Giving Thanks

Oh yeah - I forgot that I wanted to mention our fun family walk around down town and temple square. It was a chilly Sunday in November and we needed to get out of the house so we grabbed the camera and headed to the square for a walk and a whacky photo shoot.

 Some pictures were cute....

Others showed off our true natures....

Ok. Thanksgiving. First I'd like to say this.

Isn't this just how Thanksgiving really is, behind the scenes? It's a right old mess. But I still just love Thanksgiving.  This was a Preslar year, so we planned to head to Cache Valley to meet up at Troy's oldest brother's house. My sister was coming to town as well so we had her over with her kids on Tuesday night.

Margaret and I pulled out my mom's pie plates, made by cousin Joe. She picked one out and I told her she could have it as soon as I filled it up with mom's pumpkin chiffon pie so she could have that on Thanksgiving Day with her girls.

On Wednesday I was very happy that my dear friend Emily was able to come over for our now traditional day of pie making. We ended up with apple, key lime, chocolate and pumpkin chiffon. 

I also made the mashed potatoes for the feast. With all those Preslar boys I was afraid I'd run out so I made more than would actually fit into our crock-pot:

Rick and Tonja's house was a pleasure as always. Warm, comfortable, so welcoming. I enjoyed being with my Preslar sisters so much. I ended up taking a series of "fours" pictures:

 Part of my "fours" was pictures of me with my four favorites...

The chef of the day, Tonja. She is a master in the kitchen and produced an absolute feast for us:

Perhaps the most fun of the day was after dinner when Rick let us know that he had a whole lot of wood that needed chopping. Troy and his brothers grew up chopping wood together that fueled the wood burning stove that kept their house heated all winter. I know it was a lot of work but I know also that they bonded over that and have great memories. They sure are all skilled in the wood chopping arts and tried their hardest to teach the young men who definitely have a long way to go before they earn their title of Preslar Wood-Cutters. I of course had to try my hand as well. I made the best faces ever.

So many things to be grateful for. I loved celebrating with my family. I confess to having a bit of a cry as we drove to Logan. Someone on instagram asked about what we all do with our leftover pie crust and if we make pie dough cookies like she does....I don't really, but my mom used to. I had to have a good cry for our first Thanksgiving truly without mom. I loved it when she made her pie dough cookies with cinnamon and sugar. Next year I'll remember to do that too.