Before I tell all about how great Thanksgiving was, I need to say that Christmas was already well underway by the time we actually had our Thanksgiving feast. We had been cueing up the Christmas tunes for a couple of weeks already. Usually we wait until the day after Thanksgiving before we deck the halls, but since we were leaving for the annual cabin trip the next morning and we were all just ready anyway, we decorated the week before. And we weren't the only ones! Romney's roommates were in the spirit as well and got a tree up and lights in their hallway too. Here's our Romney, curled up like a cat in her favorite spot:
And here's Emma at our house, getting the Christmas village all set up:
And here are some Santas, which have now overflowed from the living room into the kitchen, where I think they look especially fetching against the new blue wall. The big cookie jar came as a surprise from Whitley last year:
Oh and here are three cute friends having a movie & art night the evening before Thanksgiving:
This year was the Preslar family's turn to gather. I really enjoy our Preslar years - there are so many more family members who are able to come than in my family. Sam and Kathleen very graciously hosted once again, as they have the only home which can accommodate us all. And they do such a nice job. Their house was so festive - both Kathleen and Sam went to great lengths to make it cheery. Sam made these cool candle holders which Kathleen filled with candles in all sorts of fall colors. She put up the cutest little marquee and had fun decorations everywhere.
We came early so that we could help build (and then devour) another amazing charcuterie board:
Everyone brought really tasty food. I did the stuffing with my own sourdough bread, plus mashed potatoes and two pies. Laie brought these wonderful pies from a shop in Heber - the best one was the cranberry key lime. Heavens that was good. Sam did rolls, Tonja did sweet potatoes and Kathleen made her much-beloved green beans. All was heavenly.
You know what was even better than the food though? The company! I am positive that we have never had so many people at a Thanksgiving dinner before. Carol, her four boys, their wives, and almost all the kids. Obviously no Chase, although he was able to call and the phone got passed around for a half hour so everyone could say hello. He was so cute and asked especially to be able to talk to Grandma since he hadn't spoken to her since he left. I was laughing with my friend Mary as we were making cabin plans earlier in the week. She was telling me that they were planning on a very small Thanksgiving this year. I said, "Mary, I think your idea of small and my idea of small are two very different things." She chuckled and said, yes, only 40 people this year. I told her that we were having a massive year with 21 people! Never have we had so many! Now that the grandkids are starting to find spouses and partners, we have a growing group! The best surprise was that two of Rick's boys came, one with his sweet wife, and one with a new fiance, whom we had never met. We all really liked her a lot. The whole first floor was filled with family, everyone talking and laughing and cooking together. I thought it was just the most delightful day!
A moment that really made me so happy was when Troy's mom was looking around the bustling room and said, "You know, I think this maybe all happened because of me!" It was nice to see her feeling proud of her descendants, and recognizing that she was the root of this great tree.
We didn't stay super long into the evening. Partly this was because we were all super tired. We were laughing about over-charcutering ourselves. Plus, my gals really wanted to get home to watch a movie together and get the Christmas season kicked off. And I had packing to do! Thanksgiving weekend is always so busy but I won't complain. It's all just such a blessing.
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