turkey dance

Having just arrived back from Utah, we decided not to travel again for actual Thanksgiving, even though we were sad to miss all the family that got together at Aunt Linda and Uncle David’s for the holiday. Samantha and Amelia had a blast last year at their park and playing with all the various yard creatures at their place. We hope to visit soon!

Thanksgiving at Aunt Linda and Uncle David’s in Yucca, 2014:

Uncle David and Amelia– such a little baby last year!

We missed our cousins this year!

Our friends, Sheela and Todd, graciously (and bravely!) invited us over for the Thanksgiving meal, which was perfect since we didn’t have to travel more than a couple miles. Samantha and Amelia “helped” with the pumpkin pies we brought over… and by “helped,” I mean created the most disastrous mess in the kitchen/their own bodies. We ended up keeping one of the pies they “made” at home for them to enjoy since most of the filling ended up in their hair.

Samantha and Amelia were completely occupied from the moment we arrived playing with Lily, Avery, Owen and Gavin’s toys. They didn’t even want to stop to eat dinner they were having so much fun with the kids.

Lily and Avery were pro babysitters and knew just the way to the girls’ hearts– princess costumes.

We served up the kids their Thanksgiving fixings first. What a fun group at the kids’ table!

Then, since the food smelled SO good, we all decided to sit down together and eat. Baby Girl was definitely having a field day with all the delicious fixings on the menu. The “grown up Dora movie” was a huge hit with S and A who were totally engrossed while the adults finished our dinner.

How did Avery know that Amelia loves to be tucked in? She was one happy camper!

After dinner, the kids entertained us with a musical skit written by Lily in which the kids said what they were grateful for and performed a song and dance to match, plus an acrobatics show choreographed by Lily. Some serious talent over here!

Then, the kids showed us their favorite Turkey Dance Song, which is sure to become a tradition at our house now. All the adults and kids had a dance party, while S and A weren’t too sure what was going on!

The Turkey Dance Song for future reference next year!

We didn’t see the girls for a good 45 minutes because they were so busy upstairs playing in Lily and Avery’s room. Lily and Avery were so sweet about sharing all their dolls and toys. While the girls chatted, the boys hung out on the couch. Gavin was especially attached to Jake. What a cutie!

The moment everyone had been waiting for– dessert! Toddler and adult approved.

It was the perfect Friendsgiving! We were so grateful for Sheela, Todd, Sheela’s mom, their sweet family friend, and the kids for a great evening. I haven’t had that relaxing of a dinner in a while and it was adorable seeing all the kids interact.

The next day, we had Great Papa over for dinner and pie, story reading and puzzle putting together.

Samantha is quite the puzzle maker these days.

The girls begged to be carried around in a “pouch,” which is what they call my baby bump.

Two babies in the “pouch” flashbacks! So glad we won’t have to do that this time around.

Pie for the second night in a row!

Sugar coma.

Kisses and hugs for Great Papa!

We are usually traveling over Thanksgiving and never get our decorations up until the first week of December, but since we stayed home this year, we put everything up (except the tree) Friday and Saturday. Samantha came shopping with me to grab a few extra rolls of wrapping paper/baking items and thought it was hilarious to be covered up with all the supplies.