Last night we went to a ‘cheese’ party where I brought my childhood favorite, homemade Velveeta mac-n-cheese. We had looooots left and have been eating it all day. Bring on the kale tomorrow! 

We’re here! No better excuse to set the table and serve Xanna’s special omelets. This is also the dining room table and chairs Xanna grew up with, only refinished! All the more reason to drink a glass of sparkling with Gretchen, Lisl, Greg, Elliot, Fred, and Laurel too!   

Our dear 12 lb. turkey has gone into overtime. For Thanksgiving, Frank spatchcocked it to roast, and grilled a breast. On Friday, he made turketta and Vietnamese marinated turkey wings for dinner. We also took the leftovers and made turkey pot pies, turkey enchiladas, and turkey salad (think chicken salad) for Xanna, in addition to homemade meatballs and tomato sauce. To make room for alllllll of these freezer meals, we also cleaned out the freezer! Xanna is set, and while making all this food was fun, I must say that a cleaned out freezer is the gift that keeps on giving! 

They’re also Xanna and Meryl’s common language:)  

Frank and I made all of Grandpa’s requests, and we packed it up and went to visit him! Roasted and grilled turkey, Baba’s stuffing, yams, canned cranberry jelly and fresh cranberry relish, lots of gravy, and pumpkin pie. What a treat for us all, especially Grandpa! Happy Thanksgiving! 

We all took Thanksgiving afternoon naps...and then decided we’d drive around to find more to eat. Jo and Peter did not disappoint! And Meryl got to meet Jana too.

Tease! We took a family Christmas photo today. Bring on the holiday music and cheesy Hallmark holiday movies!

This girl skipped her afternoon nap and had no intention of settling down on the plane. Already at a year, she’s primed for Spring Break partying...if only she was heading south instead of north!

Next up, Thanksgiving eve grocery shopping with everyone else. Must have canned cranberry jelly. 

Nothing like a potluck! Tonight’s was Thai themed, and oh was it so good. We topped it off with an egg nog taste-off, and Meryl dined from ‘my’ high chair 38 years young! Maybe in that time we’ll finally figure out the selfie-stick.