Thanksgiving Break

Although the holiday began with a little rain, we were blessed with a rainbow on Wednesday evening to begin the Thanksgiving festivities, and it was nice to have cooler weather for a wintery holiday. Too bad all the out-of-state visitors didn't appreciate it as much.

Grandpa Royd (Jeff's dad) was in town for the weekend so we enjoyed a lot of time with him at Jessica's house (Jeff's sister). Corbin and Quinton enjoyed playing with Samantha, in the tub....

... and watching movies in their jammies.

On Thanksgiving day Jeff played in the annual Turkey Bowl with Rocky and his "posse"... in the rain, and he scored the first touchdown. Corbin went to watch him play and the two of them came home muddy and worn out, but atleast there were no broken limbs this year. We enjoyed the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon at my mom's. My brother Jesse cooked (smoked) his traditional turkey on the grill in addition to my mom's turkey in the oven. The cousins enjoyed watching uncle Jesse's skills...

... and the little boys liked watching grandpa carve the turkey.

The table was set for 16 people...

... complete with 5 candy corns at each place. This is a tradition in our family to name 5 things we are thankful for before we eat, or before my dad says his 15-minute prayer that blesses each person sitting at the table. Jeff and I discovered that the candy corn works well to keep little people quiet during that lengthy prayer. It's a wonder that our food is still warm after the prayer, but we are thankful for my dad's gratitude and example.

Quinton was happy to suck on a pickle for most of the meal.

After dinner we usually tell stories about gratitude (that each family brings to share). Others (usually men) watch football, take naps, and look through the ads (usually women and children), while Papa does puzzles. This year we also made these fun little turkeys from Bakerella.

They tasted even yummier than they looked. You've got to try these some time.

Once its starts getting dark outside we take a walk around "the circle". A cul de sac in my parent's neighborhood is a huge attraction every year for the amount of lights they display. Every home in the circle has a theme with lights covering the yard, walkways, house, and garages. It's impressive. If you live in the area you really need to check it out. They've been doing it for years and I think it only gets better and more popular. They have been putting lights up since Halloween and Corbin was so excited to see the entire display completely finished. After our walk around the lights we return home for pies. Plural pies, yes we have lots.

After pies we went to visit with Jessica, Rocky, Sam, and Grandpa Royd.


It was a lovely Thanks-giving day with all the things that make it special: family, food, fun, dessert, holiday cheer, and thanks.

*This picture was taken a few days late, but Turkey lasts for a few days, right? This is another tradition in our family. The toddlers and babies are given a turkey let to chew (or suck on). My boys seemed to love it and we literally had to pry the meat out of their hands. Guess they'll be carnivores like their dad.