Naylor Notes: Giving Thanks

We had an absolutely FABULOUS Thanksgiving break! Brian and I both agreed it was one of the best, most relaxing holiday breaks we've ever had. Maybe it also has to do with the fact that now that Brian is in school again he actually has several days off for holidays now, rather than one day like he did when he was working. Whatever the reason, it was great!

We kicked it off on Tuesday afternoon by picking Brian up from school and heading to Costco, which is always fun, especially at Christmastime because of all of the decorations and toys they have out. Wednesday was our day of cleaning house. Brian was my hero, letting me sleep in and cleaning the bathrooms, vacuuming, bathing Thomas, and dressing the kids before I woke at 9... now that's my kind of break! :) The rest of the day was lazy except for laundry and making a Jello salad and cherry pie for the feast. I have to say I love having others to divide up the meal responsibilities with, I can't imagine trying to make everything myself.

This year was our first Thanksgiving in Indiana, first time without any family, and first time hosting the feast at our own home. We celebrated with two families in our ward, The Gillespie's and The Jenks. It turned out well. We had excellent food (and plenty of it), both Kristin and Dawn are wonderful cooks. The kids had so much fun playing together (Jenna is 4 and Liam and Maybrie are 3), they even got to go out and play on the playground with the dads after dinner while the moms cleaned up the kitchen because it was beautiful weather in the 60's. The guys watched football and us ladies talked and talked! We prepared some games and crafts for the kids, but we barely got to them at the end of the day because they were being so good playing we really didn't even need something to entertain them. We are truly grateful for the wonderful friends we have here that we love like family.

We spent the rest of the weekend doing some Christmas shopping, both Brian and I headed out for some of the black Friday craziness, a first for us, but we both got some great deals we are excited to give. We got to sleep in a bit... the kids were awesome and both slept in until after 8 twice... a rare and beautiful thing we cherish! We watched some movies, played games with friends, ate tons of leftovers, set up our Christmas decorations, and just enjoyed being together. It was definitely a holiday we will remember! Hope everyone found plenty to be thankful for this year as well.Now for the pictures...

I love to see this on lazy mornings... the kids love to be read to.

I have a love/ hate relationship with cherry pie! I love to eat it, but hate to make the crust... pie crust has to be my least favorite thing to bake, it frustrates me so much! I actually made double the amount of crust I needed so that I would have plenty as I attempted to put the top crust on. I threw away a lot, but at least I covered the whole top of the pie without having to roll it out over and over because it kept crumbling... Maybrie was actually afraid to speak while I was assembling the pie because I snapped at Brian to be quiet! It takes a lot of concentration for me! ha ha! Maybe someday I will perfect my pie making skills, at least for now it always tastes good even if it doesn't always look as pretty as I would like. :)

My finished cherry pie... definitely the cherry on top of my Thanksgiving feast! Yum!

Our pretty table... Dawn brought her nice dishes, she is an excellent party planner... which we got to reap the benefits of! I like how nice the crocheted piece my grandma made looks with the table (Thanks mom!).

I was thrilled that Dawn is so passionate about her meat and wanted to do the turkey, something I would be fine never doing!

The kids' table... Maybrie, Liam, and Jenna. Jenna picked cute character cups for everyone (she takes after her mom) and I set out some Turkey coloring pages.

Dessert

We had Maybrie take a picture of the adults... it cracks me up that me and Brian are the only two in focus in this one!

And here Dennis is leaning so far in that you can't see Kristin! Not bad pictures for a 3 year old though!

Our spread

We had a great little set up

Dan carving the turkey

Dawn made a "Pin the feather on the Turkey" game for the kids.

Liam

Maybrie

Even Thomas loved it!

Jenna- awesome hair with the tie blindfold!

Liam, Maybrie, Thomas, Leigha, Jenna

The Gillespie's- Dennis, Liam, and Kristin (Kristin is from my home stake in Orem and we were roommates at BYU... so fun to be out here together now! They are having another boy in February.)