Thanksgiving Weekend and a House Full!

  So, Thanksgiving...I was so nervous. It was our first time hosting, and my first time cooking a turkey for such an event. Cole invited his friend Kizzy from work and her new husband Tom. He is from the Philippines so this was his first Thanksgiving...EVER! I spent the week cleaning up the house and researching recipes. I found a delicious roasted turkey recipe where you make a compound butter (butter with herbs, garlic, etc.) and you shove it under the skin. I had to baste it every 20 min for 3 hours, not to mention, it barely fit in my tiny oven...

But after 3 hours the turkey was done, and it was beautiful! Did I mention the aroma? I wish there was a scratch and sniff feature on my blog. Wow. 

I did a huge no-no and tried recipes that I have never made before. Fortunately, I am a decent enough cook to pull it off. I made some Brie en Croute for the appetizer, it was delish! Cheese, nuts, and bread. You cant go wrong with that combination. 

We set the table before our company came and Hannah made us all our own turkey hand place cards. She colored them and Cole helped her cut them out. She was very proud of her work. When meal time came no one was saying a word; this is a good sign in my opinion. Their faces were stuffed with food! It was so good! Kizzy and Tom brought the traditional items I didn't make, like mashed potatoes and rolls. Tom also brought some native dishes like Lampas and some delicious chicken soup. Cole was happy to just have his turkey leg!

Lillian didn't get to eat the same food as us, but I made sure she had some Gerber Turkey and Sweet Potatoes. She was just fine with it. Oh, I found this super awesome spoon at Albertsons of all places. You put the food in the handle of the spoon and just squeeze it out into the end of the spoon! It's great for when we are out places or even at church. 

This is a picture of our company, Tom and Kizzy. Oh yeah, and Hannah :-)

After dinner, we cleaned up and our company left, just in time for more company to show up! Cole's family came to visit us for the weekend after they ate in Riverton. With Cole's parents came presents for the kiddos. Such gifts were: bunk beds, a dresser and night stand, clothes, and super hero costumes with muscles. Lucas immediately put on the costume they got for him and didn't take it off until he had to bathe the next day. 

Maggie came with them, which was great because I hadn't met her baby Noah yet! He was so tiny. My kids were still in the womb when they were his size. You forget so quickly how small babies are. He loves his Auntie Manda.

Here is a picture of Ayz, Me, Mandie, and baby Noah in my kitchen. 

It was so nice to have a visit from the family. Cole spent time playing guitar with his dad and the kids played downstairs with Mimi (his sister Mandie). 

On Saturday we took a trip to Fort Collins Colorado to do a little shopping and eat at Rodizzio, a delicious Brazilian restaurant. We went to a baby boutique/toy store that was extremely over priced! They had the coolest stuff there, none of which I was willing to pay for. I did see a really cool baby carrier called a Maya Wrap that I wanted and made a note to save up for it or find it on eBay. When we left the store, Mandie handed me the wrap and said Merry Christmas! It was super nice of her, and I LOVE it. 

After that we then went to the mall. When we got to the mall there was a Holiday Train for kids to ride, so of course my kids had to ride:

Lucas thought it was super awesome. Lillian didn't get to ride, but she liked hanging out in her wrap and watching her brother and sister. We walked a little further down the mall and guess who we ran into? That's right: SANTA!! The kids were ecstatic. Hannah jumped right into his lap, Lucas was hesitant. Like any good mother around the holidays, I forced him to sit on Santa for a picture. He warmed up to him but got off his lap to tell him he wanted a "costume sword". 

Cole's family left on Sunday morning after a delicious breakfast at Perkins :-) We spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying what was left of the holiday break. Cole doesn't have to go back to work until Wednesday so we are going to put up our tree and do some things as a family until he has to go back.