Thanksgiving Report

So, it's taken me awhile to get around to reporting on Thanksgiving. Mainly because it's taken me this long to recover!

We had a wonderful long weekend with Brandon's family. His parents and brother Brett and his wife Andrea (and their chihuahua Riley) stayed with us, which made things extra lively. Kyle and Anne and their kiddos live in town, so they were able to join in the togetherness as well. A good time was had by all. Here's a recap, in pictures, of all the fun.

First, let me just say, my gratitude and admiration go out to all the women (and men!) before me who have slaved over Thanksgiving dinner and pulled it off. My grandma Chaney was amazing. My dad is equally gifted. My mother-in-law makes it all look effortless. It is, by no means, effortless. Here's where I stayed, most of Wednesday and all of Thursday:


I'm wearing my grandma Chaney's lovely floral apron, for good luck. Thankfully, I wasn't alone in this endeavor.

My mother-in-law helped with every critical task (thank you, Nana!), and my sister-in-law Anne came prepared with mashed potatoes, stuffing, and the most adorable place cards for the table.

Everything turned out well, for the most part. I thought the turkey was a little dry, which was a bummer (we cooked it in an external roaster, which I had never done before). But that's what the gravy's for, right? I was glad to have a chance to use my china and crystal and my grandmother's silverware.


We also staged two separate family photo ops, complete with coordinated outfits. Yikes! It's a lot of work, getting this crew to smile and look at the camera at the same time. Especially when 4 of us are 4 and under. But we have some good shots to show for it:

Finally, I can't report on Thanksgiving without sharing some pictures of Danny with his new best friend - Riley:

Danny was in love! He followed Riley around all weekend, wanting nothing more than to "hold him on the couch." He cuddled and patted and nuzzled Riley to his heart's content. And Riley was quite a sport, I must say.

And no, this doesn't mean we'll be getting a dog.

And yes, Riley is wearing a diaper in this picture. It's a long story.