Thanksgiving fun

We decided to stay in town for Thanksgiving this year, and hosted the annual get-together at our house for the first time. The girls and I spent Wednesday baking pies (five!), and prepping various side dishes for the next day.  It was potluck, so we didn't have to make everything, but I found so many recipes that I wanted to try out that soon I had 9 different dishes to make.  Yikes. 

Here's what we made (and the recipes came from either allrecipes.com or thepioneerwoman.com):  Nantucket Cranberry Pie, Dreamy Apple Pie, Pumpkin Cream pie, Pioneer Woman's Pecan Pie, Cherry Cheesecake, Yummy Sweet Potato Casserole, Bread and Celery Stuffing, Lemon Pepper Green Beans, and Cranberry Sauce.  Whew!  That's a lot.  :)  Yes, I was exhausted when Wednesday evening rolled along...

So, Thursday morning we woke up to SNOW!! It snowed over night -- our first for the year.  The kids wanted to go play outside in it, so I bundled them up and pushed them out the door.  They only lasted maybe 15 minutes and then wanted to come and stay inside in the warmth. 

We had our Thanksgiving dinner at 11:30 am to accomodate other family members who had other family dinners to go to.  It turned out well -- everyone fit in the house fine.  We had 23 people all together -- my in-laws in town, and my friend Shelly, and her 3 daughters came also.  Lots of good food and good company.

Here's some pics from the day:

 Bundled up and ready to head outside

 In the front

 With the neighbor's horse

The tables all set up and ready to go 

Waiting for dinner.... 

The cousins 

 Kim & Collette

 Grandma

Arianna and Shelly who spent the afternoon with me (and helped me clean up after the dinner!) It was really appreciated!!