Thanksgiving and Ryder's Birthday

Thanksgiving was delightful.  The best part was just having everyone home-- Craig has been so busy with work and the kids were so busy with soccer.  I really loved having everyone under one roof with nowhere in particular to go, being together! 

It also helped that Craig and I have finally figured out how we do Thanksgiving, and it all went really smoothly-- no panicking over oven space or not enough hot pads or anything.  The day before, Craig had to work a half day, so I made the turkey brine for him and then took the kids to the library.  We decided to drop in and say Hi to Daddy (since his school is super close to the library) and he gave us a tour of his school!  First time I'd seen most of it, and the kids were super impressed!  (The cutest thing was Camille standing in the doorway of the gym, waving and yelling Hi to the basketball team in there practicing!)

Then we headed home and Craig followed a few minutes later.  He got the turkey brining and then once his parents arrived, he began working on pies with his mom helping him out.  He made this amazing chocolate caramel pecan pie, and not only did it taste delicious, it was also very pretty.  If he ever decides to quit his day job, he just might be able to work in a bakery!

Then we took a break from the kitchen to celebrate Ryder's birthday with Grandma and Grandpa!  They brought him lots of presents, which he was very excited about:

He picked out that outfit.  Nothing I said could persuade him to change.

Very excited to receive his favorite book, Edwina the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct

And his favorite new toy, BB-8!

For his birthday dinner, Ryder wanted to eat at Chick-fil-A.  That was PERFECT for the day before Thanksgiving-- not too much food, fast, and the kids could play!  Even Camille managed to go down the big slide!

We got home, had cupcakes put the kids to bed, and got back to work.

I made ice cream while my mother-in-law (and Kendra!) peeled potatoes.  Craig made a pumpkin pie.  Then I boiled and mashed the potatoes while my mother-in-law moved on to peeling apples for apple crisp.  I chopped the apples for a bit, and then Craig took over and finished the crisp.

The next morning, Craig turned on the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade and the kids watched that while we reminisced about the time we went. 

I made rolls.  This is a recipe I only make at Thanksgiving time-- they're super yummy, because you dip the dough in butter before baking them, but because of that, they're also a big mess to make.  And despite the fact that the recipe card says on it, "Impossible to screw up!" me and my sisters have managed to screw it up NUMEROUS times.  (One sister forgot the eggs.  That didn't work so well.  Another sister didn't realize that she needed to soften the yeast in water.  That also didn't work so well.  And one time I added an extra cup of sugar.  That wasn't so terrible-- as you can imagine, they still tasted pretty good!)

Anyway, my rolls this year turned out perfect, so I was pleased.  A few days later, I realized that I didn't let them rise like I was supposed to, but it didn't seem to matter at all.  So I'm still screwing them up, but who cares?

Ryder sampling something...  the dough from the rolls?

It was a nice day, so people played outside with some of Ryder's new toys

Craig made stuffing and then got the turkey in the oven.  His parents arrived and Craig and his mom got back to work on the remaining dishes: broccoli bake, sweet potatoes, and carrots.  They just sort of plugged along getting it all done.  I read my book and bathed kids.  Grandpa played outside with kids.  Grandma washed the china.  I set the table and had Kendra make name cards for each place (I remember LOVING doing that when I was a kid)-- she decorated each one individually, it was so cute!  And before we knew it, everything was ready and it was time to eat!  Just like that!  It didn't feel stressful or anything!

Bentley always claims the drumstick

Friday morning, Craig got up and almost immediately began getting out the Christmas decorations.  I told him he could test-drive cars once the house was decorated and all the boxes put away.  That was the best motivation EVER: he finished in a day and a half!  Two trees, wreaths with bows and candles in the windows.  Holly wound around the banister.  Stockings hung by the chimney (with care).  He did it all.  The house looks so warm and festive!  We even put one of the trees in the basement, so the seminary class could enjoy it-- I hope it makes them as happy as it makes me!

While Craig was hard at work decorating, I was addressing Christmas cards.  I planned to do 20 a day, but then I got antsy and just did all of them.  I've never been this on top of sending out Christmas cards before in my life, so they'll probably get lost in the mail or something, just to teach me to not think I can get things done on time.  (Let me know if you get yours!)(And Craig enjoyed test driving cars Saturday afternoon!  I don't think we'll be buying anything just yet, but it was good to figure out what fits in our garage and what he likes.  Fact finding missions are an important part of the process!  And his car is a '95; it can't last forever...  can it?)


And then, suddenly, it was Ryder's actual birthday!

Birthdays tend to very quickly snowball into Big Things, and it all stresses me out a bit, and this one was no exception.  I began the day (after I got everyone off to school) by leaving super early so we could buy doughnuts for Ryder's class at Spudnuts.  The place just sells out and then closes for the day, so you have to get there early to make sure they've got anything left.  But the joke was on me-- it turns out they don't open on Monday at all!  So I had to race to the grocery store and make do with mini-cupcakes instead.

Then I baked Ryder's cake (it was only 9am at this point!), went to the post office (the stuff of nightmares, this time of year), and hit Costco.  Costco took longer than normal because I was waiting around to get a flu shot, but finally had to give up on that idea.  Camille fell asleep in the car on the way home.  I unloaded groceries while she slept, debated letting her keep napping, but worried the garage was too cold to leave the door open so I'd hear her.  Had to wake her up instead.

I managed to fold laundry and then grab a bowl of cereal for myself, all while talking on the phone with my sister.  Then we headed to Ryder's school to distribute cupcakes.  Unfortunately, our timing was off and we were early, and the teacher didn't want kids eating cupcakes until they'd finished their lunches.  But Colton and Camille were getting nuts.  So I finally handed off the cupcakes to a helper and left.  On the way out, my Mom called, but I quickly discovered that I couldn't talk on the phone AND shepherd two (now feral) kids into the car., and I had to hang up before they got run over in the parking lot.

Got home, put everyone down for naps.  Including myself (just for 15 minutes).  Picked kids up from the bus stop.  Tried to frost Ryder's cake while fielding calls for him from various family members wishing him a happy birthday.

And then it was time for the party!  Craig got home just before it began, thank goodness-- we had 6 kids Ryder's age, plus three Bentley's age, so that makes 14 kids all running around the house!  As you can imagine, it was craziness!  But fun craziness, with pizza and cake and presents.  And everyone-- especially Ryder-- seemed to have a good time.  Whew!

Playing in Ryder's room.

He wanted the frosting to be half chocolate and half vanilla.  So there you go!

Half of them are dabbing

And opening presents

And TODAY, I've been home almost all day making turkey stock and doing laundry.  It's gloomy and rainy outside, so it's a perfect day for this.  The Christmas tree lights are cozy.  And I'm resting up a bit before more of the craziness of Christmas can fully kick in.  I have so much to be thankful for, but right now I'm especially thankful for a calm day with yummy turkey smells.  And the promise of leftover cake later on.