Gobble gobble

We had a lot of traditions growing up. Coconut pies and Grandma's for Thanksgiving. At Christmas, my brother Christopher said he loved the way we opened our gifts (from youngest to oldest, one at a time). For some reason, I always had the most gifts (my mom said this was because the stuff I wanted was always cheap). After the gifts, we'd head to Grandma's for food, presents and sometimes Midnight Mass.  For Easter, my mom would make strawberry pie and my Grandma would make a ham. The holidays are about your family and since we have a little one, it was time to start traditions.

I made my first Thanksgiving family meal this year. I was quite nervous about it and I got a lot of crap for brining my turkey the weekend before and then de-boning my turkey but it was worth it. My sister-in-law, who is  a vegetarian  most of the time, said it was the best turkey she's eaten -- EVER.  The cornbread stuff wasn't so good though. My husband was against the cornbread stuffing from the beginning. He said it was too sweet. I was the only one who would eat it so guess where it ended up -- the trash. I should have boxed it up and taken it to a homeless shelter. I thought it was good though.

My husband and I decided that we wanted to celebrate Thanksgiving with family. Since my mother-in-law works on the holidays, we invited my sister-in-law and her family over. She brought the vegetables and pies (yum!) and I worked on the rest.  After our bellies were full of the best turkey dinner EVER they played Truth or Dare Jenga while I entertained the toddler.

I have to stay, this was the best Thanksgiving giving we've had since I moved to Bend. And I hope it becomes a tradition.