Turkey Day 2010

This year Thanksgiving was spent at my mom's house with my sister Julie and family, and brother Kevin and family.  I love Thanksgiving; it used to be because it meant my birthday was near.  Now it's for more grown-up reasons.  (plus the addition of pumpkin pie doesn't hurt either!)  Here's a few pictures of our Thanksgiving day this year.

Scott carving up the turkey with Waverly sampling.  "like turkey" was the decision.

My mom always sets a nice table. 

This child hates long sleeves; she always pushes them up.  It used to be because she sucked her arm when she was upset or tired.  She still does that occasionally, but the habit stuck. 

My mom the head Chef 

This was one of my contributions this year.  Normally I shy away from cheesecakes, even though I love making desserts.  But my sister-in-law Sallie gave me the confidence that I could do one, so I made pumpkin spice cheese cake.  I made chocolate leaves to go on top of the spiced whipped cream dollops.  It was pretty, I have to admit.  That's until the twins got to it.  This is the before picture. 

I just love Keaton's expressions.  They vary so greatly. 

Nice bum shot of my mom.  Sorry, Mom!  As we sat down to dinner, everyone read a fill-in-the-blank grateful statement.  Such as, "I am grateful for my friend ___."  Sallie, you'll be very glad to know you were my blank.  Everyone needs a great sister-in-law to commiserate the ups and downs of being married to brothers:)  Anyway, it was funny to hear what people filled in their blanks with.  My sister Julie was grateful for the movie The Sound of Music, because it inspired her to become a nanny and resulted in a great experience in Hawaii for her when she was a teenager.  See, I didn't know that before. 

I love the expression on my neice Aislynn's face (in the pink).  She's an adorable, precocious, 5-yr-old that had Brighton playing house with her all weekend.  I'm not sure that's been done before.  She had him whooped.  It was good for him.

After dinner, we have a tradition of doing crafts.  It started when I was a teenager, and we've been doing it ever since.  The kids made Christmas countdown calendars and trains with Grandma, 

while the moms made washer and tile necklaces with Julie.  

See what I mean about expressions?  I wonder if that tongue was directed at me. 

I mistakenly gave Scott the camera and he turned it on me.  DOn't look to close or you'll see the patch of gray that's grown up.  These little suckers took a lot of time and concentration to match up.  But the end result was beautiful!  Of which, I'm realizing I did not get a picture. 

Food and trains.  Brighton's in his element. 

While doing crafts, someone forgot to check the twins.  Inevitably, something perished.  It was my cheesecake.  Ok, maybe it didn't perish, but it sure got maimed. 

See me on the far left?  Speaks volumes, doesn't it? 

Keaton's face shows a mixture of "oh crap, I've been caught" and "who said cheesecake isn't good for my hair and complexion?"

I'm thinking they probably helped rub it in each other's hair.  We also found it on the wall, cupboards, and inside the cupboards on the flashlights.   

Luckily, with a little extra whipped cream I was able to hide some of the damage.