Thanksgiving 2013

Hawken made this thankful turkey in preschool and said five things he is thankful for to be written down on each finger.  This is what he said, hugging and tickling my brother, hugging and kissing Lullaby, playing with mommy, Jesus, and helping mommy with dishes.  I love that boy.

Thanksgiving this year was one day later than everyone else's.  Paul had to work Thursday, but had Friday (and Saturday and Sunday?! WHAT?!!) off. We had our friends the Newells and the Johnsons over.  Mindy made the pies, Jessica made the mashed potatoes, gravy and stuffing, and I made the turkey, sweet potato casserole, rolls, green bean casserole and a couple little snacky things.  The turkey turned out REALLY good, although cleaning it and getting it ready for the oven was probably the most disgusting thing I have ever done. It may have been gross enough that I will not volunteer to do the turkey again, we'll see.

There were two kids' tables, although the three youngest (one from each family) sat in the arms of a parent. If our families do this again next year we will need to invest in another kid table. :)  Hawken wanted flowers on the tables, like a restaurant, but none were blooming in our yard, so he picked a few branches. It turned out cuter than I thought it would.

Before we started, Logan said the prayer, and each person said one thing they were thankful for. It was so sweet hearing all the little voices say something that they are grateful for. All the kids got it.

All the food was delicious. Really, everything.  We set it up buffet style and got the kids all eating first and then the adults sat down at the kitchen table to eat. There was some interesting table talk between Paul and the two other husbands (One is a doctor and the other is in medical school), so there were a few times I cringed and asked for a topic change.

The kids were so excited to have their friends over and play all day. The sun sets so early, we talked and hung out long after the sun was down.  It was so fun. The friends we have made here are some really good ones. We are so grateful for them.

This was Solace's first Thanksgiving, sadly, he is way too little to eat any of the tasty food just yet, so next year will be a lot more exciting for him.  But he did look awfully cute in his little turkey bum sleeper.

I didn't attempt a group shot, since there were so many babies.  But I did try to get one of each of the families. Logan is the only one not with his family. I think he was busy playing. :)

By the end of the night, all our tummies were full, our kids were tired (thank you tryptophan), the dishes were done (thank you Mindy and Jessica), the playroom was a disaster (as it should be after a good party) and Paul and I were so happy to have had such a perfect day.  Also, I made a video of the day, enjoy.