Hopper Thanksgiving

Today my side of the family had an early Thanksgiving feast! My parents and my sister and her family came to our house to celebrate.

Pumpkins on the entry-way table--the little sign says "Autumn"--I love it, my friend Heather gave it to me a few years ago.

We only have one tree in our yard, a Japanese Maple, so we were limited to one kind/color of leaves for decoration. Rhett and I grabbed a few from the tree to sprinkle on the table.
Rhett helped me a lot today!
I got these funny cups at Pokeno last Monday--they say "Gobble till ya wobble" and they have a turkey on the other side. They were fun to use today.
Me with my sister. My friend Mary Katherine mailed me this shirt for my birthday--it says "Thankful" on it, and I love it!!! I'll wear it all the time--I have so much to be thankful for!
All those hours of hard work--gone in an instant!

We got the newspaper a little too thick, so Mr. Turkey had a pretty tough exterior. Dad had to weaken him a little bit.
Dad emailed me this photo and the e-mail read:  Jamie, This picture more accurately reflects the atmosphere around the pinata event (compared to the one on your blog!)  --Dad         

I think he's right!  There was a lot of yelling "Watch out!"

 Lane secures the mop handle while Rhett and Jaiden go for the candy:
Kids' table (minus Jeryn--he was in the high chair). This was shortly before R & J were fighting or playing or something like that and knocked the table completely over. Food went everywhere, but Bogart came to the rescue a little later and cleaned it all up nicely.
Cute picture of Mic & Mario
Yummy feast. We are all thankful!
Turkey
Dressing
Sweet potatoes
Potato Casserole
Cranberry Fluff
Green Salad
Rolls
For dessert, Micaela made this yummy banana pudding cheesecake (thanks for the recipe, Kelly!) and Mom made me another "official" Red Velvet Birthday cake.
My family on the day before my birthday #32...wow, I feel old. Was I 24 when Lane and I got married--I think that's right? Thanks for the delicious cake, Mom--I love my Red Velvet Cake tradition!
I love the little hand at the bottom of the picture--someone was wanting a taste of that icing!
This is some of the craziness that went on tonight here. Mo & Granddad and the four grandkids. It was LOUD, but fun! Growing up, there were NINE grandchildren on my Mom's side (more on Dad's side--I'd have to stop and count...), so this was tame compared to what I grew up with. I love how the boys are poking Granddad in the mouth and the girls laughing.
How we got this picture, I'm not sure. Lane set up the tripod, and everyone was pretty much looking at the camera--very rare! This has been a fun day. I'm so very thankful for my loving family. Lord willing, we plan to spend actual Thanksgiving Day with Lane's family in Warren...so more food, family and fun to come! I just love this season. I don't want the October-November time frame to be over with...it's my very most favorite!