Thanksgiving

We were lucky enough not to have to travel this Thanksgiving. My brother, my sister, her husband, their two kids and two dogs all squished into a station wagon and drove from Maryland to have Thanksgiving with us. Thanks guys!
I'll share "Baking Day" pictures tomorrow. Today I'll focus on Thanksgiving Day at Mom and Mark's. The snacks... oh, the snacks!! I think I could have eaten all of the cashews and pistachios if I would have let myself. I couldn't even fit all the snacks into this picture.

Katie and I were so excited to play "Mall Madness"! We had this game when we were kids and it was easily a family favorite. We somehow lost track of the game over the years and my mom bought one off of ebay. Thanks, Mom!! It's just as I remembered it. It has an automated voice that has the funniest way of saying the store's names. The game was set up in the sunroom and during the course of the game almost everyone had turns playing.

Charlotte loved being banker.

Even though Kylee was sick with a fever, she still loved playing. I guess that's how you know a game is fun.

More games were going on in the living room. The men played cards. I'm sure they probably grunted and scratched too.

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Sometime around 11:00, I heard the sound of a child hitting the floor. I heard my mom call out to me and the sound of Charlotte crying. She was crying hard. Not a sound that a mother wants to hear.

This is what happens when a child falls, mouth first, onto the hardwood floor.

Her poor gums and lip were so purple and swollen. Her cheek was even a bit purple too. All I can say is that I was so thankful that her front teeth hadn't grown in yet. I'm sure they would have either broken or gone through her lip. She was so brave. Jon held her with an ice pack on her face while Mark helped me find a CVS that was open and we got her Motrin and Oragel to ease the pain. It wasn't long before she was playing and eating snacks again (very gingerly, though).

I'm glad to say that almost all evidence of her fall has now faded.

My brother is awesome. Uncle Chris played Mall Madness with the big kids twice! He is a very patient man.

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Now it's time for the MEAL!! Yipee!!

My sister expertly applied butter to the rolls fresh from the oven. Mmmmm....

The dining room table was gorgeous.... though you can't tell from Jon's picture. I put him in charge of pictures while I was helping to get dinner ready. He was apparently in a hurry while taking pictures.

Don't you love Jon's expression? He can't control himself. He sees a camera pointed in his direction and he's compelled to make a face.

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Time to eat!! Katie brought a turkey that she raised. It was delicious! Between the turkey, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, cranberry relish, asparagus, stuffing, gravy, rolls, Watergate salad, ... I tell ya, it doesn't get any better then Mom's Thanksgiving dinner!

Mmmmmmm.......

The kids enjoyed their dinner too. The rolls were definitely the favorite. I think each kiddo had two rolls.

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It was a lot of fun and we all left with full tummies.

When we got back to our house, it was time to put the kids to bed (Charlotte stayed the night at Nana and Grandpa's). Uncle Chris read them a story before bed.

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I started missing my siblings the moment they drove away. It was a great holiday and I can't wait to see them again at Christmas.