Canadian Thanksgiving!

Oh what a wonderful, crazy, exhausting, exhilarating, fun, delicious, etc...etc..etc..Canadian Thanksgiving Dinner. After weeks of planning, one week of cleaning (perhaps if kept it deep cleaned all the time, it wouldn't take so long!), and one and a half day of cooking...the big day arrived.

Thanksgiving by the numbers:

Total number of attendees? 40!

Total pounds of mashed potatoes? 25 (thanks to Adrianne for peeling and cooking them!)

Total number of HUGE, Costco sized pumpkin pies? 4

Total pounds of butter? 2

Total number of dishes broken? 1 (pretty good, eh?)

Total cups of sour cream? 6

Total number of dishwasher loads? 5

Best street hockey player? Me (of course!)

Farthest distance driven to get here? Ft. Collins which is 471 miles

Best surprise guest? Doyle (my brother-in-law)

Number of tables set up WITH table clothes? 8

Number of pregnant guests? 3 (One was actually overdue!)

Number of little pumpkins used to decorate? 46 (seriously)

The only food I misjudged and got too little of? The turkey! (FAIL) It was good though.

Total fun? Unmeasurable!

Top Row: Riley and Rachel

Row 2: Terry; Sammy; tasty gravy (my specialty); the "kids" table: Erika, Melissa, Danny, Casey, Lucas, and Tyler; Amen (my audio engineer) with the Malad folks: Kauri, Keri, Heather, and little Riley; Zack Thomas (Canadian attending BYU), Erin, and Brant (on his phone as usual!)

Row 3: Ariel; Look at that cutie mother Melissa with her daughter Olivia; "real" full-on whipped cream; Kevin and Rachel Walton (even though the picture is fuzzy, you can totally tell that she was 2 days overdue! Bless her!); flowers and dishes!

Row 4: Danny and Melissa; Darling, darling Adrianne; Thanksgiving tableclothes (9 total!); Isabel...the sweetest little pioneer on the planet, along with her new doll outfit (see the previous post!); the amazing parents, Erin and Spencer (Erin just so happens to be my sister/friend/twin/daughter-in-law/daughter!)

The cool evening weather made for a gorgeous game of street hockey...Canadian style! I, of course, played the part of the goalie. I felt pretty sneaky as I gradually inched my shoes closer together. The shoes being the improvised goal posts. By the end of the game, their goal "posts" were about five feet apart and my goal was around 2!! I'm sure that no one noticed! Hahaha!

I love how my porch looks with the Canadian flag hung in the middle. So inviting! So red! So white! Love.It.

Notice the last picture on the top row. See Isabel in her pioneer dress? She was pretty much stuck to me like glue for the evening and I loved it! I also included a picture of me with my son-in-law Tyler. Yes, that is a red maple leaf on my arm. Besides trying to hide my huge arms, I am pretending to have a tattoo. I would totally get a maple leaf tattooed on my shoulder if it weren't against the "law"!

"CAR"

Though many expressed their apprehension about me using my "good" china instead of paper plates, I went ahead and persisted. A good meal really does need to be eaten on "good" plates. My answer to "You're going to let us eat off of these plates?" was, and still is, "They are just plates!" I really feel strongly that lovely plates, no matter how old they may be or to whom they used to belong should be used! What good are they just sitting in a cupboard or in the attic to bring out and LOOK at? So what if a couple break? If it makes the meal more enjoyable then why not??

Now, I have to tell you about mine. I have two sets of "good" china. The china above with the flowers has a great story: I got it while on my mission in Sri Lanka. There is a Noritake factory in Colombo, Sri Lanka. I got it dirt cheap! It is a set that serves 12. It came complete with tea cups, teapot, plates, salad plates, saucers, serving bowls and platters, salt and pepper shakers, and the list goes on and on! If I had bought it here in the states it would be close to $1000 or more. I got the whole works for $300.00 plus, shipping in a crate on a boat was an additional $200.00. What a steal eh?

The other set I inherited from my mother. I think it is beautiful. I remember eating on them practically every Sunday while I was growing up. It belonged to my great-grandmother. I want others to love it like I do and the only way that can happen is to actually USE them. Right? Of course right!

(sorry about that little tangent about plates and fine china...I just can't stop typing!!)

Thank you to everyone who attended this event. It was an honor to have you in our home. Let's do it again soon. Next time, I'll be sure to buy more turkey!!