Thanksgiving in MN

We spent Thanksgiving in MN with Nanna and Pappa Walsh's house. Josh was so excited to see them and to play hockey with Uncle Jack. We got there Wednesday before Thanksgiving just in time for dinner. It was nice to miss the snowstorm that was heading across the midwest. Thanksgiving day we relaxed with the family. Jim went with my dad and Josh to Play It Again to buy hockey gear for Josh. He got a helmet, skates, and shin guards. He was just beaming when he got home. Thanks Uncle Jack, Uncle Joe, and Nanna Pappa for my X-mas gift!

We had Thanksgiving dinner later that evening and were tormented by the delicious smells all day long! My parents friend Dee and her son Jake joined us for dinner and also my brothers new girlfriend Megan. So it was a full house. Josh fell asleep for the first time in Jim's arms just as we sat down for dinner. He has never fallen asleep in a room full of people... well since he was about 6 months old anyway. So I think it is safe to say we wore him out! As always dinner was full of laughs... and surprises. Some heckling toward my brother Joe for bringing a girl to dinner, harrassing our guests, and my sisters numerous attempts to start the "I'm thankful for..." tradition. We kept responding to this with sarcastic remarks. Finally toward the end of dinner she goes, "well we have some news..." WAHOO!!! They are expecting their first baby July 2nd! I am SO EXCITED to have a neice or nephew on that side. It was such a wonderful exciting surprise. And I am selfish since I immediately was excited that our boy/girl will be only 6 months older than their little one. YAY!

After dinner we had our infamous ping pong tournament in which I get my butt kicked each and every time by a sibling. I think Josh did better than I did. Pathetic! :)

That night my mom, sister, and I debated over and over as to whether or not we were going shopping the next day. My mom hurt her back really bad a month or so ago and can't walk/stand for that long. My back/legs start aching after an hour or two of standing at this point. And Shannon didn' t have any "must" go get items. So we said if we wake up and go fine... but if we don't oh well. The next morning I woke up with Josh at 6:45am... and I couldn't relax... I wanted to shop. I hopped online and voila... Herbergers was offering the exact same deals online and free shipping on orders over $100. I bought the three items I really wanted to get from the couch at my parents house. It was FANTASTIC! Later that morning once my mom and sister were up and moving, we decided to go to Babies R Us for their super saver gift items and well, because my sister is now expecting and we were excited.

That afternoon we had a visit from my high school friend Marcel and his wife Michaela and their two kids, Jadon and Sienna. It was great to catch up with him, but so weird to see us all grown up with kids!

Friday night we did a Christmas dinner since we will not be there this year. We opened gifts which basically was Josh... which was the fun part. My family did an outstanding job on the gifts seeing as how I gave them No suggestions. He got the "go fishin" game, the Vtech dancin camera, trucks, pj's, clothes, remote control car, and a memory game. He loved them all and still is playing with them... which is awesome.

Saturday night kicked off my brother Jack's senior year in Hockey. He plays for Hill Murray. I think we had about 60 friends/family show up for the game. It was a fantastic game and we were all on the edge of our seat. They had a great win and my brother played very well. Josh was so excited and was glued to the rink the entire game. After we went to my cousin Pats to visit with the Thuente clan. As always it was fun!