Dr. & Mrs. Reed: Thanksgiving 2013 {the family}

**Posting this even though I still have tons of pictures to add but I want to get Thanksgiving done so I can work on Christmas posts!**

With our desire to keep Christmas super simple we decided that our big travel holiday would be Thanksgiving this year. We traveled to Utah and Idaho in August for my Gram's 80th birthday so we decided to make it a Reed family event for Turkey Day.

The Arizona Reeds (formerly the NYC Reeds) are the Dr.'s brother Trevor, sister-in-law Shelley and their 5 kids. The Dr.'s parents also flew down from Seattle for the occasion so it was a full house. Luckily we were able to use some connections to stay in a nice hotel right around the corner for cheap while we were there.

It was so much fun to hang out with our four nieces and one nephew. I can't believe that when I first started dating the Dr. there were only three of them and now there are two more! I have to say that I am extremely impressed by these kids and their parents. The kids love to read and can play for hours together with nothing but a balloon to entertain them. Did I mention that the oldest of the kids just turned 6? Their parents are so calm and deliberate with each child and I feel like I learn so much and am inspired to be a similar parent whenever I'm around them.

Most of our weekend looked like this:

Madelynn, Cameron, Camilla and Me

Piles of kids and lots of giggling!

While the Dr., Trevor and their dad Harlan were out hunting on the reservation, Shelley and I stayed at the house carting kids around and baking with the brothers' mom, Janet. We had a great time talking about our husbands when they were kids, the trouble they got into and how much they've changed over the years. Shelley and I both felt so grateful for the paths that our husbands took when they were young(er). Trevor had the chance to play the string bass for a very prestigious orchestra that could have made him quite famous. Instead he chose a different way and as a result is now able to have a family, study music in a way that allows him to give back to the community and learn more about his heritage and tribe.

The Reed Brothers Band

I learned that the Dr. missed the deadline for a scholarship that could have taken him through grad school without having to pay a dime but I am so glad that he learned the things he did as a result of that mistake. He finished grad school without a stitch of debt anyway. Trevor missed the opportunity for that same scholarship twice but Shelley agrees that the lessons they've learned as a couple far outweigh that stack of money. It was great to bond a little more with Shelley, I feel like whenever we see them it's always such a quick, hurried visit or there are 40 other people around to see too. I liked hanging out with the Reed women and being one of them.

It was nice to have a little more time with each of the nieces and nephew as well. This was the first time we were able to meet our newest niece Gwendolyn. She is almost 3 months old and so so so cute. She is a pretty chill baby, barely crying the whole time we were there. She was content to sit on anyone's lap for hours just peering around at the chaos. It seriously melted my heart to watch the Dr. hold her. He's so big and she's so tiny!