Happy Thanksgiving!

I really enjoyed our Thanksgiving this year.  It was simple, simple, simple, and just the recharge and reconnect that our family needed.  For the first time in our marriage we had Thanksgiving with just us.  Since it was a small group, I could make small portions of things.  We had a turkey breast, gravy, stuffing (from a box), corn, salad, and pumpkin pie from Costco.  From scratch I made mashed potatoes, cranberry/orange sauce, rolls, sweet potato casserole, and whipped cream.  It was a good mix of working in the kitchen and giving myself a break. :) 

The day itself was lovely.  Erik went to play in the annual ward Turkey bowl, I got a treadmill run in, played around with the kids, and then worked on the dinner.

After we ate our Thanksgiving we went over to the Hambricks for some dessert.  It was a lot of fun.

Jackson didn't eat the pumpkin cheesecake at the Hambricks so he busted into the Costco pumpkin pie as soon as we got home.

Then we spread out our most cozy blankets to watch the first Lord of the Rings.  Jackson's been wanting to watch it for awhile, so we thought the Thanksgiving break would be a good time.  Erik had never really paid attention to the movies before, so it was really his first time watching it too.  Wyatt and Anna fell asleep, but Jackson stayed up and was very interested in the whole thing!  We watched half of the second one last night and will finish it tonight.  Somehow we lost our extended edition Return of the King (I had bought all three when I was up all hours nursing Jackson and needed long movies to watch :) ), so I will have to track down that copy before we can watch it.  They really are excellent movies.

And speaking of excellent movies, we saw Frozen on Friday!  It was SUCH A GOOD MOVIE!  Seriously, it was one of the best Disney movies that has come out in a very long time.  They really brought in some major Broadway talent and it is very evident in the excellent music.  I seriously can't wait to see it again!

The Stakers had invited Wyatt and Jackson over to play Friday morning, so we asked if Camri and Austin wanted to come with us to movies after they played.  Wyatt and Jackson were in Staker heaven :)

As far as Black Friday shopping went, I did nothing!  I had a lot of fun looking at the ads on Thursday morning and was contemplating going Friday morning just whenever I woke up.  However, Anna didn't wake up until 9:00 am, which means I didn't wake up until 9:00am! (the boys always just play on our phones until Erik or I get up) By the time I got ready, Erik convinced me not to go at all.  At first I felt like I was missing out on something fun, but then I realized that there is nothing I need, so why spend money? Anyway, it was nice not to go this year.

Yesterday, Erik worked on vehicles, cleaned up my summer garden for me, and worked on the outside lights.  I held down the fort while he did those things and went on a nice run (listening to the Frozen soundtrack!).  We went to Costco to get the last garland I needed for the staircase and had lunch there and the kids played with Sydney for a while in the evening. 

And I made a wonderful discovery!  PBS in now on apple tv!  Yay!  After being super excited about that, I saw that PBS aired the Hugh Jackman Oklahoma! for their series, Great Performances.  I was beyond excited!  As I watching while putting away laundry and helping Anna and Wyatt in the bath, Jackson sat and watched it with me.  I could tell he liked it too! :)