Thanksgiving Weekend

"Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!"

Here's Michael wearing a mini-version of the hunting shirt his dad typically sports this time of year.

This year we enjoyed a festive meal in Rhinelander, at Mom and Dad's house.

My brothers Bob, John, and Bill were there, as well as sister Laurie and her husband Mark. Even Jonathan made it over to Rhinelander.

Jon had this whole past week off from work. He made it home about 9:00 Sunday night. So this time he was able to relax and hunt some before the trek to my parents'.

Our meal was well worth the drive. Mark and Laurie put their considerable cooking skills to work and made sure we had an abundance of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy and stuffing.

Mark graciously prepared a tart cranberry chutney that was to die for (I say "graciously" because he can't stand cranberries so had no plans to eat any himself).

Mom made a wonderful scalloped corn dish, along with the traditional green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, buttered squash, and pumpkin pie.

I made candied carrots and brought along two pies I'd baked at home the day before-- blueberry and blackberry cream (still churning out pies from this summer's bumper blackberry crop, now frozen).

I also brought along home-made dinner rolls that HAD tasted great when I first took them out of the oven (on a previous day), but were definitely blah by the time the actual meal rolled around.

No one complained, though. Everyone chewed dutifully.

At right: Laurie and John take a break from teasing and poking one another (just long enough to pose for the camera).

Besides eating (though I don't mean to understate the amount of eating we accomplished this holiday), there was lots of football-watching, nap-taking (this is what fans did during the "football-watching", while others of us washed dishes), and blaze orange excursions into the woods.

The guys didn't spot any deer, but were able to set up a new, safer tree stand in Dad's woods.

Our pack of unruly dogs had a good time romping around with each other and turning the light dusting of snow in Mom and Dad's yard into a dustbowl of doggie prints.

Thanks for putting up with them (and us), Mom and Dad!

Mom wow-ed us with three beautiful quilts she made. She gave Jon and I the green and white Dresden Plate quilt (at left), which as you can see was put on our bed immediately and topped with Christmas pillows.

She gave Michael this snappy orange and blue pinwheel quilt for his room.

Emma was the lucky recipient of this turquoise blue and brown quilt (I think Mom called it a 9-patch).

We knew we'd be getting these quilts eventually, because we helped pick out the fabric and saw the work in progress, but it's amazing how fast it all came together.

What a wonderful early Christmas gift!

We were very pleased that Jonathan joined us in Rhinelander. He stayed overnight but left early the next morning so he could do laundry before work.

Here's Leila wearing Jonathan's hat (backwards-- the cool way).

The main comment Leila seemed to be receiving this weekend was: "Her face is so full, now!" and "Look at those cheeks!"

Leila, this is the only time in your life when such remarks can truly be interpreted as compliments. When you are older, people will no longer feel safe commenting about your face fullness and cheek size. And that's a good thing.

Saturday we made a family trip to Pleasant Valley Tree Farm by our house, to find this year's Christmas tree.

This is the same place that Emma and I escaped to in the fall for our Girl's Day Out. They cater to city folk looking to give their kids a memorable outdoor experience.

We joined other families in the back of a hay wagon and were pulled by tractor out to the Christmas tree fields. As usual, we picked out a nice balsam fir, which Jon cut down for us using a hand saw.

A team of workers helped shake the grass and leaves off of our tree and bundled it up in twine. Then it (along with us) were loaded onto the hay wagon and hauled back to the shop.

Many pictures were taken along the way...

The kids were able to visit a "living nativity", complete with llamas dressed as camels and shepards herding sheep and goats. Here's the youthful-looking Mary and Joseph, with baby doll in the manger.

There was also a little cabin where kids could visit Santa and Mrs. Claus. We paid the Claus's a visit and then Jon bought the kids hot chocolate. I made a quick stop at the gift shop.

Once home, I wasted no time unpacking boxes of Christmas decor. There's still lots left to do, but we were able to finish decorating the tree and hang our (all too numerous!) stockings on the fireplace mantle.
Anyone who's been over to our house for Christmas these past eight years may have noticed a collection of wooden snowmen which we display. All of our names are on them. I ordered this set from someone while I was pregnant with Emma, so crossed my fingers that our little unborn "snowbaby" would indeed turn out to be a girl named "Emma"... and, of course, she was.

Flash-forward a few years, and we found ourselves with a surprise new family member. Now the set was "short" a snowman!

Emma identified this problem last Christmas. She solved it by drawing a picture of a baby snowman on a snip of paper (complete with one curl on top its head), then taping it on the "Lisa" snowman's belly.

Luckily, in 1996 (I know the exact year because Grandma Jane always records it on the bottom of any Christmas item she gives us) we were given a tiny wooden snowman as a shelf
ornament.

All I had to do to make it fit with the other snowmen was add a scarf and paint Leila's name on (see right). Now our snowman set is complete.

Really. COMPLETELY complete.

Of course, this posting would be sadly lacking if it did not include mention of the deer Jon shot Sunday morning (a doe).

This marks the first time Jon has gotten a deer while hunting on our Colfax land.

It was actually his fourth time "out" on our land this past week. The first few times were met with frustration. One late afternoon he got to his stand just in time to have two neighbor dogs chase a deer beneath him.

On the next time he went out, a neighbor (the owner of the two "stray" dogs) walked out on our land, apparently ready to hunt. He saw Jon and left quietly, without the two of them exchanging any words. Kind of strange.

Another morning he went out and was barked at for about ten minutes by a different neighbor's dogs.

But, persistence pays off in the end.