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Wow…scrolling through the photos on my phone reminds me that we have had quite the busy holiday week. I hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well! Shall we play some catch-up?
Monday morning I had a parent-teacher conference at Casey’s preschool, so my mom met me in town to watch the boys while I was in the meeting. Afterwards we stopped at a playground before heading off to lunch.
I’m not sure who was having more fun…the boys, or my mom?!
We grabbed lunch at Subway (as usual…options are limited when you live in the middle of nowhere!),
and bought a gift for a friend at Hanna’s shop, picked up some booze at the ABC store, and grabbed the ingredients that I needed to make another batch of Slow Cooker Mesquite Smokehouse Snack Mix (the Goldfish aren’t pictured here!). That stuff is SO addicting, and we wanted to bring some with us for appetizers on Thanksgiving.
On Tuesday morning Casey’s friend Aidan came over for a play date and lunch. The kids spent most of the morning outside,
and joined me briefly in the kitchen to color while I made a batch of our favorite holiday cookies. I wanted to bring some along with us for Thanksgiving (plus stash a few in the pantry for tasty treats).
I also roasted two chickens for dinner that night. Plenty of left-overs! The double-pack of organic whole chickens at Costco is just too good to pass up. I used this recipe, but I also stuffed the cavities with orange slices and a variety of fresh herbs for extra flavor. The boys LOVED this dinner and completely cleaned their plates.
On Wednesday Gibbs had a half day of school, so Casey and Spence and I spent the morning visiting with Margeaux and Ian before we had to head back to pick up big brother at noon.
While I was waiting in the pick-up line at Gibbs’s school, I got a phone call from my neighbor. Apparently Molly decided to sneak out of the gate when I was leaving our property and she paid a visit to the farm across the road.
This girl is just lucky that she made it across the road safely!! Thank goodness for kind neighbors who were cuddling her and playing with her on their front porch.
Later that afternoon the boys and I did some baking. While Gibbs and Spence built a train track, Casey helped me with a batch of blueberry muffins to have on hand for breakfasts this week. We used The Barefoot Contessa’s recipe and they turned out really well (I subbed whole wheat flour for half of the total flour called for).
About the time Casey decided to go outside to play with Spencer, Gibbs popped into the kitchen to help me with a loaf of Apple Bread (recipe is from the book Apples for Jam).
We spent Thanksgiving with my parents at their mountain house south of Charlottesville. On the way there, we stopped at the site of the new home they’re building in the valley to check out the construction progress.
{This pic was taken just before Spence tripped and slammed his forehead into a stud…instant goose egg on his noggin. ?}
Mom Selfie!
No surprise, the construction equipment was a big hit!
At their house on the mountain, we had lunch, went for a couple of walks,
and spent some time relaxing.
Aunt Barbara and Uncle Gary joined us for appetizers,
{Cheese, crackers, sausage, dip with pretzels, my Slow Cooker Mesquite Smokehouse Snack Mix, and a side of Goldfish with trucks + Star Wars action figures. So fancy!}
plenty of football watching,
Lego building,
and a delicious Thanksgiving dinner! My mom has her standard menu that everyone loves (including grilled turkey, honey baked ham, stuffing, sauerkraut, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, and apple and butternut squash casserole (my favorite). Aunt Barb brought the ambrosia (a must-have!) and I contributed the Orange Cranberry Corn Muffins and the apple bread that we made earlier in the week.
Pumpkin pie for dessert (always), as well as my Ginger Oatmeal Cookies (recipe coming tomorrow!), and our White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies (Keith’s fav).
Friday morning we drove up the road to our favorite local Christmas tree farm to cut down our tree.
The boys love to watch the train,
drink hot chocolate,
and help Keith with the cutting.
Saturday morning sunrise,
and the return of the homemade latte! Foamy milk, gingerbread coffee, and spices = perfection! I got this milk frother for Christmas last year and it has been great!
We had haircuts yesterday morning and then spent some time decorating the tree in the afternoon. It was definitely a team effort — Keith strung the lights, Gibbs and Casey helped me with the ornaments (which they loved), and Spence just got in the way and tried to yank the ornaments and lights off of the branches. Helpful.
Saturday night was double-date night with Kristin and Brian! We had dinner and drinks at Rock Salt in Charlottesville to celebrate our November birthdays. So, so fun!
Have a great week, friends! I’ll be back here tomorrow with the delicious cookie recipe, so stay tuned!