give {thanks}

isn't thanksgiving just the best holiday ever?? ok, i suppose it ties with christmas, and the fourth of july, and halloween....basically i like every holiday out there. but this thanksgiving was one to truly be thankful for. being a mom with a wonderful husband and a little baby is reason enough to realize that i have so much, and am so very blessed.

this year we made the trek up to rexburg, idaho for the thanksgiving feast. before heading up, though, we stayed in layton tuesday night. danny had to get two cavities filled {thanks tim!} and then we had a nice dinner with danny's mom and brother. after dinner we got to meet the newest addition to the mckinley fam, little baby reed. what a cutie he is! max and reed are only six weeks apart...pretty awesome.



the next morning we left for idaho, and max was such a good traveler! he slept basically the whole time. what a trooper. and when he wasn't sleeping, he was chewing on his fist...his new favorite past-time {he does this right after he has eaten, so i know he isn't hungry}:


we stayed at my aunt sue's house and it was such a PARTY! there were probably a total of 20 people in that house at any given time. the rest of wednesday was spent visiting with our wonderful friends, {while we were visiting with linds and jordan, max held his own bottle! he never ceases to amaze.} and preparing food for the following day's feast.



thanksgiving morning we ventured out into the arctic cold and went for a stroll around the neighborhood. my aunt and uncle are surrounded by farm land, which is absolutely beautiful in its own way. we had fun sliding on the ice and visiting their neighbor's horses.

max sported his little bear outfit. that, along with eight blankets, kept him warm enough for this:



while we waited for everyone to arrive, joey and tom played christmas songs on the piano and max was passed around and adored by everyone! {actually, he was passed around and adored all WEEKEND! he was a very spoiled boy by the time we got home...and now he expects to be held 24/7} he loved it.



at two o' clock we began our thanksgiving feast...my oh my we had some delicious food! all the teenage boys weighed themselves beforehand and ate MORE food than i have ever seen anyone consume at one sitting. i can't believe that one day max will be like that: eating us out of house and home! we had a great time and later played hours of nertz and speed scrabble. i LOVE games with the georges. good, good times. the boys also had an INTENSE ping pong tournie. we are quite the competitive family. max took a great thanksgiving nap...and woke up super happy. don't you love that?? he has quite the smile.


friday morning danny and the boys played basketball at the church and then around noon we decided to head home. thanks again sue and craig for letting us crash at your place!! we had such a good time. before we left rexburg, we stopped by meagan and ryan's again to say good bye and snap some pics of the little bebe's together. {meags, i love your guts!! how fun that we are both mommy's together. we can't wait to see you again in april!} brinley was totally passed out during the photo shoot, but she did manage to hit max in the face...and then hold his hand. so funny. here are a few of my fav's: {check out meagan's awesome post of the event here}


hope you all had a fantastic thanksgiving holiday!!