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.

Thanksgiving Eve

For Thanksgiving 2013, we hosted the entire Hamilton Family.  That included Keith's parents,  his two brothers and their families.  We were SO excited to have everyone here for the long holiday weekend.  After a long drive north from Texas; Jeff, Lindsey and the boys arrived on Tuesday evening and we had a great time relaxing and catching up.

First thing Wednesday morning, the boys hit the playroom.  It was here that they spent most of their time while indoors.

Yes, Oliver knows that his PJ top is on backward.  When I mentioned it he said "ya.. it's ok" as if it really wasn't a problem.  So, we left it.

Oliver and Isaac

That morning, William had to practice his violin.  Oliver and Kellan were intrigued with Uncle Jeff tuning the instrument.

William put on quite a show.

Oliver was still enthralled.  Kellan was losing interest.

William's Mommy and Daddy said that this was his fastest practice ever.  He did what he had to do and then he was off like a speed of lighting to push trucks around with Isaac and Kellan.

Meanwhile, Oliver was waiting in the wings for a lesson on the violin.

Uncle Jeff showed Oliver all of the details of playing the violin.

Then, backward PJ shirt, bed head and all; he was ready.

He was awesome and surprised us all.  He said that he loved it!

Before the boys got dressed, we had to get a cozy PJ photo.

Kellan was being a bit shy with his cousin Isaac, brother Oliver and cousin William.

Isaac, Oliver, William and Kellan

Before long, the boys were racing around the house.

Varoom went William.

Followed shortly by Isaac and Oliver

The boys were having so much fun that we took it outside for an afternoon bike ride.  The temperatures were pushing 70 most of the weekend and we were all loving it!

Wednesday night, the rest of the crew arrived.  Nana and Papa made it up from Texas.  Brian and his family made it down from Wyoming.  Finally, the house was full to the brim with Hamiltons.

That night, we had some tasty Italian Beef sandwiches.  A quick crock pot meal before the big feast the next day.

Oliver and Lauren were enjoying their first of many meals together at the kids table.

Isaac and William weren't quite sure what to make of all of the excitement of all of the cousins at one table and Aunt Carrie taking so many photos. They just starred and starred.  Don't worry, they relaxed in no time at all.

The whole kids table, minus one kid.

Oliver, Lauren, Kellan, Hailey, Isaac and William

Hey, Hey, the kids are ALL Here!

Hailey, Isaac, William Kaden, Oliver, Lauren and Kellan

Lets get this Party Started RIGHT!

Lets get this Party Started Quickly... RIGHT!

I love this group of kids.  They were all so similarly mannered; just, like, this.

Coloring, content, happy.

Love It!

Lauren, William and Oliver were coloring their Turkey masks.

Gobble Gobble

Our boys are Turkeys

Turkeys with bright blue eyes.

Who's eyes could those be?

Once the kids were snug in their beds, it was time to prep for the big feast.  We had plans of putting the turkey in the oven by 7 AM.  That meant, Thanksgiving eve prep.

We sliced, diced and chopped everything that we could in prep for the next day.

Keith cleaned, strung and prepped the bird.

We had a fantastic first day of our Thanksgiving holiday weekend.  Falling asleep that night was a bit like Christmas eve.  We couldn't wait to get up and start prepping the next morning.