Thanksgiving 2012 in snapshots.

This Thanksgiving was a good one. We stayed in Des Moines, which was so nice not to have to travel. This was the first time in a long long time to not travel, so that was nice! My mom's side came here, so that was great to see everyone as well. My Grandma and Grandpa Van Etten came from Rapid City, SD, and my Uncle Jeff, Uncle Jim/Aunt Kris, and their 4 kids (Alexandra, Carter, Victoria, and Ethan) came from Chicago. I was also able to see my friend Stephanie home from college in Texas and my friend Lauren home from Denver! Yay!

Making dinner before everyone arrived on Wednesday night.

Daisy, my family's dog. :)

 My family's Christmas tree.

My brother, Keaton, during no-shave November playing ping-pong. What a beast.

Ping-pong action. (There was a ping-pong tournament involving the whole family. I, of course, lost the first round but I played awesome considering my skill level of nothing. Kley and Keaton were in the championship, and Keaton won.)

My mom's pretty decorations.

Hanging out after dinner.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade!

While watching the parade, I made chocolate pretzels for the first time. Yummy!

Bocce ball.

View from my parent's backyard.

The turkey!

Getting ready to eat! (Notice the muscles in the background...boys.)

Keaton's "Thanksgiving Combover."

The boys spent some time using their technology toys,

while the girls watched TV.

Almost time to eat.

Green bean casserole.

My cousin, Victoria, and sister, Kayla.

My sister, Karlie, and cousin, Alexandra.                                                                                              (They are roommates together at NWC this year in Orange City!)

Gram setting the table.

Kley and I. (Notice he did not participate in no-shave November. I think facial hair is scratchy. :)

Lining up to eat.

It was delicious.

Uncle Jeff telling Karlie to not touch the hot pan while grabbing her hand and making her.     (Obviously it wasn't that hot- no burning involved. :)

The kid table.

The adult table.

Cheesecake for dessert! This one was pumpkin.

Butterfinger.

Chocolate Chip- this was my choice and it was quite good.

Grandpa reading the Christmas Story- we celebrated Christmas too, since we wouldn't see them at Christmas. So, Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving! We have a lot to be thankful for! I am thankful for my family, Kley's family, my wonderful husband, living close to my family, seeing friends who live far away, my job, my kids at school, a few days off of work, our apartment, our bed, food to eat, and many more things. Thank you, God, for our many blessings. :)