Turkeys Were Harmed in the Making of this Post

I love Thanksgiving. For many reasons. 

Gluttony is not only welcomed, it is encouraged.

Christmas music can now be enjoyed without the associated guilt of craving it since September.

Stuffing cooking in the oven seems to fill the entire house with holiday goodness.

And pie. But does that really need to be mentioned?

We had such a nice Thanksgiving with family. Our day began at 4:30 AM when we woke up to prep the turkey breast and place it in the slow cooker. It stays so moist and tasty this way! I doubt I will ever make a traditional turkey again...as if I knew how! After we went back to bed for a few more hours (OK...four), we got up to make Pioneer Woman's Creamy Mashed Potatoes and some homemade turkey gravy. While I cooked, Hubby made some road trip music for later this weekend (I'm sure it was so he won't have to endure my endless Coldplay tracks on my iPod). 

We were in the car and on our way to the Friend's house by 12:30!

And what a feast we had! T'liese had made Rhodes Rolls, green bean casserole, Merrill's stuffing (the best in the world, really), and a Jell-O fruit salad. It was all so heavenly...why do we only do this one day a year?!

We went outside to enjoy the beautiful day, and to let our stomachs settle before some pumpkin and pecan pie. Evan had fun being attacked by a tree while on Dad's shoulders. He was a sweet little guy all day. 

After pie, we waddled to the table to play a game of Pass the Pigs (which is now on my wishful-thinking Amazon Wish List because it was so fun!). 

We were home before 7:00 but too tired to put up Christmas decorations. They say good things come to those who wait. We shall see if it applies to something I've been anxiously awaiting for eleven months!

I hope your Turkey Day was just as wonderful. Did you eat lots of good food? Enjoy some family time? Eat too much? 

*snort* 

As if that's even possible!

My Favorite Little Man

I've been able to spend a lot of time the past few days with my little nephew, Evan. His parents went out for dinner on Saturday to celebrate a birthday (Happy Birthday, T'liese!), so I got a few hours with Evan while his mom and dad hit the town alone.

Sweet bliss for all of us, I'm sure!

They were supposed to arrive between 6:00-6:30 PM. After doing some complex Micah Math, I discovered that this only provided about half an hour with Evan before he had to go to bed. And I certainly couldn't play with him since he would need to be winding down for some shut-eye. So I texted his parents and said they could come as early as they wanted (a killer social life of mine made this possible). They fell for it, and at 5:30 PM, Evan arrived at my house!

He came running around the truck with a big ol' grin on his face to hug me, and my heart melted.

When his parents tried to kiss him goodbye, he just lunged for me to hold him instead. And my heart melted.

He immediately went to the alarm clock (which he carried around for most of the evening) that he loves so much, but made sure to kiss my gazelle first. Gazelle's heart melted.

We played ball, tanks, and peek-a-boo. And then we went outside to watch the airplanes come in. I promise that was his idea.

We watched Elmo's Song...Evan's favorite song in the world. La la la la!

When I got him into pajamas, I lightly tickled his cute little legs, and he almost fell asleep right then. My heart melted here, too.

Then he went to sleep. It was such a fun night.

Yesterday, I got to play with Evan at the park for a few hours. He loved the swing, and bonked his head countless times on the play set. That's how you can tell it was a successful trip to the park. Isn't he handsome? His smile just makes my heart melt. 

I think I like him.