As I mentioned in my Friday blog post, our Thanksgiving plans included a trip to the mountains where we stayed in a large home with my parents, sister, brother-in-law, niece and two dogs.
(Outfit details: Jacket: Universal Thread via Target – currently on major sale / Ear Warmer: Universal Thread via Target / Jeans: Agolde (these are the first light-wash jeans I’ve worn that I actually love! Great for pear shapes and make the booty look amazing and fit true to size. I have the daylight wash.) / Sweater: Emory Park via Stitch Fix / Booties: Fergalicious)
In the past, Ryan usually takes the reins and finds a house for our gang but this year our trip came together at the last minute and most dog-friendly homes in the areas we were interested in were booked. We all spent a long time trying to find a place to accommodate our crew and in the end my mom found us a winner in the Yonahlossee community. (For those interested, we rented the Great Escape Cabin through Blue Ridge Mountain Rentals.)
It was a great spot for a myriad of reasons, most notably because the home had a mountain retreat feel but we were still close to downtown Boone and not too far from a grocery store. We ended up spending a lot of time at the house and Ryan kept a fire roaring in the fireplace almost the entire time which made the cabin feel extra cozy.
As for cabin activities, a lot of them centered around food and eating! We divided up nights between the families so different groups were in charge of dinner each night (I made a butternut squash and chicken thigh curry one night and need to share the recipe with you guys!) and of course we also had a Thanksgiving feast to prepare.
We’ve been heading to the mountains with my family since Chase was a baby but this was our first time scheduling our trip over Thanksgiving. It made our time away together feel all the more special!
Ross also surprised Leslie with two re-created versions of their wedding cakes and brought them along to share with our crew which made for a fabulous dessert we all ate over the course of our time together along with my oatmeal apple crisp, Mimi’s sugar cookies, pumpkin pie, chocolate chip cookies (I need to get Ross’ recipe!), walnut brownies and ice cream.
Can you tell our group has a shared sweet tooth?
We also filled our time with kid playtime with the cousins and a handful of games. Ryan and I introduced everyone to Mexican Train Dominoes and it was a big-time hit! My mom also brought a selection of gingerbread houses for everyone to decorate and that took up a few hours of our time on Friday. Chase, Ross and I got really into it and had a little bit of friendly competition going with our houses!
My house is all the way on the left. And yes, that roof took me quite a while!
The dogs also seemed to love our time in the mountains since it meant some long walks and lots of new smells for them to enjoy!
As far as activities away from home, we ventured out of our cabin a few times and managed to squeeze in some trout fishing at Grandfather Trout Farm and some holiday fun at Tweetsie Railroad as well!
We didn’t catch much but managed to get two trout large enough to feed our family for dinner on Wednesday night so we’ll consider that a victory!
Oh and Chase also blew us away with his casting abilities! Apparently casting fake fish around the house with his fishing pole toy was great practice!
(Also, I realize the above picture is terrible for showing my jeans, but they’re GAP’s high-rise button fly jeans and are so stretchy and comfy! They price point is great and they’re on super sale for Cyber Monday today. I couldn’t find the ones with frayed ankles but this style is also great with ankle booties and tucked into tall boots.)
As for our family’s foray into holiday fun, we wrapped up our mountain trip with an evening visit to Tweetsie Railroad for Tweetsie Christmas!
Ryan actually organized the whole Tweetsie Christmas adventure and I went into the experience not really knowing much about it. Let’s just say I left feeling incredibly impressed!
Tweetsie Railroad is a wild west-themed adventure park but for several weekends in late November and most of December, it transforms into a winter wonderland, complete with a holiday train ride on a real steam engine, fun rides for kids, the opportunity to meet Santa and Mrs. Claus and more.
We bundled up and spent two hours at Tweetsie Christmas!
The highlight was the train ride of course but we also loved the Christmas village and took advantage of some of the rides while wandering around and enjoying the lights and holiday music.
Even the littlest members of our crew hung in well and seemed to love looking at all of the lights!
Another great family mountain vacation in the books!
Once we arrived home, we spent most of the remaining weekend unpacking, tackling laundry, running various errands and checking some household to-dos off our list! The week ahead looks like a relatively normal one around here and I’m looking forward to getting back into my usual routine. I hope to have a handful of blog posts to share with you guys this week as well. Have a great Monday!
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You must love the word “crew”! I saw it six times!! ?
ah! i did say that a lot! whoops!
I love that word, too! Haha. So blessed to have my “crew’! 😀 Thanks for sharing Julie!
Where did Leslie get her maroon leggings from?? Need!
just texted her to ask and will report back!
just heard back and they’re actually from amazon! they’re fleece lined and, according to leslie, very comfy! here’s a link: http://bit.ly/34JFt95 less than $8!
Amazing! Thank you booth!
Not sure how close to Bryson City, NC you are, but the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad has excursions out of there. We are usually in the area during Thanksgiving week and The Polar Express is a must do for my granddaughter who is almost 15. (LOL). I think she loves it because she is allowed to wear PJ’s in public.
What a neat holiday tradition! Love all the pictures; my favorites off the top of my head are Chase and Sadie snuggled on the couch and your family photo fishing. Your niece’s smile could light up the room, oh my what a dear!
Wondering if you had a recipe to share for the carrots at your family Thanksgiving? I always burn mine when I try to roast them.
Thanks for sharing the glimpses into your life!
thank you so much, heather!! <3
and i follow ryan's grandma's recipe for the carrots which you may see here: https://www.pbfingers.com/glazed-carrots-and-homemade-stuffing/ i’ve started adding a bit more bacon though and love them that way!