #unicorn |
Bec & Nanny surprised everyone with "Freezing Frogs" shirts!!!! This is from a club/tradition we started in Traverse City, MI long ago, when we would visit my Grandma every summer and jump in the *freezing* Lake Michigan. We decided to induct some new members .....and the rule is, you have to go all the way under for it to count.
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| Love my crazy family! |
So, I am a sane person and decided not to get into the 50 degree water. However, I was in the minority. Look at all of these Freezing Frogs! I am so impressed with all of them - especially Nate & Abby! I thought for sure they would wimp out like I did.
And no surprise, Nanny was the first one in....
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| Nora was unimpressed by the Freezing Frogs :) |
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If you got in the lake, you were allowed entry to the hot tub!
(Poor Mike sliced the bottom of his foot! #crimescene)
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Such a peaceful scene.
And so happy to be with my family!
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| My cousin Betsy French braided Abby's hair (and attempted to teach me). How cute!? |
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| We finished off the night at the fire pit with marshmallows... |
SATURDAY
Saturday was my 38th birthday! My mom scared the crap out of and sang Happy Birthday to me in the hallway as soon as I walked out of my room! #creeper
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| Mimosas & two of my favorites! |
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| My sisters, John, and Greg all made a breakfast feast for my bday! |
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| Standing on the lake's edge, looking up at our house. Those stairs were killer! |
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| Poppy brought lots of fishing gear and all the boys (plus Abby) were in heaven! |
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| Charlie & Charlie Kate |
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| Greg finally tried out the hot tub!! |
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| John & Nate hard at work, squeezing fresh lemons & limes for my birthday margaritas :) |
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| The Iron Bowl (Alabama at Auburn) was on that afternoon, so we had to cheer our team on! #rolltide |
Bec & Lora fixed a Mexican feast for my birthday dinner! And the best part....I didn't have to lift a finger :)
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| Cousin bath! |
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| Seriously, this blue blanket game was their favorite! |
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| Party animal |
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| My favorite - yellow cake with chocolate icing!! |
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Last but not least, we played Reverse Charades after the littles went to bed.
As usual, Nanny won the prize for most entertaining :)
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SUNDAY
Sunday was a sad day because we all had to leave!!
What a great few days though......I loved catching up with my aunt & uncle & cousin, and most of all, seeing all the cousins play together. Special memories!
