We had a sweet little Thanksgiving here at home. Tyler worked his long shift from Wednesday morning till about 11am on Thursday. He only got about 2-3 hours of sleep, and he was pretty beat. But he had a good attitude about everything, put on a happy face, and participated in the Thanksgiving festivities with our little family.
I brined my first turkey, and it turned out great despite me not having a turkey baster or a thermometer. Whoops! Two minor details, I guess... Whitney and Cole had a few questions about what the big deal was with this dinner, so during dinner Tyler told the story of the Pilgrims and Native Americans. After Tyler incorrectly told the kids that the Pilgrims landed in Florida at Promontory Point, I figured it was time to wrap up dinner. Poor Tyler's brain was fried from a long night at work!
We went through our "attitude of gratitude" box that we'd been keeping throughout the month of things we're grateful for. We had written things on slips of paper (feathers) for our baren turkey on the door. As we read each one, the kids tried to guess who wrote it and then Whitney taped it up on the turkey's body. No one could guess who had written "sharks," "Buzz Lightyear," or "Spiderman" on some of the slips of paper. Even though Whitney used about a whole roll of tape to tape up the feathers, it was worth it. There were some sweet memories made in the process. It was something simple, and we were glad we paused to think about all the blessings in our lives.
After the gratitude turkey, Tyler took a nap while the kids and I watched Pocahontos II that we had checked out from the library. Kind of appropriate for the holiday, right? Then after that we ate our pumpkin pie and got out our Christmas decorations.We got to spend Saturday as a family running errands and shopping. That night we went to the temple grounds to see the lights and meet up with our amigos. We didn't know that there was a big lighting ceremony going on, so that was fun to see. The kids were getting restless though, and at 8pm when the lights still hadn't all officially turned on, we took off to get some ice cream with our friends.
Overall, it was a great weekend. We were sad we couldn't spend Thanksgiving with family, but we were still happy to have our first little Thanksgiving on our own.
13 comments:
Ya know, two years ago we just did our little family for Thanksgiving and it was nice. Just small and us. Sounds like you had a great day. Poor Tyler, sleep exhaustion.
that sounds kind of nice... we ventured down to arizona and while it was fun to be with a lot of family it was a little hectic! i love the turky idea... i might have to do that one next year. hopefully tyler got some rest!!
love the attitude of gratitude turkey! guess what the reynolds are doing next year???
love reading your blog, natalie.
-anj
So cute Nats! I remember my first turkey; it was perfect... OK, I just bought a Turkey breast. Whatever! ;) Happy Thanksgiving!
Sounds like you guys had so much fun. It is so fulfilling to establish those traditions with your own little ones. You guys are awesome.
Aww, love the Oakland Temple pics. Poor Tyler... you're such a trooper!
Yes, you should get a dentist elf! Or, just tell your kids your elf is a dentist to humor the family. :) My kids quote that part of the Rudolph movie all the time.
NATALIE! So great to find you on this the innerweb. Your family could not be more precious and it looks like things are lovely for the Nelsons. Congrats with everything and with your darling family! I can't believe how time moves so quickly. You'll always be a Woman of Whitney to me... talk about a blast from the past! I would love to get your address if you don't mind sending it. My email is brookehathaway1@yahoo.com.
Can't wait to hear from you!
-Brooke
You are going to have to show me how to brine a turkey. Way to go cooking Thanksgiving dinner with three little kids running around--impressive! The thankful turkey is the cutest I've ever seen. You inspire me, sis!
You "brined" your first turkey? Man, I was just glad I got it in the oven and no one died from salmonella poisoning. And look how cute those kids are all dressed up! I love the turkey!
Nick and Bridget and I shared Christmas just the 3 of us. I thought it would be a little lame, but it ended up being my very favorite so far. Isn't fun just to be a little family?!
Take care dear Ty!
You are still such a cute family! I'm impressed with your turkey doings :)
Impressive - way to go Nats on making the turkey! I've never done it and I'm just not a believer that it would go oh so well.
Such a cute family photo!!
Cute! I love all the activities you did and the pictures. Looks fun!
I was inspired and impressed by your very intentional Thanksgiving. Like everyone else, I loved the turkey feather idea. I honestly have no aspirations to cook my own turkey any time soon so I think you're a champ!
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