Consider this blog post to be the official announcement that it is now socially acceptable to play Christmas music in your homes, cars, offices, and shopping/dining destinations. In months that do not begin with D, I've found that all things red, green, sparkly and holiday-esque are almost repulsive. Okay, maybe that is a strong word, but it is at the very least obnoxious. Mostly because the Christmas season is encroaching on the season of Thanksgiving and autumn, a mutually awesome time of year. But I think it was my friend's mom who said it best: "Kinda ironic that we spend the most money the day after we say we're thankful for what we already have." And that American mindset is precisely why Christmas is cropping up as early as September in some places. And it's even harder to get over the forceful start of the holiday season when you live in Florida...mostly because the thermometer tipped below 60 degrees for like the first time this year...yesterday. And I wore flip flops anyway.
All ranting aside, I wanted to take a moment to share some of the things that Aaron and I are thankful for...(gasp!)...after Thanksgiving!
First up, this is our "thankful tree". Throughout the month of November, we clipped little pieces of paper that were written with things that (you guessed it!) we're thankful for.
Some of the things we had on there:
- a job that I love and kids that make me laugh everyday (Laura)
- my new job (Aaron)
- Chet's Creek Church
- living in the sunshine state
- our sweet niece, Kaitlyn
- new friends
- good health
- lovely weather
For the Thanksgiving holiday itself, we had a wonderful trip to the Keys (Little Torch Key, for those who are wondering). Here are some of the pics from our time with family:
 |
| Family photo of the whole gang. Mom, Dad, Aaron, me, Julie, Nick, Lyn & Mikey. |
 |
| How cool we really are. |
 |
| The "Gehron" table. |
 |
| The "Knepper" table. |
 |
| Killin' it on the couch for the Dolphins game. Tryptophan hit us bad this year. |
 |
| Roughin' it in the keys with a hot tub. Geez Aaron and Dad, would you guys just RELAX already!? |
 |
| The ferry over to Pigeon Key...a historic work camp island during the building of the 7 mile bridge. |
 |
| A tiki hut in the middle of the ocean. We couldn't help but take a WE'RE IN BORA BORA!!! picture. |
 |
| Picture #1: The boys were playing a little wiffle ball (spell check me on that one...). Picture #2: What happens when the ball goes into the canal. |
 |
| We found Jack Sparrow in Key West at the sunset celebration. |
 |
| My sweet parents. |
 |
| <3 |
 |
| Our Sunset entertainer. |
 |
| Found some sweet shades at Margaritaville... |
 |
| As did the guys. |
 |
| Mike and Rita (Mikey and Lindsay's parents) |
 |
| Oh look! The dog found some sweet shades, too! Mike paid a whopping $4 for the picture... |
 |
| Marilyn....she's so sassy. |
 |
| Nick and Julie at the Southernmost Point. 90 Miles to Cuba. Cause I was wondering. |
 |
| Mikey pulling Lyn and Linds on the gigantic tube that we found at the house we rented. |
 |
| Lindsay is pretty hardcore about tubing. |
 |
| Nick & Aaron on the boat with me and Jul on the tube in the background. |
 |
| Like I said, roughin' it in the keys. |
 |
| This is my deer friend. Ha. Ha. (Get it!?) |
 |
| He tried to kiss me but I'm not supposed to touch him. I don't think. |
We had a great time hanging with family and family/friends for Thanksgiving break and are so very thankful for the great memories that we made. We broke all tradition of ushering in the holiday season with cool weather, decorating for Christmas, and enjoying time at home with family. Monday was a little bit of a reality check from our sunny November vacation. Jimmy Buffet's "Jingle Bells" came over my radio first thing Monday morning, and I found it a bit ironic. But it was the sign on our way back to the Florida mainland that said it best:
Snow and sleigh bells or not, we'll be gearing up for Christmas in the weeks ahead...but I nevertheless want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!
