Thanksgiving in North Carolina

We decided to stay home in NC for Thanksgiving. I have to admit it was pretty nice this year not watching the snow fall while eating the meal. It was in the 70s here today a little strange for Thanksgiving but I loved it. My dad and his family came down to visit. Believe it or not today was the first time I've ever made a turkey! Usually we are at my mom's and I get to sit back and relax on Thanksgiving. I have to admit, today was a whole lot of work way too much time spent cooking and cleaning! I'm still trying to decide if the whole thing makes any sense. Maybe next year we will go out : ) One thing is for sure, I have a greater appreciation for my mom and grandmothers who have prepared that meal for so many years!


I do have to brag though that we cooked up a damn good feast! I've been gradually trying to teach John how to cook, so I did have a helping hand which was nice.

my dad loves to play the wine tasting game every time we are together. today it was Kendall Jackson vs. 3 cheapo Chardonnays. let me tell you we all had a really hard time telling them apart. especially as we kept drinking! it was a lot of fun!

john insisted on taking a picture of me and my first bird. here john is showing off his first green bean casserole, he wanted me to mention that he also assisted with warming the rolls : ) baby steps!

I found this craft idea for the girls, making turkey place cards with ink prints. this one is sophia's, she went well above and beyond the basic turkey. the image i had her copy just had the turkey but she decided to add in the background sky, grass, sun. her creativity and detail amazes me! she definitely did not get that from me. up top she was suppose to write her name but instead she wrote "super" like her teacher does on all her artwork. i guess she knows she's talented!

the big begger
guess turkey makes dogs tired too. jackson fell asleep at the table begging. he did finally win over some scraps today, lucky dog

the thanksgiving day game. yes the grass is really brown like that here in NC! at least in the winter.