Thanksgiving Recap

We had such a nice Thanksgiving weekend. It was very relaxing and fun to spend time with friends and family. I haven’t posted in forever (I have about 3 half written posts in my drafts folder – someday I will finish them!). First up a few Thanksgiving projects.

I saw this wreath post idea on Pinterest and I had Allen build me one a couple months ago. We made a few design tweaks and I LOVE it. This is actually my Halloween wreath on it and I had a cute Harvest sign on there for Thanksgiving. I loved my porch this fall!

I also made a Thankful tree with my kids at the beginning of the month that we decorated with leaves that we wrote the things we are thankful for on. The kids thought it was great and we really enjoyed discussing our abundant blessings. For the record, most of Addison’s leaves had to do with Disneyland!

Addison has been attending a once-a-week holiday preschool that a friend in my ward put together (separate from her regular PS class). She is running it October-December and has done some DARLING projects with the kids. One week they made pilgrim hats, Mayflower art and a turkey advent countdown to Thanksgiving (we pulled off a feather every day until turkey day). The next week they made these cute scarecrows and homemade pumpkin butter. Addison is having a ball with it!

The kids made these cute turkeys that we used as centerpieces for the kids table. I gave them the supplies, briefly explained the project and they did all of the work themselves. I was so impressed!

On to the main event! Adam, Laurie and Hyrum came from AZ to spend Thanksgiving with us. It was so fun to have them here. On Thanksgiving morning, the boys got up and played football for a couple hours and had a grand time. Carter loves that he is old enough to play now too! The girls stayed home to work on food preparation and watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade. My kids were such good helpers all day and really loved getting involved this year.

Makenna peeling sweet potatoes:

Addison scooping stuffing into muffin tins (my favorite way to make stuffing – bake in muffin tins for slightly crispy, non-soggy individual portions – yum!)

Carter helping with pies:

Laurie made SIX pies in the morning (apple, sweet potato, lemon meringue, chocolate pudding, pear and almond joy):Carter loved taking care of the babies while we worked:
I had fun setting tables this year. Adult table:


Kids table place setting:

I covered the table in brown craft paper so the kids could draw on it. The sugar cone/cornucopia was filled with some yummy trail mix that I made. This was a perfect addition because it kept the kids full and busy until we were ready to eat dinner.

Laurie, Adam & Hyrum (my only regret of the day was that I did not take a picture of my own family :(

Adult Guests:

We had 18 people at our house this year. Our family, Laurie & Adam, and two families from our ward. It was a fun group and we had an AMAZING meal. Afterwards we played games while the kids ran amok and had a grand time.

I am so grateful for this time of year to reflect upon my many blessings and express gratitude to the Lord and my family. In no particular order, I am feeling especially grateful for: Allen, Eternal marriage, my children, motherhood, my extended family, good health for my family, forgiveness/repentance/mercy, humor, friends, good books, reliable cars, the scriptures, latter-day prophets, the temple, vacations, a comfortable home, modern conveniences (iPhone, pinterest & DVR), getting to stay at home with my kids, the Atonement, book club, cute clothes, General Conference, healthy food, Allen’s good job, my kids amazing school, modern medicine, my camera.