Thanksgiving 2008

I get all ferclempt when I think back to Thanksgiving. It was beyond words exciting to have my family here for the holiday. It was our first big holiday event that we had to pull off alone, without a mom or dad, as though we were orphans (no guilt mom). Jessie, my sister, and I focused on the food (we love food and we love to cook fun things). For me, this focus allowed me not to focus on the fact that there would be no dad carving the turkey and no mom making everything else and cleaning it all up. My devoted mother was in the back of my mind all day though. I knew she was having a hard time being away as well.
My family (three siblings, two in-laws, and one nephew) stayed at my mom's Trilogy house during their visit, so my house was fairly quiet most of the time.

Jessie and I wanted to have a tiny little surprise birthday party for my brother Cole, who was about to turn 22. We sneakily found out what it is he orders at Rubios when he eats there EVERY DAY and went there to buy the birthday dinner. I had about 2 hours to pull a cake together, and even though everyone said it tasted really good, aesthetically, it left a lot to be desired. Cole was in the kitchen making Cranberry sauce for the next day's dinner while I was making his cake. It's not very often that the birthday boy is present as you're trying to get ready for his surprise party. I think he just figured I was making a regular cake that we could eat for our dessert. Of course, I didn't put his name on it until the very end, so he was none the wiser. Or so I assume.
I was very happy to get to be a part of his birthday in some way-- that doesn't happen very often.





Tabitha was practicing her walking all weekend, and I was sure she was going to take those first steps while the family was here to coax her. Alas, she waited until the day they all left, after they'd all left for the airport.
On Thanksgiving morning Brandon took the boys to the Turkey Bowl that our ward Elders Quorum held. Brandon had a good time, but like most of the men, he was sore for a couple days afterward. The rest of the family finally made it over to my house around 10am. I had already made pie crusts, and one pie, cooked some cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and cleaned a whole lot of dishes by the time they arrived. But, that was just the beginning. Jessie got to work on her homemade noodles and Steve's favorite stuffing. Chris had told us that he wanted to make Grandma Daisy's salad, which is a frozen whipping cream and fruit concoction that we have most Thanksgivings. When we got out the ingredients so he could get started, he realized that it wasn't Grandma Daisy's salad he wanted... it was Aunt Barbara's Strawberry Jello salad. That's another one that frequents the Thanksgiving table in our family. He decided that rather than make the one we had the ingredients for, he would make a trip to the store to buy what he needed for the right Jello salad. That was at 10:30, and we were eating at 2 or 3. Needless to say, his jello didn't set up in time, and since it is a layered jello salad, there was sour cream floating in blobs, rather than spread on the bottom layer. It did not look appetizing when we ate it for leftovers, but it still tasted pretty good. We've changed the name of Aunt Barbara's Strawberry Jello salad to NOT Grandma Daisy's Salad. That way Chris knows which one he wants. : )
So, other than the Jello snafu, and not getting the rolls out to rise in time to eat with dinner, and totally forgetting to make mashed potatoes until we were practically ready to sit down, it was a fun time.

The plan to eat outside was foiled by the rain, but we were just as cozy inside.

It looks like a tornado tore through my kitchen... and this is after 3 loads of dishes had been washed.

The kids table... Dallin ate fruit snacks for Thanksgiving dinner. He missed out.

Grady is taking Dallin for a ride.

After we finished eating we went to see the movie, Bolt. Brandon and I each saw half of it, while the other one wrestled with our busy girl.
When we returned from the movie we got a surprise phone call from my mom. It was a surprise because her internet in her apartment has been down a lot, and she had sent us an email that week that she didn't think we'd be able to Skype on Thanksgiving. Low and behold, a Thanksgiving Miracle. She got home from the Mission office and saw all the lights on her modem, ready to transmit a signal. She jumped on and called us and we were able to talk to her for almost 2 hours. I was thrilled. She told me that she imagined my dad up on the roof of her building holding two wires together the whole time. Her internet was back down again when she woke up in the middle of that night. It was very difficult for her to be away, but the time that we got to talk was a boost for her.

On Friday the ladies and I got pedicures and then did some shopping. We were out a little too late to find any good deals, but that didn't stop us from buying a few things.
Cole left Friday afternoon and the rest of us left the kiddos with a babysitter and headed to Cheesecake Factory for our Quarterly family meeting.
Brandon and Steve played golf on Saturday. They played on Wednesday too. A fun time was had by all, even in the rain.
Jessie and Steve went on a date Saturday night, and the rest of us went bowling. I did terrible, as always... I think I bowled an 80 or something. EVERYONE beat me, including Dallin. Oh well, bowling is totally overrated. I just can't focus on playing the game when I'm wearing such ugly shoes : )

The rest of the family left on Sunday, and we miss them already. We are so blessed to have such amazing people in our lives.

Here's some of the things I was grateful for this Thanksgiving, besides my family:
Brandon's job
Healthy Kids
Eternal Families
A Happy Marriage
A Daughter
30 Year Fixed Mortgages