Thanksgiving Tablesetting and Recap 2015

First of all…the chill award goes to Thanksgiving 2015. Seriously. This year was the chillest thing ever.  In the past we have had SO many folks descend upon the Bower house and it is like complete and utter chaos.  In a good way.  But in a very non-chill way.  This was Thanksgiving last year….

This year it was different.  Also – check out Will’s hair in that photo!  HAIRSTUD!

Also – this is kinda funny….last year at Thanksgiving I was pregnant but didn’t know it.  Think about that for a second.  The pregnant girl didn’t even get to enjoy one of life’s most precious gifts – a day dedicated to the eating of FOOD – because I thought I was just packing the pounds and so I only got one second helping.  Also I blamed my tiredness on trytophan.  Don’t worry.  I made up for it this year.  Also…definitely not pregnant.  #justputtingitoutthere

My sister made my grandmother’s nut roll and I certainly credit that with 99% of my weight gain.  It’s SOOO good.

Scroll and wipe the drool.

The other perk of a smaller gathering was to have the chance to eat together at a big table!  We did all adults in the dining room and banned all the kids to the traditional kid’s table.  Adult words for the win!

I did really simple place settings.  It was a drop cloth (yes, the one you would get from the home improvement store) and a scarf on top.  I got the scarf at Walmart of all places 🙂  The pumpkin was leftover from Halloween decor and I cut a bunch of greenery from our yard.

The fire bush leaves started to wilt a little so next year I will know to wait till the last moment for those 🙂

The evergreen branches had rosemary (my rosemary bush is out of control!) and it made every thing smell awesome.

I used grapevine wreaths as chargers to play off the nature vibe.  Jeremy insists that we have BIG cups for dinner (he says that pretty goblet drinking glasses don’t do the job) so that was his input.  I used the little chalkboard easels (also from Walmart) as name plates.

Also…I splurged and got new silverware.  I have a lot of the cheap silverware from Ikea but it feels kinda like a half step up from plastic and the set I have from our wedding is slowly disappearing.  I think Weston might be confusing the spoons with disposable.  I’ve saved three from the trash can so far.  But we went from having 12 to now having only 5.  So to have all eight of us have matching was a real treat 🙂

We tried to get the family photo….

you may wonder I am the way I am….

My father was the ring leader.

Once we all realized what was happening, the guys thought they were just the funniest thing ever.  Note my very-annoyed-I-want-to-eat face.  The dashes are very important in that last sentence 🙂

Finally we all sort of got a good photo (Maxi Knight was sleeping) so then we got to dig in!

I did the kid’s table with craft paper and put out crayons so they got to color too.

So many babies!  Almost as many babies as adults!  And next year there will be!  That’s right!  My sweet new sister is pregnant!  My little brother is gonna be a daddy!  Isn’t that awesome!  And the best news is that it’s a GIRL!  We need more girls around here 🙂  Everyone asks me if I am jealous and the honest answer is – maybe a little – I mean, I am jealous of any one with a new baby and baby girls in our family are this sweet rare gift!  I just love my nieces and I especially love getting them clothes!  (yes, as soon as I found out Tim & Jessica are having a pink bundle of joy, I shopped my little brains out!)

Okay – so back to the engorgement of my stomach.  We had enough food for an army….

And then afterward, us girls got to sit, talk and relax while the kids went outside and played with our neighbor’s grandkids.  Will looks so little here….I always forget that he is still so small 🙂  Don’t from up kid.  That’s an order.

After dinner and clean up and all that, we hit up the store for early Black Friday deals and we packed down a mini-van like it was nobody’s business.  Yes – the award for most amazing Black Friday shoppers goes to Norn and Boots.  They shop.  It’s like watching a reality show where the puppet master plays everyone for a fool and then wins a million dollars.  That’s them….except with small appliances and children’s toys.

So before I forget, I wanted to tell you something really important….Jeremy and I were out at dinner the other night and two of the cutest girls came up to us and said hello and that they were fans and basically were adorable in every way possible.  And it got me thinking….I am ridiculously thankful for you guys.  I am.  truly.  madly.  deeply.  thankful.  And I am YOUR biggest fans.  I know that sounds cheesy but I am so grateful for blogging because it brought me you guys.  I am obsessed with your kids.  I am excited about your house projects.  I love hearing your family stories and how REAL and VULNERABLE you are and I am just plain grateful.  So in true Thanksgiving fashion….the thing I am thankful for this year is my family, my sweet babies, my Jeremy and for you.  All the kisses….