Thanksgiving 2024

It's our year to have Ethan and Kassie for Thanksgiving! Next year we get Christmas! 

Mathew won't make it, he's having his last Thanksgiving in Idaho with his best friend, Damian. I'm happy that he's got people there that he will miss and that will miss him. 

We will make our assigned dishes and head over to the Flynns, as we do. 

Winnie is front and center, helping me with ham, rolls and chocolate lasagna. 

She drives me a little batty, but that little warm bird belly on my forehead is pretty adorable, too. And she has an excellent vantage point hanging from my hair.

The Spread

The Friends (Laney is taking the photo)

Aidan's brave debut of his most recently learned chords...I do believe it was the infant stages of The Sweater Song. 

Some high caliber chillin

Kylie, Miranda, and Emma took Laney, AJ and Everly to see Wicked at the movie theater. So we made our way to the basement to watch Fall Guy. It is and will always be one of my favorites.

Silliness! 

We went home full, happy and entertained. It was a perfect day! 

Thanksgiving Surprise

Mathew has been living in Idaho for 2 1/2 years now and has reached a point where he can't stand another minute without a car. We tried in vain to help him find and finance a car, but it's pretty hard for a kid without wheels to get around to acquire wheels. 

Finally, we realized it might be best to buy him a one-way flight home for Thanksgiving and then he can drive the KIA back to Idaho. Bonus...no haggling with salesmen or paying sales tax. 

And bonus!! We got Mathew home for Thanksgiving!

Megan came home for the weekend too. It's great having her go to school nearby. 

Mathew settled right back in and everyone soaked up some brother time. 

I missed my Maf!

We planned to get together with the Flynns, McDonalds, Eberts and Hursts. Our assignment was the stuffing, ham, and a pie. So much better than making everything ouselves!

I made a Pecan Cream Pie and it changed my life. I found my Spirit Dessert. 

It was a warm and cozy meal. I'm grateful for our framily. (That's my new name for our friends that feel like family). 

FRAMILY

AJ has hit the "don't photograph me, you psycho" phase. I'm not worried...this too shall pass. 

Everly is still cool with it. 

Look at these boys men! 

Court and Todd slicing the bird!

The spread of pies....we slacked off on the desserts last year and it is clear we learned our lesson. 

And as all Thanksgivings should end....

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pie Night Upgrade

 Singing at the top of our lungs on the way to Pie Night is a very good way to spend an evening. 

I upped my game this year and borrowed a spring form pan to make this Pumpkin Cheesecake. It was perfectly delicious and I only had to spend 9.99 on gingersnaps...who knew they were a hot commodity?

Gotta get me one a them spring form pans. 

Thanksgiving Abridged

 I don't know why, but I managed to get exactly one photo from Thanksgiving dinner. 

And it looks like we are all expecting the microwave to deliver something magical.

I did get this adorable picture of Laney, so what more can we ask for?

We DID manage to get the front yard decorated before the feast! I 100% support this, you know what they say about many hands!

There will be no climbing on the roof this year! We had permanent lights installed! They are pretty awesome.

Feels good to be ready for the neighborhood hayride! Cul de sac has got to represent!

Thanksgiving Fundamentals

Turkey pie crust, old friends, pups, couches, dessert plates and leftovers. 

 That's all we need.

A Sunny Thanksgiving

One of the benefits of gathering with friends for our Thankgiving meal is NOT having to make all the food! Instead of being chained to the kitchen, we get to go outside and take advantage of this gorgeous day and decorate for Christmas!

Sara took over the roll making this year...and I've got lights on the trees to prove it!

And now I leave you with a Thanksgiving Poem by Laney:

 

Friendsgiving 2019

Last year we traveled to Arkansas to spend time with Mark's side of the family. This year, we opted to stay and town (3 cheers for no driving!) and spend it with friends.

We spent all day Wednesday making the pies and prepping the sweet potatoes. We had 28 people coming, so we borrowed a table and chairs and brought up our craft table as well. We even dusted off the old high chair. (ack) My goal was to have everything set and have a peacefulish day, making rolls and reading my book. 

I was pretty excited that we could finally use my extensive salt and pepper shaker collection. 

 And the grand daddy....

So, prep work was done....the house was clean and I was feeling on top of things. 

I woke up at 6 to sneak in a batch or two of rolls. 

Then we headed out to On Track for Fight Gone Bad...an unapologetic bid to maximize the amount of food we can stuff in our faces at our feast. 

The girls watched the Macy's parade. This is the very first time we've had it on. And all it took was getting double practice points for band class.

Around 2 o clock, families started to show up. Hursts, McDonalds, Flynns and Wadas. It may seem like a lot, but here is the beauty of it all....I only had to cook a couple pies, sweet potatoes and gobs of rolls. That is much less stressful than trying to make the whole spread and time it just perfectly. Not to mention, it's so expensive to buy all that stuff! Instead I blew all my money on eucalyptus branches and white hydrangeas at Trader Joes. 

Courtney made the turkey. She always makes the turkey because when she makes it, we actually enjoy eating it. When I make it, it gets pushed around the plate in hopes that my feelings won't be hurt. It's better this way. 

Todd carved it up. And by the looks of those cheeks, he's sampling the goods.

Alisa and Larrin made the glazed ham. It was gorgeous.

Everyone found a spot to park and start feasting.

Dax, Bruce, Tami and yours truly.

Todd, Courtney, Larrin, Alisa with baby Mika, Lannea in the highchair, Jessica and Ethan.

Jessica, Ethan, Emma, Cameron, Aidan, Mathew and the back of Miranda's head.

Oh hey...check out my "Fun for Everyone" sweet potatoes. This way everybody can have their marshmallows toasted just how you like them. It wasn't an accident, that's for sure. 

Oh. And did I mention we are petsitting the most adorable bird in the world? His name is Flynn and we wish we could keep him. You should see him play in the water. Crazy adorable.

We had adorable to spare. Look at little Mika! She's getting so chubby! And she obviously doesn't trust Todd one bit.

Mathew snatched his turn and got to rock her to sleep. The grin on that boy the whole time he was holding her. What a sweet heart he has.

The kids room...looks crazy in there! Save yourself, Emily!

And then it was time for pie! It was also Miranda's 18th birthday so she got to pick which dessert to stick her candles into. I was honored that she chose my chocolate lasagna. Which also shows how smart that girl is....its' stupid delicious.

Is she 81?

Or 18?

And then one by one, the families packed up their dishes and headed home. The Flynns lingered and Courtney and I had a chat while the girls watched youtube videos and let the cutest bird in the world roost on their heads.

Seems right.

Happy Thanksgiving!