Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving weekend started with my little sisters coming over to spend the night on Wednesday.  We had fun just being together.  It had been awhile since we have done a sister's sleepover, so it was way overdue! 

All four of us had slept in mine & Brent's bed, so at some point during the night I had to move to the guest bedroom so I could have more than an inch of mattress to sleep on.  Brent got up early on Thanksgiving morning to go deer hunting while the girls and I slept in. 

Once we finally got up, we watched the Macy's Day Parade, prepared the relish tray that was assigned to me for Thanksgiving lunch, and got ready.  Speaking of a relish tray, I had no idea what that was when my aunt asked me to bring it.  So I did some googling and browsing on Pinterest and found out that it has pickles, olives, and other veggies on it.  I feel like I did good considering I eat very few of the items on the tray!  I had lots of help from my sisters too!

Then we looked at the ads from the newspaper Brent picked up for me for a bit, and headed to our first meal of the day.  It was at my step-aunt Ellen K's house, and was a small intimate gathering very different from what I am used to on most holidays.  But it was so delicious and so enjoyable!  My uncle smoked the turkey, and I have to say that is the best turkey I have ever eaten!  I usually don't even eat the turkey, but I went back for seconds of this stuff!

My sisters & I before the big meal.

Funny thing about the above picture: I never realized that my youngest sister and I looked so much alike!  Especially with her hair straight (thanks to me!).  But I love them both with all my heart.  Since they are so much younger than me, it feels like they are my own kids and they mean the world to me.  I was happy to be able to spend Thanksgiving morning with them!

After the meal, it didn't take long for the men to settle in and "watch football."  Which apparently, in men language, means take a nap.  Who knew?  I snuck a picture:

While they were snoozing, us women cleaned up the kitchen and studied the Black Friday ads. We figured out where the good deals were and mapped out our game plan.  Then, a game of marbles and jokers started.  I will have to do a full post on that game sometime.  Our family is SO addicted to it!

Next, Brent & I headed to his grandparent's house for dinner.  Of course, neither of us were hungry, but we went to visit with everyone.  Brent ended up having a plate of food but I just snacked on some chex mix (my favorite holiday snack!). 

Then we headed back to meet my mom so we could head out to get those crazy Black Friday deals. Brent stayed at my step-dad's since they were both going hunting.  Poor man just can't stand to stay home alone! :)  I will follow up with another post on Black Friday and the weekend.