Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving this year was different than usual but still a great time! My mom signed us all up for a Virtual Thankful Run. I decided to go ahead and do mine on Thanksgiving morning. Since it wasn't an in-person race I slept in and when the kids got up I laid in bed and read for a bit before getting up. I ate breakfast and dillyed around the house before getting out for my run. My parents arrived around 1:00 and we had the afternoon to play around. Mom and dad made most of the food at home the day before and we just re-heated it at dinner time. Ty smoked a turkey and my dad grilled a barbeque turkey. I put some cinnamon apples in the crock pot and made some green beans later. It was a very relaxed day. 

We set everything up in the backyard. We had a table for our family, one for mom and dad, one for Jeremy, and one for Thomas. Mom got the coloring tablecloths like before and we cut them to go on the different tables. It was so much fun coloring the tablecloths. The kids and I made some fabric pumpkins to use as center pieces and the kids made everyone place mats. After using all my school materials and creating new ones this spring, I used birthday money to buy myself a laminator. I love it so much and we laminated all the placemats which worked out wonderfully! We all enjoyed eating outside and it was kind of fun to yell across the yard at each other since our tables were spread out. After dinner we colored on the tables some more and Carter played chess with Jeremy.

Thomas at his table. I joked Fezzik was his date for the night.

Before Thanksgiving since the kids didn't get to have a Thanksgiving Feast at school this year we decided to do a little feast with our friends who are also in distance learning. The kids colored headbands and made placemats which we also laminated. I put in an order for chicken nuggets at Chick fil A which Ty picked up on his way home for lunch. Then I made mashed potatoes and green beans to go with them. The kids decorated chocolate pudding cups to look like turkeys. My friend brought a yummy cranberry puree which you pour over cream cheese and then eat on crackers. We loved it so much she made a second batch and dropped it off the day before Thanksgiving so we could share with our family. I got it out as an appetizer and it was gone before we ate! I pulled out a bunch of fun Thanksgiving activities and games I used to use in school for the kids after our feast, but we didn't end up doing any of it because they had so much fun playing together. There was lots of jumping on the trampoline!

The kids at our Thanksgiving feast.

I guess I haven't written a Thanksgiving post since 2016 so there are a few years missing but read past posts here: 2016, 2015, Topeka Thanksgiving 2015, 2014, and 2013.