Giving Thanks

This Thanksgiving was different from the others.  We still celebrated our family in Kite, GA.  Must be close to the country's smallest town.  It is 0.8 square miles large.  The 2000 census says it has 241 people.  They must have counted the dogs, cats, and goats.  I think the population is closer to 50.  One flashing stop light and a penny saver gas station.  That's all.

 
Mom couldn't make it since she was still feeling the effects from her last chemo treatment.  Lauren had to work the day before and the day after Thanksgiving so she did not make the long drive down.  Jessica and dad made the trip from Nashville and we had an incredible time!  Lily made her first Brantley family Thanksgiving debut.  She was the hit of the party!!!!  Our first day there started off with Lily leading us in a dancing game.  We all started to participate and then she looked at my grandmama (who Lily nicknamed "Cowgirl") and said "It's okay.  Old people don't have to play."  I thought "Cowgirl" was going to fall out of her seat laughing so hard.

After our game, we went outside to enjoy the beautiful day and to play on Lily's plasma car.  We all tried it :-)

Oh Jessie and Lily, making silly faces...

Thanksgiving day fun.   A little dance party.  A trip to the playground at the "Kite Community Center".  A walk through downtown Kite.  Pretending to be turkeys.  Some delicious food.  And girl time painting nails.

After we recovered from the turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, dumplins, and sweet potatoes to name a few treats, we headed to the family farm to check out the horses and moooo cows!  And Lily kept the family tradition going by learning to drive at a young age.  I wish I had a copy of my picture learning to drive in my granddaddy's pick up truck at the same age!

 Lily thought her dancing and posing would get the horses' attention and make them come closer to the fence so she could pet them...it didn't work.

Don't worry.  The driving was on the back of the farm on flat grass.  She drove from one end of the barn to the other, successfully (maybe with a touch of help) turned the car around and drove back to the end of the barn.  Then CJ took over.  Uncle Jerry is a trooper for joining in on our little ride :-)

After the farm we embarked on our annual pecan pick up adventure.  Dad knocked them out of the tree with a combination of a long stick and throwing a softball in the tree while the rest of us broke our backs picking them up.

 Uncle Jerry didn't think my dad was doing a good enough job so he thought throwing a brick in the tree would be a good idea...until it caught the power line in the tree.  Uncle Jerry's words of wisdom:  Don't throw bricks in the tree.

A Thanksgiving wouldn't be complete without a little french braiding while the men watch football.

 Jeremy telling Justin how to braid:  "It's like the three man weave in basketball"

Jessie and I dreamed of the house we want to build on the farm for all the cousins to stay in.  Now I will spend too much time on Pintrest creating my farm house :-)