We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year in Salmon. I was a little anxious as it approached, because last time we had Thanksgiving in Salmon, things didn't go so well. 2013 was the worst Thanksgiving I think I've ever had. But thankfully, this year's holiday didn't turn out like that experience at all, and I was so relieved and glad. Kathy hosted the dinner this year (instead of us), which was nice, and helped ease my anxiety. We woke up on Thanksgiving morning and relaxed for a bit, watching the parade on TV and doing our own thing. Thanksgiving Dinner was set for early afternoon, so Josh started working on the potatoes late that morning. He made 3 types of mashed potatoes, and I made 2 kinds of gravy and 2 homemade pumpkin pies. Ed & Kathy did the turkey, stuffing, rolls, corn, and drinks, and Josh's siblings brought salads and pies.
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| Garlic Red Mashed Potatoes |
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| Buttery Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes |
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| Mashed Sweet Potatoes - a first for Josh!!! Kathy mentioned that she loved them, so we wanted to give it a try! He'd never made them before, and didn't want to eat it either, so it was amazing that they turned out so incredibly delicious! Kathy said they were good with country gravy, and she was right! |
Josh's siblings all came to Salmon for Thanksgiving, and it was great to be surrounded by them. There were some new family members that came, which made it even more fun, too. Gideon and Alyssa brought their baby to Salmon for the first time, niece Coral brought her new husband Eric, and Malachi brought his fiancee Molly. The meal was so delicious, and we had a wonderful time eating together with family.
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| The kids served themselves and ate in the kitchen. |
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| The adults served themselves and ate in the living room. |
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| What a beautiful plate of food!!! And it was super delicious, too! |
Later that evening, we played games at Ed & Kathy's house. We played a few rounds of Telestrations, teaching the new game to everyone who hadn't played it before. Then the kids kept playing it as the adults played Buzzword. It was such a fun evening!
We used a variety of techniques to get everyone back up to the top of the long hill after sledding to the bottom: pulling them behind the 4-wheeler, walking, and driving down in the suburban to pick them up.
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| Isaac and Jonah |
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| Joel and Micah |
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| Ammon |
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| Kanyon and Josh (I love this photo, btw) |
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| They kept trying to ride in a train together, but never managed to keep the train connected all the way to the bottom of the hill! |
We had a great time sledding for about two hours, then decided it was time to go back home to warm up. Tiffany's family left later that afternoon to go back home to Pocatello. That evening, we went to watch the Parade of Lights on Salmon's main street. It was still super freezing outside, so we sat in the car until the parade was starting, then we got out for the 15 minutes that the parade lasted. The parade went in a different direction this year, and it was longer than in year's past, but it was a good little parade (despite the cold!).
When the parade was over, we came home and went back to Ed & Kathy's to help Mal & Molly make centerpieces for their upcoming wedding reception and discuss the details of their wedding plans. Then we FINALLY got to play a few rounds of the game "Things" (Kanyon had been dying to play it ALL weekend with his uncles!).
On Saturday, Gideon & Alyssa went back home to Boise. Josh and I took the boys to the Cheerleader's Bazaar at the high school, and then Josh made some turkey and I made rolls so we could have some Thanksgiving leftovers (besides just potatoes)! Everyone knows that the leftovers are sometimes just as good as the Thanksgiving dinner itself!
On Sunday, Malachi and Molly left after church. Kanyon was sad and had a bit of a holiday hangover when it was all over. He had been excitedly anticipating Thanksgiving for almost 2 months because he couldn't wait to be with family and play games with them. For weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, whenever anyone asked what the best part of Thanksgiving was, he would respond "spending it with family". Ever since Thanksgiving this year, he's said that Thanksgiving is now his favorite holiday (even after Christmas he said it!), because he loves being around family so much! I'm glad that Thanksgiving was such a positive experience this year, and that being together with Josh's family has such a lasting effect on Kanyon! I remember a few times when I was a kid spending Thanksgiving with my cousins, and it truly was a magical experience! I have never forgotten moments from some of my childhood Thanksgivings, and I'm glad that my children are making memories now that they'll remember and treasure, too!
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| On Thanksgiving, I noticed the boys added a mask to the golfing snowman in the yard. I laughed so hard when I saw it. I usually picture snowmen with carrot noses and rock eyes, not wearing some mask holding an iron club! It's like he's ready to break into a bank or something! So funny! |
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