Thanksgiving with Family

On the eve of Thanksgiving my parents arrived from Iowa. I spent that Wednesday before Thanksgiving going to the dentist, getting a haircut, and shopping at Target, Wal-Mart & Sam's Club. Earlier in the day we spent time cleaning and organizing the house for our visitors. Finally, about 3 o'clock in the afternoon I still wasn't home and still had plenty of prep to do for our first Thanksgiving meal in our new North Dakota home. So, I frantically called Jay and he assured me it would be fine if we missed the joint church service at First Lutheran in Bismarck. I felt bad because Jay was leading the service and baptizing a little one, but I was relieved I would have plenty of time when I got home to make the pies and put together the sweet potato pie casserole.

I spent Wednesday evening making a cranberry relish mold, the traditional pumpkin pies (my first time) and a chocolate pecan pie (YUMMY). I cooked off the sweet potatoes and put together the sweet potato casserole. That way I didn't have to do too much Thanksgiving morning besides sleep in after delivering the special edition of the Bismarck Tribune to its subscribers!! Before hand I wrote down our Thanksgiving dinner menu that way I wouldn't forget any of our favorite dishes.

On the menu: turkey (of course) - we cooked two, one in a bag and one in an electric roaster, stuffing (StoveTop is our favorite, plus less work), mashed potatoes & gravy, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, creamed spinach, cranberry sauce, cranberry relish, rolls, pumpkin pie, and chocolate pecan pie. Even though I made the menu, I still forgot our favorite side dish . . . the creamed spinach. The kiddos were very upset, no really they were because believe it or not creamed spinach is one of their favorites!!



So we sat down as a family and enjoyed a great meal!!



. . . minus the creamed spinach . . .



The visit was more than just a meal. Mom and Dad (Grandma Linda & Grandpa Tom) were here for a nice visit. They had already visited in September, about a week and half after we arrived in North Dakota, but that visit was so short and Dad helped Jay organize the garage. So, this visit the kids got to spend more quality time with their grandparents. Zack enjoyed playing a couple of games of checkers with Grandpa Tom, okay he didn't really because Grandpa Tom KICKED his butt twice (at least).



The kids and Grandpa Tom & Grandma Linda spent some time on their Nintendo DS because they all have their own. So they would trade systems and play each others' games.



Zack, Grandpa Tom, Mackenzie, Grandma Linda, & Cassie



Zack finally got someone to play the Titanic board game with him. Grandma Linda & Mackenzie played several times with him, so maybe we can put it away for a while. The game is a lot like monopoly and a good game can take "at least 90 minutes."

We had a nice visit with my parents and we tried to get some things in that we didn't the first time they were here. We drove them down to the river, along River Road, and around Bismarck for a little bit and then went to our favorite thrift store. They even found a plastic Santa on someone's trash pile . . . yes, we are firm believers that someone else's trash is someone else's treasure!! My sister had called earlier and had asked my mom to look for a lighted Santa Clause that she could use outside to decorate with. Well, as we were driving around some guy was putting a box out by the curb and believe it or not there was a Santa in the box. So, we turned around and my dad got out to talk with the homeowner, but before he could get to the garage the lady of the house opened the front door and told him to take whatever he wanted. Well, we brought Santa home gave him a shower and then reassembled the light, plugged it in, and YEAH it worked. Santa search was a success in more ways than one!! So now when my sister displays her chubby jolly fellow she'll know he came from North Dakota so she'll have to think of us everytime!!

Well, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!! We were fortunate enough to get to celebrate it with family in our new home, which made it special for us.