Thanksgiving!!!

I'm watching Beauty and the Beast!  I forgot how much I loved this movie!  It really is a classic. I totally remember when my sister Kristi always got a kick out of saying Cogsworth's joke of "If it's not Baroque, don't fix it!"  Haha!  And then Dad loved to sing Gaston's Song in his deepest voice possible.  Ah such good times.


So....Thanksgiving!  The cooking process started at around 9:30 to ensure an eating time about 2:30.  First was to get the turkey in the oven.  Scott did a great job of seasoning and preparing the 18.5 lb turkey (that I got for $10 by the way).  After that was done, He and our friend Brett got to sit and watch some football while I started on a fresh batch of rolls.  While I waited for the dough to rise a bit, I started on the cheese cake so it would have enough time to set in the refrigerator.  Then I got started on the apple crisp so when everything was done in the oven we could stuff that in there while we ate.  By that time the dough was ready to be rolled out and made into the rolls so they could rise.  Let's see...oh then I actually had a minute to get ready for the day so we could just eat once everything was done.  Once we had all gotten ready, it was time to start on the things that needed to be fresh--the mashed potatoes, green beans, and corn.  Scott was such a great helper at being my second pair of hands during crunch time!  And he even got the turkey and gravy done perfectly while setting the table (using for the first time our special china!) and helping me do everything else.  Oh, and once the turkey was resting, we put in the rolls so they could be hot out of the oven when we ate!  So here is the final table:

If you'll notice, I am sitting at the other end of the table so the boys can have a view of the football game while we eat!

We didn't get pictures of dessert, but they turned out wonderfully as well.  And it was so nice just to sit and relax the rest of the day watching football.  Scott and Brett made me aware that even if you don't like the teams that play on Thanksgiving, it is just imperative that every game must be watched on that particular day because it is football!  haha!  They were quite the pair to hear expound the virtues of football and Thanksgiving, I'll tell you that! And I must say, after preparing our first Thanksgiving meal without any assistance from family I am truly grateful for all the efforts of my parents over the years to prepare a meal big enough for all 8 of us at every holiday and birthday!  I knew it was hard work, but now I really do appreciate it!  So excited for years of more Thanksgiving meals like this one!