We went to Mark and Kristen's home for Thanksgiving. It was a bit odd to be wandering about their house... when we knew where all the light switches were. The strangest bit was that all the art work was "missing." I also hadn't realized how BIG the bedrooms were.
We divided the feast so that no one had to do TOO much work. I, as expected, did NONE of the cooking. I want people to survive the holidays.
John cooked a gorgeous turkey (he says it got a few degrees overdone, but it was moist and yummy). He also made sweet potato soup, stuffing (with apples and bacon). It was so, so yummy.
Kristen set a gorgeous table, complete with little hands for the kids to write what they were thankful about on each of the fingers.
Mark didn't even complain when we raided his fridge for diet Coke... forgetting to bring our own because that fridge has always "magically" filled with diet Coke for the past 19 years.
It was so nice of Mark and Kristen to invite us to their home. There was lots of room for everyone to sit (the kids love sitting at the counter. They got front row seats to John and Mark carving the bird.
The knives are sharp enough to cut yourself on... right, dear?
This is the traditional list of "Things I am Thankful For." My mother has hung one of these lists on the same door for ... forever, I think. It was really great to read it. My favorite entry is the one for "diet Coke" and the runner up was the "iPhone." Too cute.
Here's a shot of the kids: Kristen is helping them write what they are thankful on the fingers of the hands in their "turkey" name cards.
Jen got an idea for turkey cookies from Family Fun. They were cute.
A really good time was had by all, except Max. He took a face plant in some leaves. Of course, once we got him a bit calmed down, I shot pictures. A good face plant in to a pile of leaves is worth a thousand words, right?
Thanks again, Mark & Kristen!
Here he is sitting at the piano:
Xandri played "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." She played it perfectly, and she had great hair. Both very important things.
Jack had left his Harry Potter, book SIX, at school. He was planning to finish it last night. However, in a cruel, cruel twist of fate (and forgetfulness), he had left the book at school. He wept. He wailed. He gnashed his teeth. He wanted to break into the school to go get it. He determined to NEVER SLEEP until he had his book again, and proceeded to sit on the couch to wait out the long, cold night. After much screaming at his siblings, and throwing two books from his mother that he might be interested in reading , he did settle, weepily into bed. Not strangely, he had a tummy ache and a headache from his hysterics. Such drama over He Who Must Not Be Named, the Half-blood Prince, and lightning boy.
While they were sledding, Max watched his favorite show, "Boots!" (Dora the Explorer.) I even dug up a VHS Dora episode as there seem to be none On Demand... Max is pointing to Boots on TV in this shot.
On the eve of St. Nicholas' Day (December 5th), our children always write their Christmas letters. Each one is unique, and individually goofy. After they write them, they put out their shoes and put the letters into them. The next morning, the letters have been replaced with candy (usually gold wrapped chocolate coins).
On Friday, December 4th, John and I got to go out and celebrate the 16th anniversary of the night we got engaged! The National Honors Society offers a babysitting night for teachers and staff, and the kids went and had a marvelous time!
I spent part of today decorating the "mom" Christmas tree. I have never had to decorate a tree 360 degrees. It took every decoration that we had in red, white and green (and silver, as you'll note). We decorated in red downstairs, and upstairs, I bought kid-friendly colors.
The kids are MOST excited about the advent calendar (seen here on the console table). Asa is not thrilled he has to wait until December 1st to get his candy!
For Black Friday, I wanted to have a celebration that didn't have anything to do with "stuff"--so we had a special dinner. I set the table with a black table cloth, and we had "black" food. Black Angus beef, black "Forbidden City" rice, and "Black Forest" brownies (brownies with cream and cherries.
Asa, who has stopped eating at home completely (as far as I can tell), puts on a happy face. He's been practicing for "Whiniest Child of the Year," but smiled for the camera (after 3 tries).
For two days in a row, Max has been denied a long enough nap. He was dissolving into a puddle of weepy, but he was thrilled to "help" dad make the "Black Forest" brownies (brownie bites from Costco with cherries and whipping cream). He also hammed it up for the camera...
Asa went as Iron Man eating his dad's maple bar from Scout Breakfast that morning...
