Welcome to Our Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving



We had a lovely Thanksgiving yesterday. Kraig had to work at 8am, so he dropped the boys and me off at my parents' home on his way into the Kitchen. After a decent breakfast and a quick assessment of the food preparation situation (Mom was sick with a yucky cold), I got started making the elements for our feast. Here we go:

1. Spinach Dip--a family grazing favorite. We had a small gathering this year, just our little family, my parents, and my brother, so we pared down our Pre-Thanksgiving-Feast to only include the spinach dip. Not a carrot stick or cucumber slice could be found in the house!



2. Raspberry Jello Salad--Andy was intrigued by the jello. I guess I've never made Jello before. ***Note to self. Children are easily entertained with jello.
   


3. Fruit Cocktail Salad--At Kraig's first Thanksgiving dinner with the Renchers, he affectionately dubbed this salad "The Salad of Luuv." This was Andy's favorite because of the marshmallows. He kept telling me that the mallows had gone bad and couldn't put them in the salad. I'm sure he thought he was fooling me pretty good when I allowed him to wander away with the bag of marshmallows so he could 'check them out.' Cute boy.



4. Pies, pies, pies, pies pies. Pumpkin, apple, Brenda Berry. Just the standards.



5. Turkey. Scotty stepped in to help me with the bird.



6. Rolls. Thanks again, Warner. They were a hit. You were right, they never disappoint. I was asked to make them for the ward Christmas party too.
   


7. Sweet Potato Casserole. I've made it before, but this batch was a hit with everyone. Must have been the two sticks of butter I used :) Mmmmm. Delicious!



8. Potatoes. I peeled, Kraig mashed.



9. Gravy.

Kraig made Kristy's Spinach Salad and the stuffing. Dad carved the turkey. Mom tried to rest and to not feel guilty that I was doing the brunt of the load. Scott stirred the gravy and helped keep the kiddos entertained while I tried to handle the rest of it.

In honor of my Grandma Rencher (it was her birthday), we used her silver. I can honestly say that's the first meal I've ever eaten with silver. It was very special.

Thanksgiving highlights:


Joshy eating a marker and coloring his palms.

Andy's pickle, roll, raspberry jam combo. He ate the whole thing.

The dishes afterwards. It wasn't too awful--Mom was good to keep on top of the messes I was making.

The "Fat-happy" nap afterward.

Black Friday

I've loved Black Friday since I worked at Old Navy when I was in high school. I love the crowds, the thrill of finding something I want (or didn't know I wanted) at a great price. And I love to spend money.

We've been looking for a new camera for over a month. We browsed all the electronic stores, websites and departments comparing prices and features. We have an old Nikon Coolpix and have really loved it, so we decided to get another one, the Coolpix S550. Kraig and I did our research and found the best price for the camera to be between $180-$210, depending on the package that came with it.

Long story short (too late), we found out that Sam's Club was selling that exact camera this morning at a drastically discounted price. So we braved the 25 degree weather, got in line at 4:30am for the 5am opening, and walked away the winners! We bought two of the last three that they had in the store. (It was such an awesome price, I figured we could sell the unopened second one for a little profit ;) Anyone in the market for a great new camera? I'll give you a steal of a deal!

I hope your Thanksgiving and Black Friday festivities were joyous. I have a lot to be thankful for this year. In fact, the blessings just seem to bubble over when I start to number them. I'm such a lucky girl!