Thanksgiving Feast

So it may not have really been a huge feast, but it sure seemed like a bunch of food for 4 adults and 2 children. My mom and I just couldn't help ourselves though! This year was quite different than past Thanksgivings. Up until last year, my Granny (my dad's mom) always cooked Thanksgiving dinner. Last year broke that tradition, when she finally decided that she was "getting too old" to prepare such a large meal (she always cooked for an army!). She spent Thanksgiving with my aunt (my dad's sister) and her family. So we decided ("we" being me, Billy, Tyler, Allison, my mom and dad, Vanessa, Jon, Keilana, and Kayden) to join Billy's family in Tennessee for Thanksgiving! It was great fun, and we were very appreciative and thankful for the hospitality shown to us. Shortly after that, however, they packed up and moved back to California. :c( So this year Thanksgiving was even more different. Vanessa is spending Thanksgiving with Jon's family in Utah. So here the rest of us are at our little cabin in the mountains of North Carolina! Billy's sister, Kim, and her husband and baby girl had planned to join us here until they found out Butch had to work on Friday. We were pretty bummed that they couldn't come! With all that being said, this is the very 1st year that my mom and I have made Thanksgiving dinner completely on our own. So that's why we couldn't help ourselves. We were just very excited and had so many things we didn't want to leave out! We REALLY missed Vanessa, Jon, Keilana, and Kayden and wished they were here with us now. But we are also glad they are having a good time in Utah! :)

This was our Thanksgiving menu:

turkey and stuffing, of course!
mashed potatoes and gravy
green bean casserole
sweet potato souffle
squash casserole
cream corn
rolls
cranberry jello salad
lime jello salad
and lots of desserts!

This picture shows the crafts Tyler and Allison made for decorations - Handprint Turkeys, Tie Dye Leaves, Harvest Time Scarecrow, and a Pinecone Turkey.

This picture was just too cute not to post. It looks like it's right out of the Publix commercial, huh?!

Ready to eat our yummy Thanksgiving dinner!

Daddy and his baby girl.

Tyler, Allison, and I came up to the cabin 4 days ahead of Billy, and Allison missed her Daddy SO much! She talked about him everyday, pretended to talk to him on my cell phone, and pointed and said "Daddy!" every time she saw a car that she thought was his. Needless to say, she was exstatic to see him when he got here last night! She is such a Daddy's girl!

We just love our drumsticks!

Chicken drumsticks are one of Tyler's favorite foods. The first time he had one, I explained to him that it was chicken just like in chicken nuggets, only this meat was still on the bone. Ever since then, he has called them "chicken bones."

Tyler and Allison with their Grandma (Allison actually calls her "Me-maw")

Dessert time - YUM!

Each person got to request his/her own dessert. Billy wanted Hello Dollies, my Dad wanted a Pecan Pie and a Coconut Pie (I guess he got to pick two since Allison couldn't voice her own opinion), my Mom wanted the Mile High Brownie Pie (courtesy of Billy's sister), and Tyler requested "Ice Crissmie Treats." We COMPLETELY forgot to buy the Rice Crispy cereal at the store, and didn't realize it until we went to make them this morning. We almost had a very disappointed little boy on our hands until some Lucky Charms saved the day! I completely recommend making rice crispy treats this way, and I don't even like that kind of cereal. They turned out so good! I didn't have any specific dessert that I was in the mood for, so I opted to have a sampling of each! Yummmmm!