{thanksgiving twenty-eleven}

Hello again!

This Turkey Holiday was especially wonderful, full of delicious meals, lots of games, and The Muppets Movie! The whole time I felt so blessed and thankful to be surrounded by such a fun and loving family. Even in reflection about what we’re thankful for, family floats to the top of the list for Jesse and me. We are so lucky to have not just our own families, but as of October 22, officially we have each other’s. What else could you want?

{turkey day prep}

The morning started out full of energy and hustle and bustle in the kitchen. As usual, I awoke to the wonderful smells of Mom Ellis’ stuffing and freshly fried goetta---a German-American breakfast sausage that is almost a staple in Cincinnati. I had actually thought I slept in really late but when I looked at the clock, it was only about 9:30 am. We had a really delicious breakfast which gave us enough fuel to get straight to work.

Everyone pitched in this Turkey Day to make sure that our meal was spectacular. Even Jesse, who is notorious for ducking out during meal prep, helped out by buttering the toasts for our breakfast and assisting Eric with turkey carving.

Eric, Emily’s hubster took on the very important task of making the turkey. He used special tricks and got so into his cooking that he sliced his finger. Unfortunately the Ellis children did not let him get away with whining about it and made him “suck it up.” Luckily his lovely wife Emily patched him up really well and he could resume to making culinary magic.

{dinnertime!}

When we finally sat down for dinner it was almost impossible not to dig in immediately.

We had:

Turkey a la Eric

Cranberry Sauce (canned and the real stuff)

Steamed Broccoli

Mashed Potatoes w/the option of the most amazing caramelized onions or sautéed bell peppers

Mom Ellis’ Amazing Stuffing

& for dessert

Pumpkin Pie

Lemon Chess Pie

yum!

Oh my! I stuffed my belly way beyond its limit and I could barely move from my spot when I was done. And though it was painful afterwards, I would surely do it again! I’ll just make sure I keep my indulgence to once a year.

{turkey day cornhole}

After dinner to work off some of our gut we played some very competitive cornhole. It was quite fun, especially because Emily and I were undefeated! We even beat the husbands despite all of their tough guy talk.

Eventually we had to take to the indoors as the weather was slipping slowly into the chill zone. We still maintained our competitive spirit by joining in on some intense games of Farkle---a dice game. There is a little skill involved, however the majority of your success in the game depends on how lucky your dice rolls are. Unfortunately for Eric, the Farkle Gods were not favoring him at all. Maybe the next holiday will be his time to shine.

What a great Turkey Day! I hope you all had a very happy holiday full of memorable moments.

Good night!

The Mrs.