Another Thanksgiving Come and Gone

I wanted to share a bit of my family life and look back on the wonderful weekend we had this Thanksgiving.

Our weekend started off with the arrival of Mike's parents and a rousing game of Bocce Ball. After the kiddies went to bed we played cards until late in the night.

The next morning Mike was up making the stuffing to put in the slow cooker.

Now, something you don't know about the husband and I is that we work well in the kitchen. Most husbands would be in the living room, on the couch with a drink in their hands during the long preparations in the kitchen. Not so with mine. I like to say, "you can take the boy out of the restaurant, but you can't take the restaurant out of the boy".

Mike does so much that, if we didn't already have the menu planned, I would be lost and I'd be the one sitting it out in the living room, drink in hand. And he prefers it this way. Not just because he knows the work involved during stressful holidays can be overwhelming, but because he loves it and wants to be a part of the job well done at the end of the day.

So, thanks hun, for being my Superman.

the making of the chutney...an experience and one I'll repeat (after changing up the recipe a bit)

Mike pulled the turkey out of the brine and got it smoking on the traeger. I wish I had remembered to take a picture of it after it was finished but in the kerfuffle of gravy making, potato mashing, and carving I didn't think to pick up the camera. Here is the before and after, though! We will definitely be doing that to the turkey again. The bird was so juicy and tender and the oven space was wonderful!

After that, there wasn't much to do except get the finger foods for lunch ready and wait for the rest of the family to show up. During the afternoon there were a few different things going on :

Bocce Ball

finishing up the kid's puzzle...now that's dedication!

singing and piano playing

wrestling

pictionary

The day was great, with all the usual family mayhem thrown in there: kids running around, happy yet underfoot, potato mashing and turkey carving taking up every inch of counter space, and the inevitable sweat worked up during turkey season in the kitchen. Everyone went home full, and in good spirits.
Tonight we did it all again, except with leftovers and the absence of Mike's parents, who went home before lunch.

I hope you had a great weekend with the people you love and had many things to be thankful for!