Gobble Gobble!

We had a great week leading up to Thanksgiving this year. B's brother and sister-in-law (Uncle B and Aunt P) came down from Indiana for a nice 4-day visit. The kids were in heaven because they had constant playmates. Aunt P probably drew and colored a hundred pictures with Elina during her stay....seriously. And she was so sweet about doing it excitedly every single time. That's what aunts are for, right? (On a side note, I have to say that Aunt P is a pretty talented artist as well!)
We took Aunt P and Uncle B to the Wildlife Safari because that's one of the kids' favorite spots. We also took them to eat at a few yummy places in town. Of course we had great Mexican food...and I discovered the deliciousness that is queso flameado. It's this delectable dish of melted white cheese mixed with chiles and chorizo that is so rich and thick a tortilla chip cannot spoon it up...instead you have to use a tortilla to scoop up a heavenly bite. I'm probably over-selling it, but it really is a great appetizer and I'm sad I discovered it so late in life. It's so yummy, but so terrible for you. I love it!

Besides those few outings, we spent a lot of time at the house...cooking and playing. I came up with a pretty big menu this year so I had to start cooking on Wednesday. On Wednesday I baked my pumpkin cake and prepped the cauliflower gratin and the bacon and apple stuffing. Then on Thursday we all came together and made the other dishes--a corn casserole, glazed carrots, pesto mashed potatoes, cole slaw salad, and a yummy berry salad (courtesy of KT).

Hmmmmm...did you notice that I didn't mention the turkey?? Well, this year one of J's close friends (who also came over for dinner) suggested that we take our turkey to Popeye's to have it deep fried with their seasonings. Normally, I wouldn't have been into doing something like that, but (1) B loves Popeye's chicken, (2) we've never had fried turkey, and (3) I loved the idea of having my oven free to make my other sides! Well, the turkey was delicious, so I think we might be doing this again next year. It was so nice to not have to worry about the turkey.
Well, all the food was delicious. The cauliflower was a new thing and it's definitely a keeper. I think some of the faves were the corn casserole and the berry salad. But, of course, I had to make one HUGE mistake. I was so focused on getting everything onto the table at the right temperature, that I completely forgot to make the gravy!! I was so embarrassed!! But by this point, the table was set and I couldn't get everyone to wait another 30 minutes for gravy. This was the only downfall of having the turkey done for me. Luckily the turkey tasted good enough that no one complained about the lack of gravy, but I think people were just trying to be nice about it. (I made the gravy the next day with our leftover turkey and it was super-yummy with the gravy!! I definitely have to apologize to B's brother and sister-in-law!! So sorry!)

So on Turkey Day we just stayed at home and cooked, watched the parade, and played Wii, Turkey Bingo, and board games. The kids played Guesstures (a fast-paced version of charades) with all of us and they had lots of fun. Eli wasn't too great at it, but Elina was really into it. She has these over-the-top facial expressions that made it so funny. She's so literal, too. One of her words was "CD" and she actually tried to be the CD. She got on the floor, laid on her side, and started spinning around on the floor! Too funny!Usually before our Thanksgiving dinner we each talk about something we're thankful for, but this year we changed things up. We each got 2 sheets of paper and had to write down something we're thankful for and something we're un-thankful for. The only rule was that we couldn't be thankful for family, friends, and health because those are always given. We got some really great answers. Some good thankful ones were Popeye's (B's), waking up late (J's), baby carriers (mine), and a job (Uncle B's). Some un-thankful winners were non-consumed birds (B's) and speeding tickets (Uncle B's). But the best un-thankful one was written by Elina. She wrote, "I am un-thankful for bad things." Wasn't that clever??

Of course we did our Tom the Turkey Thanksgiving countdown again this year, but this time Eli got to have his own turkey. Eli still doesn't understand the question, "What are you thankful for," so we had to ask him in a different way, "What makes you happy?" He always gave the same answers and we had to keep giving him choices, so I'm not sure how accurate his turkey is. He always started with, "Tyrannosaurus Rex" and after some prodding he would list all the other dinosaurs he liked. It wasn't easy, but we managed to fill in his turkey with some responses. Elina, on the other hand, filled in her own turkey. Jewelry was definitely on the top of her list--necklaces, jewels, rings. What a girly girl!All in all, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. It was everything we wanted it to be...relaxing, fun, and yummy! We hope everyone else's Turkey Day was just as great! Come back soon, Uncle B and Aunt P! The kids sure miss you guys!