This year we all packed up and headed to the lovely town of Gilmer for Thanksgiving! And by "all" I mean almost everyone in Josh's family made it, which is saying a lot since half the group was coming all the way from Virginia! We packed up the kids and Granny and made the 6 hour drive (now more like 7.5 hours with kids) out there. It was totally worth it. We had such a nice and relaxing time, and all of the cousins got to play together. There are sooooo many kids in this family right now. It's kind of crazy. In fact, Anna had so much fun she stayed in an almost constant state of exhaustion, which didn't make for too many great photos of her, but she had a blast and that's all that matters. When she woke up here on Monday morning, literally the first thing she said to me was "I want to play with the kids..."

So, I took my photography prof's advice and peeled my camera lens off of it's wide open aperture of f1.8 and explored with higher ISOs indoors to compensate for it. Although I absolutely love a nice bokeh, I've been getting very frustrated with my camera not focusing on exactly what I want it to at the f1.8 aperture when I'm shooting moving targets (like children!). By bringing down the aperture I was able to get a lot more photos into perfect focus, and managed to get a ton of great pics!

Big Momma's house in town always makes me a little nervous because there's a couple of busy streets in the front yard and a pool in the back yard.  "/  Since they are among the youngest of the group, Wallace and Anna are likely to just fol… — Big Momma's house in town always makes me a little nervous because there's a couple of busy streets in the front yard and a pool in the back yard. "/ Since they are among the youngest of the group, Wallace and Anna are likely to just follow the big kids right out the front door and just wander off. Wallace spent a good amount of time mad at me for not getting to go outside (it was COLD) and beating his hands on the front door in retaliation

But he had plenty to do inside...like playing under the table with a football.  :) — But he had plenty to do inside...like playing under the table with a football. :)

And wailing on the piano with his cousins.  :) — And wailing on the piano with his cousins. :)

And it just seems to be normal now a days for your kids to run off with your iPad.

Aunt Lynn bought the kids a bunch of hula hoops!

It's amazing how fast kids make friends.  :)  Sadie and Sienna had a blast together. — It's amazing how fast kids make friends. :) Sadie and Sienna had a blast together.

And as usual Tanner posed it up for me in a tree.  :) — And as usual Tanner posed it up for me in a tree. :)

I know this picture looks a little scary at first...

....but it's just monkey boy entrusting his bones to the smallest branch on the tree.  :) — ....but it's just monkey boy entrusting his bones to the smallest branch on the tree. :)

And I managed to catch Dillon off guard!

The kids loved the boat dock, and I was so excited to get some nice profile shots of them looking out over the water...

All of them!  Even the girls! — All of them! Even the girls!

But I managed to catch a few of them without the spit.  :) — But I managed to catch a few of them without the spit. :)

Back at the house the kids made the cutest place cards for Thanksgiving dinner!

And on Friday everyone got together for a group pic before the Virginia contingency headed out.

Then we moved the party out to the farm house!

My daughter apparently has an interest in guns... "/  She kind of looks like she knows what she's doing! — My daughter apparently has an interest in guns... "/ She kind of looks like she knows what she's doing!

I tried so hard to practice with flare again.  I was mildly successful... — I tried so hard to practice with flare again. I was mildly successful...

The best part was getting to watch Joe-Joe's tractor get towed out of the mud!

Everyone kept saying it was good he wasn't there to see it, or else Joe-Joe would want a piece of track equipment.  :) — Everyone kept saying it was good he wasn't there to see it, or else Joe-Joe would want a piece of track equipment. :)

Yay!  It's free again! — Yay! It's free again!

And the kids had to get some pics with the rescue brigade!

Look at that amazing flare!  And no one was ready for the pic...  :( — Look at that amazing flare! And no one was ready for the pic... :(

I got some uber cute pics of Leah's kids with their puppies!

Haha!  He kind of looks like he's showing a lamb.  :) — Haha! He kind of looks like he's showing a lamb. :)

How cute are these two!  Oh...and Cy is finally letting me take pictures of him!  He's doing the same thing Anna does...posing and then coming around the back of the camera to look to see how the picture turned out! — How cute are these two! Oh...and Cy is finally letting me take pictures of him! He's doing the same thing Anna does...posing and then coming around the back of the camera to look to see how the picture turned out!

So glad Mark managed to make the trip to Gilmer too...even though he felt the need to make fun of all of us after the Aggies lost.  "/ We're still having a better year than those t-sips! — So glad Mark managed to make the trip to Gilmer too...even though he felt the need to make fun of all of us after the Aggies lost. "/ We're still having a better year than those t-sips!

Thanks for hosting this year Big Momma!  We had such a good a time!  :) — Thanks for hosting this year Big Momma! We had such a good a time! :)