Our First Thanksgiving at Home

We had a really nice Thanksgiving this year. It felt more traditional than the years past since being in Texas because it was nice and cold that day, and we got to do it in our home!

I had to take a picture of Scott eating breakfast at Boston's table with him that morning. I think he didn't want to get the table dirty since I had already put the place mats out. 

One of my goals this pregnancy was to stay active enough to be able to do a turkey trot on Thanksgiving day. Running was really hard this pregnancy because I didn't feel good, so I cancelled the turkey trot I had signed up for. Waking up at 6AM and driving 30 minutes to run in the freezing cold when I felt sick was not my idea of fun. I thought maybe I could do my own run/walk turkey trot around our neighborhood that morning if I was feeling up for it. If not, then I was going to walk 3 miles. When I woke up Thanksgiving morning I was actually feeling pretty good which was a rare thing this pregnancy, so I decided to give it a try. The cold felt soooo good and to my surprise I was able to run 4 miles with some walking breaks. It was the best feeling run I had had my entire pregnancy. It made my day because I didn't think it was going to happen. It felt so good to run in the cold and not be nauseous, and I was happy with 13-14 minute mile pace because the past couple weeks I wasn't even able to run for more than a few seconds before I felt like I should walk.  I decided that was my last day of running (or at least attempting to run), and I was glad it ended on a good one. My last day of running when I was pregnant with Boston was also a Thanksgiving day turkey trot. 

After my run I met Scott and Boston at our park to watch Scott play in a turkey bowl with some friends from the neighborhood. Then we went home to get ready for our friends to come over for Thanksgiving lunch. 

We always used to watch a Christmas movie on Thanksgiving, so I told Boston he could watch Rudolph when his friends got to our house. He was excited about it all week. 

We ordered our turkey from a yummy BBQ restaurant here called Rudy's. I had no idea how to make a turkey and I didn't really want to risk it. The Rudy's turkey was awesome, so I think it will be a new Thanksgiving tradition. Surprisingly it's the same price as buying a big frozen turkey and it comes fully cooked, seasoned, and smoked. We just had to warm it up for an hour, and then watch a youtube video to figure out how to carve it. Scott did a great job carving it. He even made it look pretty. 

We had our good friends, the Reeves over, and also a new family in our ward, the Andersons. They brought yummy sides with them and we set up a buffet with all the food on our counter. 

The kids had their own cute little tables, but of course none of them ate much. They were too busy playing. 

Everything was so delicious. I think my favorite foods this year were the sweet potatoes and rolls (Thanks Stacie for making those yummy sides!). 

Here's the adult table minus Stacie who was taking the picture. 

After we finished eating we took the kids to Sea World, which has been a Thanksgiving tradition for Scott and I since we moved to Texas. It's a fun one, so I think we'll keep it around. Boston loved sliding down the little hill on the man-made snow again. Can't wait to take him to Utah and show him what real sledding is like. He went when he was two, but he probably doesn't remember it, although he loved it at the time. 

We also saw Santa and Boston told him he wanted some Dark (Darth) Vador stuff. He's never seen Star Wars, but has a Darth Vador bubble gum machine and thinks it's cool because it makes scary breathing noises. 

His list for Santa was changing every day, but I had him make up his mind and make a list the other day. He's pretty set on a trampoline, a cool sword with a sword holder, and a dreamlite pillow that he's been wanting ever since he saw an infomercial on them. 

The last thing we did at Sea World was watch our friend from church perform in the candy cane forrest.

Then we went back to our house for pie and called it a day. I was so, so exhausted, but it was a great day!