HAPPY TURKEY DAY!!!

(Our awesome, expensive camera isn't working, so until it is fixed... in the distant future when we might be able to afford it, all pictures will be crummy quality cell phone pics. Boo.)

What a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving holiday we were able to have this year! It was sad not to see our families, but SOOOOO FUN to just be together in our own little family. So, some of the things that we did to get ready for the holidays. I got a few fun ideas out of a "Family Fun" book my mom sent me. I sent the kids outside with a grocery sack to fill with leaves and sticks. While they were out, I lightly wrote letters on colored paper, and then the kids used glue to stick all their collection over the letters. The final result:

      A cute banner my kids were soooooo proud of! And I accidentally deleted the other picture, but I was trying to teach my kids how to understand the holiday (in little kid standards). So instead of really focusing on the history, I just focused on what it means to be thankful. So we made these SUPER cute corn cob poppers out of toilet paper rolls and tissue paper. The kids filled the rolls full of goodies (candy, a little tube of bubbles, and a turkey coloring sheet they printed), the we wrapped them in green paper. (This idea was also out of Family Fun.) Both of my kids got to pick three friends they were thankful for, and then the day before Thanksgiving we walked and then drove (because it started pouring rain) the little treats around to their friends.

So, at our house... we have a tradition. Every Thanksgiving Eve, we leave out "Turkey Food"... also known as Candy Corn. We leave a small trail outside and a bowl of turkey food inside by the door. We keep trying to catch one of those special Thanksgiving Turkeys that only come out one night a year.

 This year, we were sooooo close to catching one! It came through the front door, ate all the candy corn, and left a trail of feathers all over the house! We all followed the feathers, and some how the turkey sneaked into Mommy and Daddy's room and climbed out the window! Grayson was soooo bummed, he's been talking about his soon-to-be pet turkey and all the eggs we were going to hatch, but they had fun picking up all the feathers. What a mess, that turkey was! My favorite part was Jaye. While we were looking for it, Jaye kept saying excitedly, "I hear the turkey! It's saying cockadoodle-doo!" 

     Grayson is so smart though. Later in the day, he ran around the apartment complex to our window and came back saying, "That's weird. There weren't any feathers outside of your window!" Try making an excuse for that one! This tradition might not last long with my super-sleuth. But I love how excited they get!

After collecting the feathers, we went on a "turkey hunt". I actually got this idea off of Pinterest, one of the RARE times I actually use what I wasted hours looking at. Anyway, the kids colored a few pictures of turkeys. I then taped them to folders, and worked it out so the turkey pictures stood straight up on the table. Our whole family took turns with some nerf guns shooting the targets. Grayson kept trying to try different skill shots, like laying on his back and trying to shoot! He is such a goof! I'm not sure if Jaye actually ever hit a turkey, but she had fun anyway!

Next was the scariest part of the whole holiday! Cooking this fifteen pound sucker! It was my first time to cook anything of this magnitude. In other words, I felt extremely intimidated! Prepping the bird the night before was horrific. Seriously, look at this picture. It almost looks like a headless humanoid! UGH... so creepy! and although I had been thawing it forever in the fridge, it was still slightly frozen on the inside so I had to literally claw the poor humanoid's innards from it's chest cavity- with my fingers. Like a horror movie!

 Then I must've gotten the time wrong, because after 3 and 3/4 hours of cooking, it still wasn't the right temperature and we had to put it back in the oven. So my BEAUTIFUL, GORGEOUS, FLAWLESS rolls sunk into pancakes, and we ended up jumping in the car to kill an extra hour while the turkey finished. My husband suggested the drive... I think my stress-crazy was starting to come out. But the drive was nice. The turkey turned out beautiful. My pancake rolls were still delicious, and everything was sooooo YUMMY!!!

Even with the three paper cuts I got from the tin foil- (who knew that could even happen!?)... I declare this first Ricks family Thanksgiving a SUCCESS! Woo!