Thanksgiving!

I absolutely LOVE Thanksgiving! 

And it's not because of the food...that is just a perk! 

I just love the fun time I am able to spend with my family and to reflect on all the blessings in my life!

It is just so joyful!

Thanksgiving this year was one of my favorites!

I started the day off by participating in the Mesa Turkey Trot.

That was such a fun experience!

It was held at Red Mountain Park. 

I couldn't convince anyone to go with me, so I decided I would be brave and go alone.

Luckily, there were a TON of people when I got there and I ran into a few familiar faces, so that made it even more fun.

I participated in the 2 mile fun run because I am not a good distance runner and 10k is too long for me.

I was able to finish in 25 minutes, which I am actually quite proud of considering my endurance isn't the greatest! But I wasn't going for time- just to finish!

I loved running into the finish line and having a crowd of random people cheering!

That was such an incredible feeling, and was a great way to end!

I am glad I was brave enough to participate in this!

It is definitely my new tradition that I will carry on when I have a family of my own someday!

The rest of the day, of course, was a blast too!

We went over to my aunt's house, like we normally do for Thanksgiving.

It is always a good time when my brothers and I are all together, and then throwing my cousins in the mix, we just get downright crazy!

There sure was a lot of craziness going on!

Only in my family do you get 20+ year olds debating over who has to sit at the "adult table" rather than the "kids table."

And only in my family do you find all the "kids" squished around the table so one doesn't have to be moved to the "adult" table!

Also, only in my family is Pretzal Salad considered the main Thanksgiving dish, and Thanksgiving has the potential of being boycotted with it!

It was pretty awesome!

Our dinner was full of many, many laughs and fun quotes thrown out.

And of course eating more than necessary!

I loved every minute of it!

After dinner, we spent the afternoon looking through Black Friday ads and just chatting and laughing.

I can't even remember the last time I laughed so much!

It was fabulous!

We also did some dancing to burn off some of those calories. 

Here is a video of us playing "Just Dance." 

It was hysterical!

I am so thankful for the fun I was able to have with my family.

I love being my goofy self and just having fun!

Thanksgiving definitely brings out the best in everyone!

Thanksgiving is the start to my favorite time of the year!

I love all the festivities from Thanksgiving to New Years!

I was excited to hear Christmas music today to start bringing in the Spirit of Christmas!

By the way, I don't believe in Christmas before Thanksgiving because:

A) I don't like overlooking Thanksgiving and

B) The true meaning of Christmas gets lost and becomes very commercialized when it is started to early! 

I am very excited for this time of the year folks!

It's simply 

THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!

I hope you all enjoy it...and remember what it is all about!