Friendsgiving

This year we decided to have a little gathering at our house for an early Thanksgiving feast.  Some friends don't have much of a Thanksgiving celebration, some don't have family nearby, and some were heading out of town so it felt like a perfect way to get together for a delicious feast of all our favorites.  Todd and his two kids Kaitlin and Jarred brought dinner rolls and enjoyed playing games like Uno and puppet show.  Thank goodness the kids had some friends to play with, they loved it.

Jacquie and Shauna came of course, and Jacquie's parents were suppose to make it too but they were driving down from South Dakota and got stuck in a really bad storm in Texas.  They finally made it to town a day or two later but we really missed seeing them.  Jacquie brought lots of delicious dishes including sweet potatoes, stuffing and cranberries.  Shauna was our dessert girl and she brought apple pie bars, pecan bars, pumpkin bars and a special cookie bar for my birthday.  Yum!

And of course Grandma, Garrett and I were in attendance.  Grandma brought a veggie platter, creamed corn and some wine and we provided the turkey, gravy and mashed potatoes. 

This was also when we were going to head across the street to a cute bridge to take some family pictures.  Shauna is our photographer every year with her wonderful camera and awesome photographer eye.  But getting everyone motivated to go across the street (mainly since this was Sunday and football was on) was proving impossible so Shauna suggested we take some pics in our own backyard.  Here are some really cute feet. :)

These two look so similar, it's scary.  I think they both look very much like Grandma Dini and a little Irish which comes from both sides.  Tatum absolutely loves her little brother and is always so caring and helpful with him.  I can't say the same for him but he does love his sister and for the most part lets her boss him around. 

Shauna said our old walls would make for a pretty good backdrop and she was right!

 

I had just bought this little white bench at a garage sale for $10 and Garrett painted and sanded it a bit.  It made for a great place to pose with our garden in the back.

 

My sweet babies

and silly babies.

 

And my wonderful mom.  We're so blessed to have her living close by.  The kids ask every day if they get to see Grandma.  I always envied people that had their grandparents so close by since mine lived states away.  Our kids are very lucky.

 

Our sweet family.

 

And the best photographer, GM and friend.  Love ya girl!