gobble

We had a great Thanksgiving Day this year. When the boys woke up, we made banana bread for breakfast, and while it was baking, Mike took the boys to the store to get the ad-filled newspaper. After breakfast, all four of us snuggled on the couch -- a rare occurence these days. Mike and I read the paper while the boys sat riveted to their John Deere DVD (a souvenir from my parents' visit to Deere HQ) until it was time to start getting ready to go.

By this time, the first real snow of the year had started falling. Mike took Liam to the window to look, and asked him what he saw coming down from the sky. "Dust!" Liam replied. I took the boys out to look at the snow, and Liam was so excited he was jumping up and down and trying to catch it in his hands. (It's too bad that the snow didn't show up in the picture, but it really was there.)


We had a nice lunch at my step-grandma's, then headed back to town for dinner at my grandparents' house. There was plenty of food, including Gram's legendary noodles. Everyone brought something to the table (our contribution: veggie tray and a delicious garlic-feta dip with pita chips) but my mom put everyone to shame with her pumpkin cake. Not only was it a pumpkin cake, but it was shaped and decorated with frosting and marzipan to look like one. It was a masterpiece, and nobody wanted to be the first to cut it open. Before that happened, I was able to take a couple of pictures to document this incredible creation.



The boys had a wonderful time running around, being chased by cousins and corrupted by uncles. The latter came about when Liam went outside to play in the snow and a couple of uncles taught him to make and throw snowballs. Liam figured out some mischief all on his own, though -- check him out sticking a piece of cheese to the wall when he thought nobody was looking! They were sad when it was time to go home, but once we got them settled in their room, they crashed quickly. As did I, in preparation for the dreaded Black Friday. All in all, a good day.