The Young and the Restless

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is here, all packaged up in one big fat blog post. Last year's festivities went down in history as one of my favorites with a house full of family, dare Jenga, girls night at the Nutcracker, whip cream war from the roof and so many inside jokes and memories, that it's going to be a tough one to top. This one was a little more laid back, a little less noise, but still filled with memories and of course good food. For me I relish in all the prep work. A quiet house with Christmas music playing in the back ground while I roll out pie crusts, dry out bread for the stuffing, thoughtfully set out each place setting and arrange the perfect tablescape. The meal itself is filled with the last minute rush to get every dish on the table while it's still hot, wrangling up kids and dishing up plates to cater to the particular palette of each kid and then sitting for all of 6.2 minutes before it's time to clean up. It's a bit anti climatic, but at least there are leftovers for dayzzzz. The holiday festivities kicked off (pun intended) with the 6th graders vs teachers Turkey Bowl. It comes with a funny story. A month or so ago Jayden came home all excited that Donovan McNabb was going to be the referee for the game. Now I don't know much about sports so if I recognize the name of player then that must mean he's a pretty big deal and I recognized the name Donovan McNabb. So the big day comes and there on the field is a big black guy towering over the kids that sure fits the bill of a pro football player. I'm snapping away pictures, posting on instagram and ig story all about how cool it was to have Donovan McNabb as the ref for their game. I'm texting Jason pictures and he responds, um that's not Donovan McNabb. Apparently they tried to get him to come but he was unavailable so instead it was another NFL player from the Cardinals, which is still pretty cool but I was so embarrassed and quickly deleted all the photos and videos. Jayden still had a great time and it was still a cool experience!

 

Maddox's music class put on a cute Thanksgiving performance (who knew there were so many songs dedicated to Thanksgiving?). He has been so excited for weeks, giving me sneak previews when we're driving in the car and preparing me for the part where parents can participate. He didn't crack a single smile the entire time, unless I could catch his eye then he would focus so hard on not smiling, it was cute how serious he took it. I always love the chance to watch them perform.

I took a break from the prep work to watch Jayden's turkey bowl, then it was back to baking pies while Michael Buble crooned a Christmas serenade in the background. Bliss.

I love the anticipation of guests coming. Clean sheets, vacuum lines in the bedrooms, new scented oil plug ins strategically placed around the house and kids coming in every so often asking when they're finally going to get here. After a morning of marathon cooking, the long awaited arrival of our guests came. Grandma Young, aunt Jessica and James drove all day from San Diego then Tyson and Dawn's family came as well. They pulled up just as the turkey was being pulled from the oven. And just in time for Dawn to make the gravy, because I refuse to do it. She pawned it off temporarily onto Tyson who was determined to make whisking gravy look sexy.

And this man can make anything look sexy ;)

Kylie was thrilled to be at the kid's table. I think it is her duty to give salty looks in every picture I take of her.

Because Dawn insisted I needed to be in a picture with the pies. I love the look Maddox is giving me.

The next day we were planning to cruise around the lake since the weather was so beautiful. We pulled the boat out, packed up lunches then Jason turned it on to test it out and it wouldn't start. He then spent the rest of the day trying to figure out the problem, but to no avail. Boats are a money pit, it's a good thing we love the lake so much. Instead we went for a little hike that evening. The kids weren't thrilled, Kylie was gone black Friday shopping with friends, Jayden refused to go and Maddox only went after Grandma bribed him with a book. They hate hiking. I don't get it, they always end up having a great time.

The rest of the weekend was spent setting up Christmas, going to Magic Noodle with the adults, taking a golf cart ride to look at Christmas lights, picking out Christmas presents with Grandam, church and lots of food. We're so grateful to have family here for the holiday, it's what makes them so special!