Eve Family Forever: Happy Thanksgiving!

This year we had a beautiful Thanksgiving - sunny and temps in the 60s. Fabulous! We were hosting the celebration, but besides the prep cleaning of the house and post cleaning of the house it wasn't too bad being party central. Still wore this pregnant mama out, but it was a lot of fun.

I started the morning out by Jazzercising with 50 of my closest friends - love a good class and Margaret and Erin certainly gave a killer one. Then I came home and got a quick shower before watching some of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with Sav. I couldn't of predicted how much she would love the parade. So cute! My favorite was when she said the Rockettes were Mommys in silver costumes - that's right, Mommy looks just like a Rockette :-)

We headed outside for a little bit while Candler was cooking. Sav loved playing in her car and playhouse on such a pretty day. Candler was doing our turkey in a trash can and making mashed potatoes. I was a doubter on the trash can method, but it was delicious, our oven was available for sides, and we didn't have a gross roasting pan to clean out. So all around win. Check it out - http://thetrashcanturkey.com/

Then around 11am, Tyler, Amelia, and Olivia came over. Olivia rocked out on her Giraffe and got comfy with her new surroundings. She's 9 months old now and starting to get more and more fun. I forgot how fun it gets once little ones can start playing with toys. Not that babies are snuggly and wonderful, but I really do enjoy when they can give you giggles and play back.

At noon John and Margie arrived and the party really got hopping. Grandma brought Sav an electronic drum set which then required the rest of the family to join in the band. I think at one point in time we had the drums, cabasa, slide flute, shaker, maracas, and cow bell going. Sounded awesome. After the grandbabies got their appropriate level of kisses and snuggles she got down in the kitchen whipping up some sides. She made Apricot Glazed Sweet Potatoes (fabulous), Sauteed Cauliflower with grape tomatoes (way better than I expected cauliflower to be), homemade bread with garlic butter (yum yum), and a cranberry salsa that had a little heat to it.

Then the last guests to arrive were our friends the Hatch Family. They were a last minute addition, but as their kids got sick earlier in the week they opted to not drive 5+ hours with kids on the mend and we welcomed them to our festivities. Hillary brought homemade rolls, a yummy red, white, and green salad featuring pomegranates, pears, and a homemade dressing. She also brought a pumpkin pie and a chocolate cream pie. The kids ran around for a bit playing and then we settled down for our feast.

It was a delicious meal and I ate way too much, but loved it. Definitely fun to have a fun table and so much delicious food to share.

We said goodbye to the Hatch's a little after we ate so they could go put the kids down for a nap. Olivia woke up from a good nap and Sav "took a rest" in her room. Then Tyler whipped up a Apple Crisp for dessert and we partook in its yummy-ness along with some pie. I won't tell you how many pieces of pie I ended up consuming.

Then it was time for good-byes and Sav was not happy about them. Her consolation was that family would be coming over again on Saturday to watch the football game.

After Sav went to bed I had a second Thanksgiving dinner and took a bath before I went out for some pre-Black Friday shopping with Hillary. We weren't crazy shoppers, but found some great deals at Michael's and Walmart before heading back home. What a full day!