Thanksgiving Fun!

This year, I was off the entire week of Thanksgiving.  So, that meant lots of time for the kids and I to do fun craft projects!  First, Katie Anne made picture frames for pictures of the kids in their cute Thanksgiving shirts.  She decorated the frames with patterns of dots and shapes around the picture, and then she glued fall leaf cutouts all around the border.  We gave framed pictures to grandparents, great-grandparents, and aunts/uncles at Thanksgiving celebrations later in the week.

 Peach loves being a part of the crafting action!

The kids and I made a cute handprint turkey projects as presents for family members, too. The project started with Katie Anne signing the projects.

 Then, we started with little SJ turkey handprints.  Katie Anne was the photographer here!

 Then it was Katie Anne's turn for handprints!

 That's a LOT of drying handprints!

 The next step was for Katie Anne to sponge paint the turkey bodies.

 Here's SJ's handprint before I drew on the face, beak, and feet.

 Here's Katie Anne's- hers is actually 5 prints plus the spongepainted body.

 The finished projects turned out super cute!

The day before the Johnston family Thanksgiving, Katie Anne and I made a turkey cake to take to the family party.  She thought the idea of a turkey cake up herself, and we got on Pinterest for ideas.  It was a challenging project, but it was really fun mother-daughter teamwork!

On Thanksgiving morning, we made some little acorns out of Hershey kisses, butterscotch drops, and mini 'Nilla wafers.  They were easy to do and super tasty!  Saunders got in on the crafting action and made a few, too.

The Kids Meet Caroline!

After the Johnston family Thanksgiving meal, we stopped by Greg and Jillian's house.  Of course, they couldn't come to the big Thanksgiving celebration because Caroline was just freshly home from the hospital.  Jillian's parents and grandmother were in town, so they celebrated Thanksgiving at Greg and Jillian's home together.  We wanted to stop by and say hello to them - and tell Caroline that we're thankful for her little self!  The kids - especially Katie Anne - were thrilled to meet Caroline in person.

Katie Anne couldn't wait to meet her little cousin!

Everyone was a bit nervous with it was SJ's turn... but he was absolutely in love with Caroline!  

 

He immediately leaned over and tried to give her a hug!

First picture of all three cousins together!

Johnston Family Thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving Day, we went to Johnny B. and Renee's house for lunch with my extended family. The spread of food was crazy - it was definitely a Thanksgiving bounty!  You couldn't have squeezed another bowl of cranberry sauce on their countertop if you'd tried.  We had a lot of fun eating with the family, hanging out, chatting, and letting the kids play - especially with Jodi, Jason, and Marley who were in town from Arizona!  Here are pictures from our Thanksgiving lunch together.