not about our house. ok, maybe a little.

This post is about Thanksgiving and Christmas.

We're usually behind with pictures, partially because we don't think about it too much, and partially because I usually blog on my laptop, not within easy reach of the camera. So instead of pictures, I use words. And by way of a non-specific general reminder, a picture is worth a thousand words, and no one likes to read more than a 5000 word essay at one time, so more than 3 pictures is dangerously close to overkill. On the other hand, a nice collage of images is fun and compact enough to work well, if there's only one per post.

Thanksgiving always seems like a calm event. We alternate going to my parents' or Kelsea's parents', and it doesn't really seem so out of the ordinary to have a big family dinner. I only have one sister that no longer lives in Las Vegas, and Kelsea's only out of town sibling is her brother that's on a mission in Brazil. So Thanksgiving just felt like a family dinner with a fairly non-negotiable menu. (Although my pickiest sister-in-law demanded variety and got bratwurst. Talk about an un-American Thanksgiving.) I'm thankful it felt so low key. I enjoy a real ordeal only once or twice a year.

As for Christmas, my parents went to Southern Utah the Saturday after Thanksgiving and got fresh-cut Christmas trees. So by Sunday night, we had a Christmas tree. Kelsea has done a fantastic job decorating it, and our house feels so festive already. Holly and Mia wanted to help, but the were pulling out ornaments that Kelsea wasn't planning to use, so she told them maybe she would use them later. Instead, Holly decorated the ficus. Holly even asked me which one I liked better. When I said I liked them both, she told me I was only allowed to like the big one, because the little one was for the little brother. I need to get a mantle for our fireplace (there are brick supports, but no actual mantle) so we can hang our stockings there and otherwise decorate it. I don't think a fire in there would be a good idea, though.

I'm glad we're to the holiday season, and I'm excited to share Christmas and Thanksgiving with my wonderful family.