turkey and p-i-y

Thanksgiving weekend was such a whirlwind for us that I had a very hard time putting it into words.  So, I'll tell a story with pictures:

The turkey preparation/cooking/carving is my LEAST favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner.  I always volunteer for everything anything but the turkey.  Our friends, the Balyos, who were joining us from the great state of Wyoming and I asked them to do the turkey and I would do everything else.

Well, they decided not to make the mind-numbing six hour trek across I-80 and I was left with a 21 pound turkey to prepare.

I put Rufus on the case.  Here he is first thing on Thanksgiving morning painting the turkey with butter.

 

 

 

 

Over the last few years, one of our Thanksgiving traditions is to attend Pie Breakfast (to find out what it is and how it started, click here).

So this year was no different.  The location rotates each year.  The Andersons hosted the event this year and we all had pies that we had never tried or even imagined existed.  Macadamia pie was one of my favorites, but the boys all loved the chocolate banana creme.  It was GOOD, and always a great time seeing friends who we wouldn't normally see on a holiday (or sometimes on a regular day!).

 

Squirt is a beggar, mooch and piggy.

Pie Breakfast was no different!

 

 

 

Sauce, Hunter and Rufus pigging out sampling as many pies as possible.
 

After they closed down the event we'd had enough, we headed home to join forces and attack our messy house so that our friends the Myers wouldn't have dust bunnies mixed in their mashed potatoes.

Erin delivered their fifth child, baby Caroline, just two weeks ago and I made sure that I got a snapshot of Kenyon with a baby girl in his arms.

Isn't she a doll?

I know, he looks pretty happy :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, we had two families for dinner and one of the boys' friends who lives down the street, for a total of five adults and ten children for Thanksgiving dinner.

Erin and her mom were in charge of pies.  Erin decided that due to our hurting economy, she was going to use paper plates sparingly and each child got ONE HALF of a paper plate for dessert.  I think she saved me $.015!

After Thanksgiving dinner, I received a phone call from the Balyos - they decided to make the drive.  So at 1 a.m. that night, they arrived for a visit.

Did I mention that they have four boys as well?

So, at mealtime over the weekend, this is what you'd find at our breakfast bar.

Eight boys under the age of eight.

These are the ones I was sure to keep when they packed up on Saturday!

 

Saturday night we had some other friends over for leftovers a visit and Hunter snuck up to me and quietly asked, "Mom, could I have some P-I-Y?"

"Some what?" I said.

"Pie!" he answered.

We all roared in laughter and decided that there is one top-notch homeschool operation going on around here!