Thanksgiving in Atlanta

 We found out in early September that Brian would be promoting to Colonel and would be having a ceremony in Atlanta the day after Thanksgiving.  This is such an incredible achievement and we wanted to be there!  At that time, covid numbers seemed to be holding steady so we decided to book tickets to spend the week at Thanksgiving with the Ducote crew.  As Thanksgiving approached, covid numbers were rapidly increasing (especially in CA) and there were recommended travel advisories not to travel or gather in large groups.  After much thought (and a few sleepless nights!) we decided to stick with the plan and go...and we are so glad we did.  We had the best week and it was so special to be there with the entire family.  And thankfully everyone stayed covid free.  On the last day we did have a little scare with Julia waking up with a fever and not feeling well.  I was having visions of renting an RV and driving across the country so we could get home safely but thankfully after a trip to Rich's old pediatrician and a negative strep and covid test we were able to fly home safely and she was feeling much better the day we left.  It made for a quiet last day in Georgia but was probably ok after the very busy week we had!  

We arrived on Monday night and had all day Tuesday with just Nonna, Pop Pop, Katelyn and Trey which was great to have some alone time with them because once the cousins all come we never see the kids.  We all went to a great park nearby as the weather was beautiful!  Then Ella helped Katelyn make spinach artichoke dip, the kids all played in the backyard getting forts ready for the cousins, and the girls helped Nonna with desserts for Thanksgiving.  

The cousins started arriving on Wednesday and they all picked off right where they left off.  We love that about them all!  They have the best time together and it is like they see one another every day.  Such special relationships!  The next few days were filled with zip lines, fort building, walks to the park, football and capture the flag games, shows, firepits, Christmas movies at night, and so many special memories! 

Julia and Anna hit it off this trip and spent hours building a little fort/house complete with decorations, seats and accessories!

These two are quite a pair!

Joseph and John have such a special relationship-love that they are only 6 months apart from one another and have such a special bond!  Both of them ended up hurting themselves on this trip, too...thankfully nothing too serious but both got beat up a bit.  Joseph fell off the skateboard going down the big hill to Nonna and Pop Pop's house on Thanksgiving.  His hands broke most of the fall but ended up with a pretty big cut on his chin and a chipped tooth...and a broken wrist, which we didn't find out until a week later!  We were more concerned about his mouth area and he wasn't really complaining about the wrist until we got back home and he started doing his schoolwork and was in pain whenever he wrote.  we took him to urgent care that night and he had subtle fracture in his right wrist which required a cast for 4 weeks.  Thankfully there was only a week left of school before Christmas break so it wasn't inconvenient for too long and we are thankful it wasn't worse.  John was on the swing on Sunday swinging over the creek and fell off-he ended up with a big black and blue eye was in a good amount of pain, too, but it could have been way worse so we are so thankful for that.  These boys!!!  

 

Showtime!

Thanksgiving for 28!! It was delicious!  

There was even a special visit from Cara Rose!

The ceremony for Brian was on Friday at the Dunwoody Country Club.  It was so special to be there for it and to hear about all of his accomplishments in the military.  We are so thankful for his sacrifices as well as the sacrifices of Gina and the boys.  There was a brunch after the ceremony and it was so fun to see everyone all dresses up.  

The kids baked Christmas cookies with Nonna after everyone left-they were delicious and a great way to get into the Christmas season! 

And, we're heading home.  The flight home was uneventful and all went well.  We landed on Tuesday afternoon and kept the kids out of school for a week-they didn't have school the following Monday so it worked out to be a full week.  We also got everyone covid tests on Friday whcih all came back negative, although cost us $1050!!!!!  Rich used a guy from work whose nurse came to the house and he didn't think that they were going to charge us that much...it was convenient but definitely not worth that much money!  Oh geez but at least we were all healthy!  The trip was great and we are so glad that we were able to be there!