Thanksgiving 2010

This year Jeff and I had the pleasure of hosting Thanksgiving for his extended family. There were 21 of us total so we had to get creative with our table. I was very excited for an excuse to use my Thanksgiving plates!With all the pressure of cooking such an important meal for so many people, I was thankful for the many lessons I had been given throughout the years on how to roast the perfect turkey. My uncle used to live in Idaho and would come over every Thanksgiving weekend to cook for our family. Every year I was excited to wake up extra early to help get the bird prepped and in the oven. During those early morning cooking lessons I gleaned as many tips as I could. This year was my first time roasting the turkey all by myself, but I was glad to have my uncle close by as I sent him questions throughout the week. It turned out pretty well and I learned a few new lessons for next time. The crew digging into to round one. We did miss Jeff's parents at dinner but had fun skyping them later in the afternoon.All the girls chatting with happy full tummies.

And of course Thanksgiving wouldn't be complete without a snowball fight...

It was great to share the holiday with such a great family and fun to host it in our home...but I wasn't a fan of all the dishes. Thankfully Jeff was a great help at getting the house restored to normal.Lily has lots of fun, too. She got to play with her cousins and spent lots of time with her great aunts and uncles.
At the end of the day we all enjoyed some time to relax and get ready for the rest of the fun. Friday we headed up to my parents for our traditional noodle night and Saturday we enjoyed superb pizza and decadent desserts at my uncles. It was a great weekend full of family, fun, and food. What could be better?

Winter Wonderland

This November we had an early snow fall. It was odd to see winter mixing with the colors and sights of fall. After a few days of snow, we ended up with around 7 inches in our yard.
The cold created some pretty amazing icicles.

Lily didn't enjoy her snow suit very much. And she wasn't too sure about that cold white stuff outside.
Lily's first snow angel...with some help.

Sadie loved the snow! Her energy was a bit overwhelming for Lily who didn't like being toppled over.
Lily preferred to stay warm inside by the fire. We were very thankful for our wood stove when the temperatures outside dipped into the low teens.

We enjoyed the extra time to play and relax as a family. There was enough snow to cancel school for two days.

Yummy!

WARNING: Reading may lead to compulsory bathing Lily has been having fun trying lots of new foods recently. This night she was eating quinoa and then finished with a yummy teething biscuit...both of which are very messy. When she was done we went straight upstairs for bath!


And tonight Lily got to practice feeding herself with a spoon.

Good thing we have Sadie to help clean up the floor.

She loves making a mess!

Collecting Leaves

Lily and I went to collect some beautiful fall leaves this week during our sunny weather. I tried to find leaves that were deep reds or bright orange. Lily tried to find leaves that would taste good.