Happy Thanksgiving... at long last!

Yeah. It's December. I haven't posted in a bazillion years. I'm a slacker. I know this, and yet I'm only slightly sorry that it's taken me so long to post. Things have been crazy around here, fun but still crazy, and I'm only now starting to recover. Holidays are that way, I think. {And just think- in couple weeks we get to do it all again! We'll just hope for more fun less crazy.}

My dad and his wife came up to visit us the earlier part of Thanksgiving week. That was absolutely fun, though the manic shopping (I wanted to send NM-gifts home with them instead of shipping them, hence the fun but crazy go, go, go) and house-cleaning prior to that was anything but. {Sh... don't tell Derek, but I actually used their visit as a well-needed excuse. The house needed a good "spring" cleaning. Now everything's so fresh and clean and organized - as much as it can be - and ready for holiday guests. So maybe the cleaning wasn't fun, but for me- it was refreshing.} They stayed Sunday through Tuesday, so just for a few days, but it was wonderful to see them. James always surprises me how quickly he attaches himself to my family, especially considering how (not) often we see them. They were all BFFs within 10 minutes. :) While they were here, we mostly just hung out. We also cooked and ate some yummy food, played with James, read lots of books (Sorry/thanks, Polly!) and went to New Moon {swoon} on a "double date" of sorts. Good, good times.

Once they left, we had a few days just to ourselves... our little family. We lounged, did nothing particularly thrilling, then celebrated Thanksgiving Day.

*Side Note: While trying to teach James about Thanksgiving, we did a little FHE of sorts and pulled up pictures online of pilgrims, "Indians," etc. I told what I hoped to be a toddler-sized version of the Thanksgiving story, and we learned the following song (thank you, Google!):

Little pilgrim dressed in grey

On that first Thanksgiving Day

Little Indian dressed in brown

Came to visit Plymouth Town

They both came to eat and pray

On that first Thanksgiving Day

Kinda cute, no? I thought so. And so did James. He picked up on it really quickly. Songs and books totally do it for him. That's my boy! :)

Anyway, our Thanksgiving was pretty great. We got up normally then got started on some of the food-prep. James helped me put the rolls in the muffin tins (Go, Rhodes Rolls!) so they could defrost/rise. He's such a helper. He really did them all! Sad, but his culinary skills make me so proud. :)

Then we woke Daddy up and had him help with the other parts. Derek and I (more Derek, really) prepped the turkey. We mostly winged it... rubbed it with poultry seasoning, some fresh herbs, onion and apple (to coordinate with the stuffing's flavors) and then threw it in an oven bag.

We watched the Macey's Thanksgiving Day Parade while we waited for the rolls and cooked the turkey. I love watching the parade. It's absolutely a fond memory from my childhood and something (albeit fairly meaningless) that I hope to continue with my kiddos.

When the turkey was getting closer to done, we prepared and cooked the remaining parts of the meal: homemade stuffing, yams, "squeaky" beans, cranberry sauce, olives, mashed potatoes and gravy. Here are some pics of my boys in the kitchen. (James mostly helped by staying out of the way at this point... and, you know, by eating a pear.)

Then- when everything was done (miraculously at the same approximate time... and not ruined/burned/etc), we ate. Mmm... Here's the dished up meal- Derek's, that is; mine had cranberry sauce and olives! :) We also had pie (lemon meringue- we're not traditional apparently), though it was store-bought and therefore not pictured.

After dinner we just chilled. We all took very nice, long naps. Then I think maybe we watched a movie all together. I can't even remember, to be honest. It must not have been that eventful. But it was a fantastic evening... a fantastic day. It was really fun to do something big with just our little family. This Thanksgiving/holiday season, I'm especially thankful for them- all three of them- and that we can be together, for now and forever.

Happy {Belated} Thanksgiving! xo