Thanksgiving Squared

Last week, we hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for all the college kids before they headed home for the break.  They are always a fun group to have around.  They are very gracious, helpful and full of life.  

They easily devoured a 22lb turkey, but they weren't as ravenous for the other side dishes.  

The kids gobbled up the "Fruit Turkey" feathers.

Oh well, I guess that's what happens when you have a group comprised of mostly boys.  Just give them meat!

I really do love all the planning and cooking, I just need a few more years of practice to really get the timing down of when you cook everything so that it's all ready on time.

Thankfully, a lady from church made these pies for dessert.  Yum!  Pumpkin and apple pies.  I made a walnut chocolate chip pie, as well.  Every holiday needs some chocolate.

To celebrate the actual Thanksgiving holiday, Brad, the kids and I just hung out at home.  It was nice and low key.  

We went out in the morning and took a family photo for our Christmas card picture.

Then, I made Brad go and lie down (he had a fever of 101) and the kids and I went out front to roller skate, ride bikes, push strollers, and race!  Aria really liked being a part of the races with the big kids.  She liked when I'd say, "Ready, set, go!".  She definitely needs a baby stroller for Christmas.  (Brad came home early the next day and let me take a nap.  What a guy!)

While I finished getting dinner ready, Brad and the kids drew and colored their Thanksgiving place mats.

These are Cadence and Finn's Thanksgiving turkeys from Sunday School.  They wrote what they are thankful for on the hand print feathers.

The kids didn't eat much food (Finn's eating his utensils in the top picture) , and I found myself thinking, "I wish they'd eat more so that we didn't have so many leftovers."  I know there will come a day, though, when I'll be wishing they didn't eat so much.

I made sweet potato pie for dessert.  My favorite!  My pie plate is too shallow, so I made it in this casserole dish.  They are thick slices of pie.:)

We have quite a bit of turkey leftover, so my mission is to find new recipes to use turkey in.  Last night we had Turkey Taco Soup.  It was pretty good.  I'll probably make Turkey Enchiladas one night, but that's as far as I've gotten so far.