Saturday, December 4, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!

Since school got out in May we've traveled somewhere out of state each month (except for August--we did go to St. Louis, but that is a monthly trip anyway).  It's been great. Lee and I love road trips and our kids don't seem to mind them either. Well, we kept it going and in November we headed up to good ol' Iowa to visit my sister Deb and her family and meet up with my brother Daniel and his family.  I love getting together with family for the holidays! The town where my sister lives is one of my favorite towns.  It's large enough to have everything you need and want, but small enough to feel very homely and neighborly. 

We arrived the night before Thanksgiving--of course I had to stop at Target that night to get Cambell's cream soups for $0.50 each! I helped a little bit that morning/afternoon with keeping the dishes clean and even made some pies. Deb made the dough for the crust, but I did do one batch of pumpkin pie "batter". 
Nov 25 2010 Ruth and pies

The FEAST!  It was oh so good.  Thanks Deb and Amy!  Before we eat we have a prayer, then we go around the table and each person says three things they are thankful for.  Three kernals of popcorn are placed at each place setting--to represent three things we are thankful for.  I love that part of the Thanksgiving dinner.
Nov 25 2010 Thanksgiving Dinner Cedar Falls with Bunkers and Daniel and Amy and family

Nov 25 2010 Haley Lizzy

Nov 25 2010 Lizzy and Makenzie

See that yummy, yummy pan full of twice-baked potatoes?  One of my favorite things at Thanksgiving!
Nov 25 2010 Paul, Thomas, Cal

Nov 25 2010 Clark and Anthon and Deb

Nov 25 2010 Shanna and Rachel

Nov 25 2010 Shanna

The aftermath. Elden was napping during the dinner and woke up pretty much when we were all done eating. 
Nov 25 2010 the aftermath

The king of the table, and a little cutie!
Nov 25 2010 Elden

Nov 25 2010 Ruth & Lee

I tried out a criss/cross/braiding thing for this apple pie.
Nov 25 2010 Lattice work

Nov 25 2010 Program invite

The Talent Show!
Nov 25 2010 Program Lizzy and Ila

Nov 25 2010 Elden at program

Nov 25 2010 Elden (2)

Nov 25 2010 Shanna (2)

Of course, the annual Thanksgiving Day Race! IT WAS SO COLD!
Nov 25 2010 The Thanksgiving Day Race (2)

And they're off!  And I headed back inside...Paul won the race.
Nov 25 2010 The Thanksgiving Day Race

That night we watched Race to Witch Mountain--very fun.  After the movie Lee and I headed to Walmart for the first shopping of Black Friday.  We were gone only an hour.  I updated my budget and went to sleep around 1:30am.  Paul and I got up at 3:40am and took off to Target.  Deb met up with us about 20 minutes later.  Black Friday we went to 15 stores and didn't get home till 4:30pm.  It was so FUN!  I got some great deals, of course, and a little start on Christmas shopping.  I admit, the main reason I wanted to go to Deb's for Thanksgiving was to go shopping with her.  A few years ago when I was pregnant with the twins (and didn't know it quite yet--the twin part that is--I definitely knew I was pregnant and my belly showed it!) Lois and I were at Deb's for Thanksgiving and we went out shopping.  It was a blast.  I knew it would be just the same this year. Shopping with sisters is the best.  The best store that day: Target.  I was at the cash register and had grabbed the wrong toy.  They held my stuff and let me go back and get the right one--I didn't have to wait in line again!  Best buy of the day: My new $2 fleece hat and glove set from Target.  It was C-O-L-D in Iowa and they kept me nice and warm!

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we hung out and took a short trip to the park.  They have a great park just a few blocks away from Deb's house.
Nov 27 2010 Shanna and patch

Nov 27 2010 Cal and Thomas

Nov 27 2010 Paul

Nov 27 2010 Cedar Falls Park

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We are ever grateful for our many blessings and our wonderful family and friends!

4 comments:

Heidi Sue the Mommy crafter said...

Looks so fun! I'm glad you guys all had a fun time! Miss your family and Debs, and Daniel and Amy's! :)

andyandsteph said...

So who won the race? Maybe I missed it when I was reading but I want to know :)

Lois said...

What a fun Thanksgiving! I love the picture of Elden at the table by himself. :)

Becca said...

Where in Iowa? We live in Cedar Rapids. Next time you come out, it'd be fun to see you!