A few years ago, my sister-in-law made the most delicious apple pie.
I had to have the recipe for Thanksgiving. Pretty tasty for my first attempt.
Whoops... how did those photos get in there? Here is one more :)This is what our storm door looks like every morning... covered in ice.
The past few Thanksgivings were a mess. Bland turkeys, not totally cooked turkeys.
I had not put much effort into making Thanksgiving a special day for us. It is hard to get into the spirit of a holiday when the holiday is centered around spending it with family and friends.
I was determined to change that this year.
I brined a turkey, made a fresh green bean casserole, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, Parker house rolls
The past few Thanksgivings were a mess. Bland turkeys, not totally cooked turkeys.
I had not put much effort into making Thanksgiving a special day for us. It is hard to get into the spirit of a holiday when the holiday is centered around spending it with family and friends.
I was determined to change that this year.
I brined a turkey, made a fresh green bean casserole, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, Parker house rollsapple pie and I worked really hard to get my cranberries to look like the ones that come from a can!
I even purchased some linens, put out the fine china and polished my antique silverware.
Oh MY GOODNESS! Parker House Rolls! Buttery, melt in your mouth fluffy heaven.
Every year from here on out, I will make these rolls. They take a total time of about 6 hours since they rise so many times. After the dough circles are cut out, you dip them in melted butter. Then just before you eat them, you open them up and put in some more butter.
Thanksgiving is not meant to be a healthy dinner.... right?
Here is Braeden with his plate of food. The only thing he ate were the rolls. I survived as a kid on rolls and cranberries at Thanksgiving so I was not going to push it.
Miles did enjoy a little bit of everything.
On Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, we were headed out to Waterloo for a Target trip. Yes, we were going to brave the crazy shopping crowds but I needed a dose of "people". 
We did manage to get in a show and a 12 minute 4-D version of The Polar Express. It was very weird to have the theatre smelling like hot cocoa and water being sprayed in our faces.
Oh MY GOODNESS! Parker House Rolls! Buttery, melt in your mouth fluffy heaven.I was going to make rolls... then not make rolls. I decided last minute to go for it.
Every year from here on out, I will make these rolls. They take a total time of about 6 hours since they rise so many times. After the dough circles are cut out, you dip them in melted butter. Then just before you eat them, you open them up and put in some more butter. Thanksgiving is not meant to be a healthy dinner.... right?
Here is Braeden with his plate of food. The only thing he ate were the rolls. I survived as a kid on rolls and cranberries at Thanksgiving so I was not going to push it.Miles did enjoy a little bit of everything.
On Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, we were headed out to Waterloo for a Target trip. Yes, we were going to brave the crazy shopping crowds but I needed a dose of "people". We started talking about what we should have done for the rest of the weekend. We turned around, packed our suitcases and left for Chicago!
5 hours later and I was about to have a panic attack.
SO many people, stop lights, freeways, traffic.
I had my dose of people alright.
I guess I was more used to my rural living than I thought. (although that does not mean that I am enjoying it. At All.)
We did some driving around suburbia getting a feel for the areas since it could possibly be a future move and we took the kids to the Aquarium..... Thanksgiving weekend.
If you go to the aquarium and plan to see any exhibits, do not go Thanksgiving weekend.
We did manage to get in a show and a 12 minute 4-D version of The Polar Express. It was very weird to have the theatre smelling like hot cocoa and water being sprayed in our faces. What a weekend.
