thanksgiving 2009

this was the first year in many that we were not "forced" to eat two delicious meals in one day. now, I'm never one to turn down yummy food, but I also do not like having to cut back on eating at one place to save room for the next. we spent all of thanksgiving day at kyle's dad's house. miles was spoiled with some new tractors and an adorable john deere stocking hat. we dined on a feast of ham and potatoes and all the fixings you could desire. miles helped me whip up the green bean casserole on thursday morning...he felt the need to taste test it before giving final approval to present to the holiday table.there was a spread of desserts and we all vegged out on the couch afterward. couldn't have been more relaxing :) we then spent the next day...black friday...celebrating with my side of the family. [on a side note: kyle was the only one who woke up before the sun to run around town gathering the best possible retail deals known to man. he successfully saved us oodles of dollars, but definitely required a nap later in the day :)] the food was delectable and plentiful. nothing beats the smell of turkey roasting in the oven. I will admit though, that I particularly liked the turkey from the fryer this year...yum!

of course the holidays are not complete without a line-up of four legged friends
(tessie, sadie, beemer, and tinker)

casey was allowed to oversee the carving station - she seemed heartbroken and confused every time a scrap hit the trash can. (I'm not eating that for what reason????)

we spent time catching up with my cousin jerry from milwaukee. he has a bit of an obsession for our family's famous green jello salad. this year I was assigned to bring it and I delivered a hefty amount. we may all be eating it until christmas! we also tried our hand at some new games. I have to give credit to the person who came up with farkle. it's a fun one!

miles gobbled up his fair share of food and kept everyone entertained with his silly antics and ever-growing vocabulary. his drug of choice these days is either signing time or five little monkeys. "lucky" for us all are available on youtube.com- at least he is passing this obsession on to his cousin, josiah :)
we have much to be thankful for this year - most of all our health, our incredible friends and our ever-growing family. we are especially grateful to be able to spend the holidays with all of them! here are a few more photos from the day:

miles with uncle brian

pretty little nykkole (she got the memo to wear stripes too!)
josiah was all about burning calories...that makes one of us!

oh what a year will do!

p.s. beth and I did not, I repeat...did NOT plan on the matching sweaters. they are not even the same brand. so I guess it must be true: great minds think alike :)