Thanksgiving 2013

Thanksgiving morning, the alarm clock went off at 5:45 AM.  Keith and I were in the kitchen with the bird and a cup of coffee by 6:00.  This is an iPhone photo that I sent to my Mom.  When I was a kid, she was always up and in the kitchen by 7 AM to put the Thanksgiving turkey in the oven.  As we prepped the turkey and stuffing, we only hoped that it would turn out as good as Mama G's.

In the next hour, the rest of the house was awake and little Hailey knew right where she wanted to be, snuggling with Uncle Keith.  (Keith doesn't look happy, but really, he was)

Sweet girl, Hailey is a true snuggle bug.

Nana and Kellan were ready to supervise Keith and Papa's turkey prepping skills.

While the bird was cooking, the Hamilton engineers took on a project that we've needed to tackle.  The new light fixture that Keith and Jeff installed this summer had a light that wasn't working.  After some detailed investigation, they realized that it was a simple fix.

Thanks for fixing the light, guys!!

The only nieces in the family were dolled up and ready for Thanksgiving.

Lauren and Hailey

We had a few extra guest join us, including my cousin Khryshell and her family.  Khryshell and her family moved to Laramie, WY this summer, which is only about 2 hours north of here.  I was SO excited to have them join us.  We had a great time catching up and visiting.  We hope to see them down here again soon.

It was such a nice day that the guys spent some time outside at the bar on the patio working on their November tans.

Uncle Jim, Keith, Jake, Brian and Bill

Uncle Jim and Aunt Donna joined us as well.  They live just north of here in Westminster.

Uncle Jim and Keith

Khyrshell relaxing in the living room.

Kellan relaxing with Khryshell.

Oliver relaxing with Mommy.

Lauren striking a Thanksgiving pose.

Keith and his Mama, anticipating our Thanksgiving feast.

Khyrshell and Caison having some pre-feast nibblers.

Finally, it was time for the bird to come out of the oven to "rest".

Isn't it pretty?

The Master Chef of the Bird and Pig (ham).

Keith and his brother Brian tackled the meat prep.

Oh yes, that's a honey baked ham front and center.  SO GOOD!!  That's how much we love these guys, we think they're honey baked ham worthy.

Don't think Keith was the only chef in the kitchen.  This side loving woman pulled off some seriously delicious sides (if I do say so myself).  Idaho mashed potatoes, cranberries (two varieties), gravy, bread stuffing, green beans, bread roles and Nana treated us to her southern cornbread stuffing.

YUM, YUM and YUM!!!

Dinner was fantastic.  I dare say that it was our best holiday meal, yet!  We have really raised the bar for our next traditional holiday meal.  We all enjoyed a fantastic Thanksgiving feast and then... we felt like napping.

Some of us did nap.

Well... Caison did.

Khyrshell, Jake and Caison

Time for some football!

Keith, Uncle Jim and Jeff

After a few hours, it was time for pie.

Pie is always a good time.

Aunt Lindsey thinks so.

So does Aunt Stephanie.

Carrie and Caison.

I tried to get him to snuggle me for the photo, but he didn't want proof that he thinks his Cousin Carrie is quite snuggly.  The first time I picked him up (earlier in the day) he melted onto my shoulder like it was an old friend.  It must be that familiar family feel, it's like being home.

Family photo before their departure.

Caison discovered the boys' rockets, which he found to be quite tasty and he was very sad to leave behind, so it had to be in the photo too.

Thanks for coming Beebe family!!  We loved having you here.

Some of the family had a killer game of cribbage going on.  

Uncle Jim Jeff, Brian, Aunt Donna, Keith and Hailey

Kellan and William enjoyed some pie at the kids table.

If you recall, these two share the same birthday as they were born 30 minutes apart.

We discovered this year that Oliver shares the same birth day with Cousin Caison, only five years apart.

Keith and I even got a chance to snuggle on the couch for a bit of the football game.

When Oliver saw that there were photos to be had, he wanted in on them too.

Kellan wanted no part of a family photo.  He was Thankful to be sitting at the kids table eating pie.

Later that afternoon, we busted out another kid craft. This time, we were making beaded candy canes.

Most of the kids made their candle canes into a perfect pattern.  Kellan made his mostly white, in whatever patter he was in the mood for.

Hailey and Oliver.  Oliver appears to be curious about Hailey's candy cane.

William enjoyed making candy canes too.

William thought that it was fun to wear his candy cane over his ear.

Hailey wanted to wear a candy cane on her ear too.

These photos crack me up.  Hailey was all smiles until I put the camera up. Then, she turned on the looks.

Camera down, Smile.

Camera up, evil eye.

Camera down, Smile.

Camera up, crazy eyes.

Finally, I was able to trick miss crazy eyes into a smile photo with her cousin Oliver.

Once Kellan's masterpiece was complete, he wanted to wear it on his ear too.

Jeff's family got together for a family photo.  William disagreed with this activity, but we took photos anyway.

Isaac, Lindsey, Jeff and William

Before any Hamiltons were allowed to leave or go to bed, they had to participate in the Hamilton family photo.  Of course, not everyone was as excited as others, but we successfully made it happen.

Back Row: Jeff, Carrie, Keith, Aunt Donna, Uncle Jim, Papa (Bill), Nana (Jacquie), Stephanie, Brian

Front Row: Lindsey, Isaac, William, Kellan, Oliver, Lauren, Hailey, Kaden

By evening, everyone was ready for bed.  It wasn't even 5:00 yet.  So instead, we all slowed down a bit.  Several of the kids were playing quietly with electronics, including Oliver and Lauren.

Before long, all of the kids were in their fuzzy PJ's and we had the movie Planes on TV for them.  After an absolutely wonderful day, a movie was about all the energy we could muster up for both the kids and the adults.

Everyone snuggled in and quietly watched the entire movie.

Jeff, Isaac and William

Oliver

Kellan

Kellan with Lauren, Hailey and Kaden

Isaac, Jeff, William and Oliver

A quick snuggle for the host and hostess of Thanksgiving 2013.

Thank you to the Hamilton and Beebe families for joining us for Thanksgiving.  We had an absolutely amazing time and it was as perfect as we had pictured.  We successfully hosted our largest holiday dinner, ever with 20 diners.  It reminded me of holidays when I was a kid, when my Mom, Grandma or Aunt would pull together a feast fit for a large family, which we very much had.  We would all gather around in one house and it was truly memorable. At the time, I wouldn't say that it was a highlight of my youth, but now that I look back, it's one of the things that I miss the most.

This year, we have a lot to give thanks for including our healthy and happy families and that we were all able to be together for this wonderful day.  We hope to gather in our Ham Fam home again for another celebration.