Turkey Day Plus Black Friday

She came, she came, Grandma T came to see us for Turkey Day! Vaughn found my mom a good deal on a flight out to see us for Thanksgiving and she jumped at the chance. YIPPIE! It has been 6 months since we have seen her. The kids have changed so much since she last saw them. Lots of hugs and kisses were giving on that first day.

We planned out the perfect feast. Here is the top item on the list, the pumpkin pie. YUMMY! Next to the turkey, this is the most important part of the dinner.

Tyson and Grandma T getting the pie ready to bake. I wish I could describe the smells in our house. They were divine. Like a little piece of heaven in my kitchen.

Vaughn had to work the night before Thanksgiving and usually he takes care of the turkey, but this year it fell to me. YIKES! Once it was all thawed I shot it full of the garlic and herb seasoning. MMMMMmmmmm... Then back in the fridge for tomorrow's cooking.

Vaughn put the fryer together and prepared to cook the turkey.

1...2...3...here we go. Dip the bird in and hope that it doesn't catch on fire. Since oil and water don't mix very well, you have to make sure the turkey is free from water or ice. Luckily for us ours was and we didn't have any early 4th of July fireworks in November. We also learned that if you place an onion in with the turkey the bird tends to cook without burning.

The side dishes, and desserts were ready, we just had to wait for the turkey to cook. Grandma T always brings games to play to keep us all entertained.

The bird is cooked. Tyson likes to be dramatic about everything these days. He didn't like the look of the turkey as it came out of the pot.

Doesn't this look like a good spread? We ate and ate and ate. The kids were introduced to sweet potatoes and they weren't very happy about them at first, but then after a bite they asked for more. I love it when they try new foods and actually like them. I am so glad they are not like I was went I was young. (I was a very picky eater)

Even though we stuffed ourselves silly, we all still had room for pumpkin pie. Ahhhh! It was delicious.

Tyson had two pieces of pie. He is growing so quickly that his stomach is getting bigger. He is like a bottomless pit most days. I cannot get enough food into him without him saying, "I am still hungry." Holy Cow. What will the teenage years be like?

After dinner we made a foam train that Grandma T had given us last year, but with all the craziness of last Christmas we never did make it. So it worked out perfect. The kids love to make things and it was even better that Grandma T was there to do it with them.

Time for a little relaxation. Once dinner was finished, and the craft made, we all settled down for a minute and then it was off to bed. The kids and Vaughn went to bed and mom and I headed out in the cold to go Black Friday Shopping. I love to shop Black Friday and get good deals. My mom has never gone and so I was going to introduce her to the wonderful world of late night shopping.

We began at Kohl's. We got there at 9:15 and they didn't open till midnight, but there was some specific items I wanted, and I wasn't going to lose them. We were the tenth person in line and after waiting in the car for the first hour, which we were parked at the front, we saw a little bench and snagged it. We sat there and talked with another lady for the next few hours and then they opened the doors. The line was back about 1/4 of a mile or more, but people who weren't in line were waiting like vultures to slip into the line. A lady slipped right in front of my mom and I was about to say something, but I was too busy thinking about running to grab what I wanted. Oh well, so she got in early. Mom went one way to pick up stuff and I ran the other, and we met in the middle. We grabbed everything we wanted and headed for the check out. We only had to wait 20 minutes. Not bad. We were in and out in 45 minutes and headed to the mall. I figured it would be absolutely crazy, but it wasn't as bad I thought it would be. We headed to the Disney store and a few clothing stores, found what we wanted and headed out to another store. Around 4 a.m. we were pooped and had purchased almost everything on our lists. We saved $600.00 between the two of us. YES! I love big savings.

It is so much fun when Grandma T comes around. We enjoyed our time and were very sad to see her go. Hopefully it isn't another 6 months before we see her again.