Thanksgiving 2014

On this, Luke's very first Thanksgiving, we actually had two Thanksgivings. My parents were in Utah on company business and I begged them to come to Boise and so they did and we decided we'd have our own, small Thanksgiving. I don't get to see my parents often, though this year has most definitely been an above average count for visits with them. I'll take every minute I can get! It's always fun to have them in our home. I was very excited to cook my first turkey ever. Our pre-Thanksgiving actually landed on a Friday. On Thursday we went shopping for everything we'd need the next day. My mom put her part of the meal together that night. We were also able to take them to see The Village at Meridian, which has such a nice ambiance. The next day I slaved away in the kitchen making turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, potatoes and gravy. It sounded pretty simple beforehand but it was a lot of work. I will always appreciate the work that goes in to Thanksgiving from now on. My dad made all his pie crusts from scratch. He made a pie with pumpkin pie filling and another he made from real pumpkins so we could compare tastes. The homemade pie definitely won out but it was so, so much work I'm not sure he'll make the endeavor again.

Luke really enjoyed these sweet potatoes-- my mom's classic recipe.

He got a bath immediately following this picture.

On Friday we mostly relaxed before my parents had to get their flight back to Maryland. We gave them their Christmas presents and they gave Luke his birthday present early. It was a V Tech Sit to Stand Learning Walker. He loves it-- the way is lights up and makes noises and all the different things there are to do. It was so fun to see him playing with it for the first time.

He can also push it around from the back but mostly enjoys the front.

"Playing" with Callie.

Then it was time to say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa. Luke was so smiley all weekend but when it came time for them to go he wouldn't smile for a picture. I'm guessing this is because he was very sad to see them go, as were we. We had such a good time with them!

The next week we packed up our car and drove down to Utah for actual Thanksgiving. This year we had it at Shelley's house rather than at Bryan's mom's house.

Whitney cousins enjoying some play time together before dinner.

Bryan heading up the turkey fryer with a little help from Grandpa Vern and Dustin.

Bryan fried the turkey and it was delectable-- as was the rest of the meal. Though, I do have to say that I'm ready for a break from turkey for a while after this. Bryan's mom asked me to be in charge of decorating the table this year and it was so fun to do. We had a simple centerpiece-- a wooden bowl with candles and fall berries. I even made a table runner from burlap and used my Silhouette Cameo to make leaf stencils and spray painted those on. I used my Cameo again to make place cards, though they can't really be seen. We also made place mats from art paper with the words "I am thankful for:" on them.

Here is the table setting all together.

Of course to finish the evening off we had some delicious pumpkin pie with whipped cream.

Dessert for Luke.

We had some other festivities as well but they will follow in a coming blog post. We had a fun Thanksgiving and now we are so excited to bust out all the Christmas decorations and music we want. This won't be Luke's first Christmas but he'll be able to be more a part of the traditions this time (and I won't be so out of it!). I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving as well!