Thanksgiving Day

  

We spent Thanksgiving this year at our home in Denver. I'm the covering clinical supervisor at work so I had to work the day after Thanksgiving and be in town just in case there were any crisis needs with any of the clients at work.  At first, I was really bummed about having to work the day after Thanksgiving but now I'm "thankful" that we had the opportunity to relax at home and host Thanksgiving at our home for some friends.  

We started off the day with a run around Wash Park.  The picture above is of one of my favorite places in the park.  Wash Park was SO busy on Thanksgiving morning.  There was a United Way Turkey Trot and I think they had a turn out of over 10,000 people.  It was both fun and weirdly relaxing to be in the bustling park.  There was something fun about the energy of everyone getting some miles in before the feast. 

Apparently the excitement was too much for Chance.  I swear this kid loves to nap while I am running with him in the stroller. 

I absolutely love running/walking on the trail around the park.  If these trails could talk....

This was my favorite part of my little run.  Because there was a turkey trot this house across the street from the park was out playing "train" cover songs.  I ran within ear shot of them the entire time they sang "Meet Virginia"....(that's Lindsey Springer's and my song from college).  I think I could be friends with these people.  I got a kick out of their more cowbell sign!

The finish line for the Turkey Trot! Can you believe how crowded it was? 

This guy stopped and talked to me while he admired Chance and Marti.  He reminded me of my Grandpa Drake.  Just a guy out for a walk, never met a stranger, complimenting everyone he passes, and all while wearing a turkey as a hat.  You've got to love people like that!

While Chance, Marti, and I trotted...Max, Nick, and Cook ran the park in the opposite direction.  We met up at one of the corners so that we could walk and talk through the park together on our way home. 

When we arrived home we were greeted by the Eakin's dog Henry Bob.  The Eakin's were also in the park running the Turkey Trot but they beat us back to our house to put their son Miles down for a nap.  I absolutely love having friends that feel comfortable enough to make themselves at home in our home.

Especially when said friends start to whip up some food in the kitchen while I finish showering and caring for Chance! The guys did a ton of work in the kitchen this year.  Max, Danny, Nick, and AC all made at least one dish for the table.  It was so nice and fun to be able to cook all together. 



Laura and I had a blast sitting in the living room and talking while Chance and Miles played together.  Poor Miles still does not know what to think of busy body Chance.  

Danny, Max, and Nick getting ready to fry the turkey....wait....didn't we just do this last weekend? 

Practice must make perfect.  Max and the boys did a great job on the turkey.  It was perfectly seasoned and very juicy.

The kitchen was crowded with chefs.  Everyone contributed to a delicious meal!

This was Nick's masterpiece.  I'm not sure what happened but I asked him to help me finish up the mashed potatoes while I went upstairs to take care of Chance.  When I came back downstairs he had added food coloring and they looked like this.  Luckily, they still tasted amazing.  I don't think I've ever had "fruity pebble colored" mashed potatoes before. 

We also lost a batch of crescent rolls to the boys because they wanted to see if they would taste like funnel cakes or donuts if they fried them in the turkey fryer. 

Miles was all smiles at meal time.  He's getting so big so fast. 

Max, Nick, Danny, Miles, Laura, Aaron, and Kim all settled in for our dinner.  We all had a great time laughing and talking over our meal. It was great to be surrounded by friends and laughter on Thanksgiving. 

The boys even pitched in to do the dishes.  Although, Cook is totally posing here.  He saw me grab the camera and asked me to wait.  He then went over and pretended to be loading the dishwasher.  This angered Danny....I guess :)

After dishes it was time for everyone's favorite...dessert! We ended up having more than we could handle.  I think we counted one entire pie per person at the table.  Needless to say we had a lot of leftovers! I love this photo of Kim reacting to how much ice cream Danny put on her plate. 

 We were so lucky to be able to have such a fun and relaxing day at our home.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!