Thanksgiving Weekend

Back in September, when we were in Indianapolis for Kris and Scott's wedding, I asked their family to come out for Thanksgiving. I was thrilled when I got the text on the way back home that they would be coming! It had been a long time since they had been out to our house and they had never been to our house in Oklahoma! I started the countdown! I couldn't wait!

After talking to Kris about when they would be leaving their house, I figured that they would get here really late. I was so happy when she called and told me they were able to get on the road a little bit early! Hooray for happy surprises!!

Thankfully, Thanksgiving Day was a fairly low key day. It was great to be able to just sit around and hang out with family. We opted for a later dinner time which meant that we didn't have to spend the whole morning in the kitchen. We played, talked, watched the parade, checked out the Black Friday (or Black Thrusday...) sales, watched football, munched on snacks, watched The Brady Bunch...

I had some fun making some festive little place cards for a fun and festive Thanksgiving table. The bottom picture is of the kiddy table. I think it helped the bigger kids not feel so bad about sitting at the "kiddy table".

Turkey success!
I know I had made a turkey breast before, but can't remember if I had ever done the whole bird. I have to say it turned out great! Super moist and delicious!

Time to eat!
I have so much to be thankful for, but this year, on this day, I am SO thankful that I got to spend my Thanksgiving with these special people!

Ben and Alex each requested a turkey leg... (gag!!) Man, I think they really enjoyed them! There were many sounds, jokes, and just plain grossness that went along with those legs! Kris, I know you know what I'm talking about here! I'm sorry, but it was just plain nasty to me! (I am not a fan of bones in my meat!)

Our Thanksgiving feast was amazing!
I got brave and tried to make a pumpkin roll. I love to eat them but have been too intimidated to actually try to make one! After seeing a friend do it and it looked easy, I thought I would give it a try. When I was putting it together on Wednesday night...well...it didn't go so well. I made another one just to try again and have enough for eleven people and it went even worse! My cake didn't want to come out of the pan. Then it didn't want to roll without cracking and the filling oozing out. Let's just say there may have been a tear or two. Despite all of the trouble and stress, the pumpkin rolls turned out super! I will definitely attempt them again! (I would actually love to try some other flavors!)

I am a Black Friday shopper! I love Black Friday! I really wasn't thrilled about the stores opening at midnight (or even earlier). I really don't mind getting up at the crack of dawn and heading out in the cold to get a good deal. I actually look forward to it! With the stores opening at midnight, I wasn't sure if I would even go. Well...after looking at all of the ads, it was hard to resist! Kris and I made our lists and headed out! I had never been shopping with Kris on Black Friday, so I was looking forward to it even more!

I just have to say that I believe that having the stores open at midnight sure brings out A LOT more people! It was, by far, the craziest Black Friday I have ever experienced!

We had a great time and scored some great deals! We got everything on our lists for the day and were happy to take advantage of Walmart's ad matching benefits! Going shopping with my big sister was the best way to start my Christmas shopping!

Since the weather was so great, the guys decided to do a little bit of hiking out at Osage Hills.

While the guys were hiking, we tried and tried to come up with something crafty to do. We finally headed out to Hobby Lobby, but got sidetracked. We ended up going to lunch and then on a tour of Bartlesville. (Since Kris and the girls had never been here before.)

There are a few places you just have to stop on a tour of Bartlesville. The "big train" is one of them! Of course I had my camera with me!

I love it!

While we were at the train, Jon called and said that he and Scott were going to head up to the airport to go for a quick airplane ride. What?! He wasn't going to take the rest of us?!? I asked everyone with me if they wanted to go for an airplane ride to which I heard a resounding "YES!" Sooo...to Independence we all go!

I hadn't been on a ride with Jon in way too long! Isn't that how it goes? I figured if Jon was going to give rides, I wanted to get in on it!

Not only did I want in on it, but Luke wanted to go too! He knows that Daddy works at the airport and that he flies airplanes, but he had never been up in one. This was his lucky day!
YAY!! Luke's first airplane ride!
To say that he loved it would be a complete understatement! The little guy was in love! He couldn't really see anything out the window, but he didn't really care! He was up in an airplane!

This is how Luke felt about getting out of the airplane. He can't wait to go again!

We played a rousing game of Guesstures! Lots of fun! Lots of laughs!
"Underpants!" ha ha ha ha!!!

I bought these jammies for Luke on Black Friday. I still can't get over how stinkin' adorable they are! Could my little Luke be any cuter?!

Scott made some delicious omelets on Saturday morning! YUM!!!


Saturday we headed back to the train to take a few family pictures.

Something like this could be showing up in your mailbox very soon! :)

We "Love the Ville!"

If you are an avid reader of my blog, you know that I believe that no trip to Bartlesville is complete without a trip to Frank & Lola's. Jon and I knew that Kris and Scott would like it as much as we do. We decided that a double date was necessary! I think Frank & Lola's lived up to all of our hype. Kris and Scott really liked it! It was so great to hang out, eat amazingly delicious food and have great conversation. We had the best time! It was a super way to end our weekend together!

Not thrilled to be woke to get on the road...

Kris, Scott, Lex, Kortney, Reilly and Erin, thank you SO, SO much for coming out for Thanksgiving! This weekend lived up to all of my expectations and more! I had such an amazing time spending time with all of you! (We all did!) I wish we could see each other more often, but I think it makes our time that much more special! Thank you for taking the time and spending the money to drive out here. I know that we created memories that will last a very long time!