Y'all, the holiday season is awesome. Seriously, the best. It starts with Thanksgiving. I L-O-V-E Thanksgiving. This year was a very special Thanksgiving because family came to us in North Carolina rather than us having to travel to Texas. I know I'm a couple of holidays behind, but this semester has been crazy (isn't it always?!), and I am just getting to it... don't judge.
Pretty much the whole month of November was dedicated to school and getting ready for Thanksgiving company. The two ran together a little bit, too. Here is a Color by Number I assigned to my students before the holiday break. They loved it! Even though it was solving equations, you have them color it, and all of a sudden, they can't wait to get their hands on it. I also changed our kitchen chalkboard to a verse of thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for, it seemed like a great daily reminder.
The first to arrive in North Carolina was my mom. She came early to help get everything ready and grocery shop but also just to be here. It was so fun having her here for a few days before everyone else got here.
The next to arrive were my brother and sister-in-law (with my soon to be born niece or nephew!) and her family, as well as Matt's brother and his girlfriend. So many people that we love all in one place! We took them to one of our favorite lunch spots, and later, some of the group even got to enjoy a Duke basketball game. Here are the Cameron Crazies in Cameron Indoor.
I stayed back with my mom to pick up these two goofballs from the airport--my dad and sister. They didn't arrive until Wednesday night, but we soaked up all the time we had together.
That night, many of the ladies took to the
The following day was spent trail hiking, showing family around our new city and the beautiful Duke campus, and again just enjoying the company. That night, we went to The Angus Barn, a Raleigh icon, that serves some of the finest steaks and seafood in the Triangle. It really was an experience. It was decorated for Christmas already and was such a wonderful atmosphere. We even took a tour of the wine cellar and kitchen.
While we were waiting to be seated, we took pictures by the Christmas tree. If you look closely, you can see a little elf who was sitting in the tree. On the right, the boys checking out the cigar collection after dinner.
All too soon, the week was over and everyone had to go back home. We didn't get to see all of our family, but we cherish the times that we get to see any of them, especially since being so far away now. Once Thanksgiving was over, it was time to finish out the first semester strong and begin to get ready for Christmas. December was upon us!
