Celebrating the Turkey p.1

This year was a repeat of last year in many ways. Derrick and I packed up and headed to Hickory on Wednesday before Thanksgiving to spend a little time with my side of the family. Mom, Dad, Jay, Jack, Adnan and Nabeel (my families two adopted brothers)* were all in town. I love when my family gets together. It's loud and boisterous and always a ton of fun.  We had a great family dinner and then Derrick and I broke out the game Logos. We picked this one to bring home especially for Jay, the brand manager! I was on a team with Jay, Jack, and Dad. The other team was Mom, Adnan, Nabeel, and Derrick. There was a bit of a fight over Derrick when it came to picking teams so we had to go the draw out of the hat route. It was a close game that ultimately ended in Derrick's team winning.....duh.

Mom made delicious chili for dinner on Wednesday night

 
The next day was Thanksgiving! Mom created a delicious brunch for us and then Jack, Nabeel, Derrick, and I took the dogs to play disc golf. Nabeel had never played so we played captains choice with Jack and I on a team and Derrick and Nabeel on a team.  Jack and I should have won. Didn't happen though.

That afternoon the whole family came for dinner! We had 22 people there for dinner and Mom and Dad arranged the dining room table so everybody would be able to sit together.

Second Thanksgiving together as the Marceys!

 Poor Jake came to Thanksgiving with a broken arm so we all signed his cast. I don't think I've signed a cast since middle school.

Nabeel and Jack are really similar. I can't believe this was the first time I got to meet Nabeel and he was so fun to get to know. One of my favorite conversations with him was when he was describing to us the difference in the way you flirt in the US compared to Kuwait. Hilarious.

It was great to see Adnan. We hadn't seen him since the wedding and Adnan had only met Derrick at the wedding so it really wasn't a great chance to get to know one another. Adnan came up to me on Thursday after he had a chance to spend a little more time with Derrick and complimented my taste and told me that I had found a good one. That means a lot to me coming from Adnan because he is a truly stand-up guy.

 

 Told you they were adopted.

 At this point I am realizing that I only have pictures of the eight of us and NO pictures of any of my other family. Other family...if your'e reading this...I'm sorry! I was just spending time catching up and I guess I forgot to pick up my camera!! I do have a picture of my little cousin Evelyn though! She is almost two and was born 3 months early. Look at her now! She was making an incredible mess so I wrapped the table cloth around her.

Love this picture of me and my Dad. Only took 5 shots to get :)

Part 2 and 3 to come!! Christmas tree hunting and time with Derrick's family!

*Adnan attended Virginia Tech at the same time Jay did. They met there and formed a very strong friendship. Adnan is from Kuwait and his family still lives there so he would come home during the holidays with Jay and spend time with our family. Since then his other two brothers have moved to the states as well and also spent time with our family. Adeeb is the middle brother and wasn't able to come to Thanksgiving and Nabeel is the youngest and lives with Adnan in Tennessee. They really are part of our family and fit in seamlessly! Adnan was even a scripture reader in our wedding!