Turkey Day

I didn't think we were going to make it to Thanksgiving this year with Cole puking two days before the blessed feasting. But we made it. It was a good thing too because Thanksgiving is Jeff's favorite holiday. No Christmas goes up until after we stuff ourselves silly... even Pearl got the idea and told a few people that it wasn't Christmas yet.

It wasn't a big hoopla this year. Just my parents and Kimmy and Nick in the freezing North known as Cache Valley. Seriously, it was -9 at 8 am and that was AFTER it had warmed up! Grandpa Jewkes was able to come over for a little bit before his asthma kicked up and he had to go home before he couldn't breathe. It was nice to see him.Since my mom told my dad this was all the food he was getting until Christmas (or something like that) I decided to post a few food photos for him. Just in case he gets hungry. Jeff made cranberry sauce and brought some of his homemade grape juice. Kimmy and Nick supplied the delicious homemade rolls. And my mom did the rest... right down to the cheesecake. Yes, cheesecake. We took a vote and decided to skip the pie and have cheesecake instead. Although I think my mom did have some pumpkin pie and today I'm regretting not trying some or at least taking a piece home with me. It's the one time of the year I indulge myself with this special treat.I don't get why we always have celery with cheese on them.. no one seems to eat them. Tradition I guess.And my mom made sure to have plenty of her jello salad. Too bad it's just my brother Jesse who loves this stuff. Guess I know what got sent home to their house instead of all the other fixins. Somebody feed this kid! Sheesh! He is obviously wasting away and desperate for anything remotely edible. Assume the "I ate way too much" position. I think you might see drool if you look really carefully! Or is that just some gravy dripping down Jeff's chin? I didn't hit this same look until after the cheesecake.Lately I've felt some inner urge to entertain my family with a holiday-themed craft project of some kind. Maybe it's my way of trying to keep us from snacking all day long or to keep Pearl and Ruby entertained because first it was candy corn wreaths for Halloween and now it's Oreo Turkeys and Cookie Pilgrim Hats. This is what they were supposed to look like. And here's our final turkeys. My Dad even joined in on the fun. I was kind of surprised... this stuff is usually left to the women. But it did involve food so maybe that cancels out the estrogen. He really showed us up too. Apparently engineers have to perfect even crafting. Check out that look of concentration. And the end result was no less than perfect... but none of us were surprised or expected anything less. And you wonder why I had (emphasis on HAD... that was pre-kids before I lost my mind) serious issues with perfectionism.I have to admit, my very first turkey wasn't so bad. And he was the only one whose eyes or that goobley, wobbley, red glibbler thingy didn't run down to its feet. Pearl had a blast with the frosting tubes. I didn't have the heart to tell her that turkeys looked like giant boobs though. Finally, my Turkey Day 2010 post wouldn't be complete without a run down of a list of things we are grateful for from our Blessing Tree. There's plenty more, but when you're trying to keep a three-year-old's attention AND explain what it means to be grateful, this is what you come up with (in no particular order): Pearl, Mom, Grandpa and Grandma, Cole, our senses, snow, computers, blankets to keep us warm, Santa, David and Vickie, Aggie basketball, warm slippers, movies, house, sleepovers at Aunt Kimmy's house, tea parties, church, turkey dinners, shoes, Cinderella, toys, pink lemonade, football, reading books, to be healthy and strong, KC, good jobs, Jesus, and Daddy.