Thanksgiving 2014

Thanksgiving was in Houston again this year!  Chris’s family – Grammy and Papa, Aunt Becky and Uncle Benton, all met in the middle for just shy of a whole week of family fun!  Unfortunately that week ended with a few of our guests, and daddy getting a little bug, but for the most part the trip was a success!

The ladies basically spent 2 straight days cooking.  Geez I picked some time-consuming recipes this year!  The result was worth it, though, in my humble opinion.  A table overflowing with more food than we could consume, even with cautious and intentional usage of leftovers.  I brined my turkey this year and will continue to do so in the future.  My gravy turned out great, too.  There’s only one recipe I don’t feel the need to recreate – not bad, just not great enough to justify the work.  And next time it will be back to two pies – three did in fact prove to be excessive.  But what is Thanksgiving for if not an excuse for excessive food consumption.

The kids were super-pumped to take that picture.  Also, I'd like to document the fact that with all that food available, my two-year-old consumed 3 rolls and 2 baby carrots.  

Did I mention that the boys busied themselves with some outside cooking this year, as well?  Mmm, Chris’s first fried turkey was a huge success.  I learned my lesson at Thanksgivings past (in Florida) and began to pick at the plate as soon as it came into the kitchen.  I think the men enjoyed the activity aspect of it, although it was not a work-free process.  Or a cheap one.  Any idea how much several gallons of peanut oil costs?!?  But we have learned it is an activity best suited for an otherwise empty afternoon rather than one mixed in with other festivities (see Christmas post to follow).

Our days of cooking were interrupted a bit for what I believe is now a family tradition: Thanksgiving Day Fun Run.  This is the third time doing one for Chris and I, and the second consecutive year.  I think that everyone enjoyed themselves enough to stand by it.  And they are so popular these days that I’m confident we’ll be able to find one wherever we land that year.  This year we ventured to the Katy YMCA.  The kids, each paired with a grandparent, participated in the 1 Mile Kids Race.  Chris and Becky ran the 5k and Benton and I ran the 10k.  The kids loved getting their race t-shirts and finisher medals, and I think we all looked cute in our matching shirts.  And we all felt a little less guilty about those three pies…

The rest of the week held lots of playing and relaxing.  There were Christmas crafts (provided by Grammy) and Christmas decorating, more one-on-one and two-on-two football games in my yard and front hall than Uncle Benton can probably count, a walk amongst the finally-arrived fall leaves to get donuts, and a fantastic marathon of football rivalry games.  There was fort-building and the need to assemble every single kid puzzle we own.  

And then it was back to school and things got really crazy – only three school weeks till Christmas – I mean Winter – Break!