I can't believe November is over and the Holidays are here! November went by so fast!!! It was a great month and a really busy month too. We just had a lot of random stuff going on. Some of the highlights include Young Women in Excellence and John turning 38. Kaycee went to her winter overnighter 6th grade camp and John went as a volunteer. They both had a blast and I'm glad they got to spend some daddy/daughter time together. John took a few pictures :
I had Thanksgiving at my house this year for the very first time. It was a lot of fun, and a LOT of work! My mom and dad stayed with us (thank heavens) and we started all our prep work the day before. I am so glad my mom was able to help - I don't know how anyone can pull Thanksgiving off without some major help in the kitchen. The food was delicious! We brined the turkey the night before and basted it in butter. It was the best turkey I've ever eaten! The downside is that a lot of my family members were sick or had been sick and not even half of the food was eaten. We had lots of leftovers. It's crazy how you spend days cooking and preparing for Thanksgiving and then the meal is over in 15-20 minutes.
I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a centerpiece so I borrowed the idea of indian corn and gourds in a trifle bowl from Martha Stewart and I loved the way it turned out. The best part is that our centerpiece was completely free!
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| 18 lbs. of perfection! |
After dinner we decided to keep the mess going and make gingerbread houses. This has been a tradition ever since I was little. My mom bakes real, mini gingerbread houses every year to decorate. It's one of the grandkids favorite traditions.
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| Kaycee, Nat and Luke's houses |
Thanksgiving night (when I was so tired I wanted to die), John and I went Black Friday shopping at Walmart. This was my first year of actually going to the store. We hit the 10pm and 12am sale. It was a total rush!!! I loved every minute of it. As long as you are a team player, you are good to go. We weren't out to get any of the big ticket items this year and we got everything we wanted. The next morning we took the kids out to go Black Friday shopping. It was a blast!
I spent the rest of Thanksgiving cleaning my house and putting up Christmas decorations. I love the spirit Christmas brings into our home. It gives me warm fuzzys!
