Turkey Day 2013

Thanksgiving is usually a pretty well-attended holiday at Nola and Nopsi’s house, but we had extra family at the table this year. Cub, Car, and AD#1 came into town from Arkansas to celebrate with us. After meeting up at Nola’s for a bit, some of us decided to get the party started a little early with lunch out at Gott Gourmet on Wednesday afternoon. (And dessert in the form of caramel pretzel bread pudding with salted caramel ice cream. Yum.)

 

{How cute is my Riley-bean in his little peacoat (and my green scarf)? I actually ordered this coat for him when he was less than 6 months old from Zulily. There were only bigger sizes available, but I liked it so much that I decided to get him one anyway, even though he wouldn’t be able to wear it for awhile. It’s still a little big on him, but oh. my. cuteness.}

  

{Rory was pretty cute in his penguin outfit, too. I bought it before he was even born, on a huge sale at Gymboree. I had to guess at the size, but I figured a 6-12 month would be just right, since he would be around 10 months when it would be cold. However, I severely underestimated the chubbiness of my second born son. This might have been the first and last time he wears it.}

Both boys slept in a bit on Thursday, which was awesome. We had a nice, relaxing morning lounging around after breakfast and watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. Then it was suddenly almost noon and we were supposed to be at Nola and Nopsi’s at 1 and no one had showered or dressed or gotten together the things we needed to bring with us. Oops.

We got there about 20 minutes late; everyone else had arrived on time. But there were plenty of appetizers left and Nola handed me a glass of wine shortly after we walked in. Kenny got Rory to go down for a nap, and Riley and Kate had fun playing before dinner. No biggie.

  

Jeff, Cub, and I (and our spouses and kids) were seated at the “kids” table in the den while the grown-ups were at the main table in the dining room. All good, though; I bet we had more fun.

Dinner was fantastic; everyone at our table agreed that the ciabatta pancetta stuffing and the panko-crusted green bean casserole were our favorite dishes. And no matter how many new pies Nola tries out over the years, the old standbys of Mississippi Mud and pecan are always the crowd pleasers. I look forward to that mud pie all year.

As always, thanks so much for having all of us over for a wonderful dinner, Nola and Nopsi. Happy Thanksgiving, y’all!