Let's talk turkey

Our friends, Robert & Tiana, along with their 3 kids, Ryan, Austin, & Justin, came up to visit us from Tennessee for Thanksgiving. It's been almost a year since we've seen them, so it was nice to be able to relax & have fun. They're pretty much our best friends, and we each have 2 kids who are practically the same age as each other. Ryan & Emma are two days apart in age, and Sarah & Justin are about 4 months apart. We all had our fill of turkey, ham & pie, along with about 10 games of Spades. Although the kids enjoyed playing together (and constantly fighting), the boys missed their puppies back at home & they left this morning. We got a few good pictures of the babies together & of all the kids.
We got our first snow of the year the day after they got here. It was a good 6 inches at least. It lasted for about 2 days & then it started raining and it all melted. That's pretty much how it goes around here. We get snow, it melts, more snow, it melts, until the first week of January & then it snows A LOT, and doesn't go away until March.
The kids had a great time playing in the snow with the guys. It was Ryan & Austin's first time in real snow. I tried to get pictures, but the guys thought it would be hilarious to throw snowballs at us while we were at the sliding glass door. I guess we ducked when we weren't supposed to & there ended up being a few in the house, including a clump of snow in Sarah's hair.
Sarah & Justin were just enfatuated with each other. It was so cute. She's into grabbing everything right now, so when we sat them facing each other, she would grab his clothes & pull him to her so she could suck on his cheek. He didn't seem to like that very much, although he kept smiling at her. We sat them next to each other for a picture & she put her arm around his shoulder. It was really sweet.
Tiana & I did our annual (although this is only the 2nd year of doing it) "Get-up-way-too-early-on-the-day-after-Thanksgiving-to-go-stand-in-the-cold-with-the-other-crazy-people" shopping. We were only there for a few toys, and they were out of most of the ones we wanted, probably because we didn't get up EARLY ENOUGH. Oh well, that's what rainchecks are for. They had already bought most of what they wanted to for the boys & we can't really buy a whole bunch, since we're flying to CA for Christmas. Don't want to lug all that junk back & forth. The guys stayed home with the children (no fireplaces). They occupied themselves by playing Warcraft the whole week.
Jeff & Tiana fight like they're brother & sister, it's too funny. Robert & I just sit back & watch them rag on each other & beat each other up. I don't know how they started acting like that, but it's evolved over the last 3 years of our friendship. We have such a good time when we're all together.
By the time Robert & Tiana left this morning, everyone was sick. Even the baby. Poor Sarah has nastiness just pouring from her nose. She could barely breathe yesterday. I'm definitely getting a lot of use out of the two bulb syringes (AKA snot-suckers) I have. I'm thinking about getting some baby Benadryl & drugging the poor child so she can sleep AND breathe during the night.
My goal to get Sarah into her crib by the time Robert & Tiana were here was not realized. We decided that it would be best to have them sleep in her room so they'd have some privacy and that it would most likely just mess with Sarah's head to have her be sleeping in her crib one night & then back in the bassinette the next. So the goal is to have her in it by the end of this week. We'll see how we do.