Thanksgiving 2011

After our turkey trotting, we headed up to Yuba City to spend Thanksgiving with John's side of the .family We enjoyed a yummy meal, board/card games, football games, a Wii Just Dance competition and Christmas music on the car ride home. I am very thankful for my family and for the blessings that they are in my life.






















For the record, Carter was the Just Dance champion...that boy has got some moves. I have till the end of the month to cross another New Years goal off of my list. Lets just say that I should be busting a move on the Wii while Carter is at school to get MY moves perfected.

{Kit of the Week}

I know we are all wrapped up in all things December...but I thought I would post my Happy Turkey Day layout. Don't you love those cute turkey's? They came right off of a sheet of pattern paper. This layout was created as last weeks Kit of the Week for Green Tangerines (916-771-8010). It was hard to pick just 4 photos from our Turkey day but I think these 4 photos represented what our day was all about...family, food and fun. I am a big fan and promoter of journaling on my layouts. I am sad to report that the journaling doesn't always find the space on my layouts. This Turkey Day layout was one of them. To solve that problem, I journaled on a separate piece of paper, cut it into strips and glued it on the the back of my layout. All of the important information about our day can be found on the back.

I will have this weeks(current)kit to share with you at the end of the week.
Think Christmas, breakfast with Santa, friends, jammies and bed head!

Gratitude on Thursday

On this Thanksgiving Day, I am grateful for so much! Thankful for a loving family, healthy children, our jobs, our home, and our full tummy's. I am thankful for the chance to remember my Grandpa Shore today. He was such a HUGE part of all of our lives. My Uncle Rick is the family videographer. He captures it all on film. Edits it. He creates clever titles and then pieces it all together with great music. Here is last years video. Our little family was not there. It was our year to be with the Krupp's. I am so thankful that he captured Grandpa's last Thanksgiving here on earth. I love my family.

p.s. please pause my music to the right. You will want to watch this video with the music that Uncle Rick set it to.

turkey day 2009

We love Thanksgiving. We love this time of the year. We love that we get to enjoy family, delicious smells coming from the kitchen, football games on the TV, homemade rolls & pies, & moments to reflect on ALL that is right in our little world. With Thanksgiving comes a few yearly "must do" traditions. First up, the turkey bowl with big & little turkeys playing this year :-). John organized the annual turkey bowl & they all met down at our neighborhood park. I took a break in my holiday cooking & ran down to the park to get a few pictures.



























Can I just say that I am happy to report that there were NO injuries & my hubby can still walk :-). That is a HUGE blessing in of itself.


Since both of our families live close enough for us to get to them during the holidays, we have alternated Thanksgiving dinner with each of our families. This year, we celebrated Thanksgiving with John's side of the family. My SIL, Petra hosted Thanksgiving at her house this year. Everything was wonderful. She is a great cook. She cooked the main dinner & everyone else brought the side dishes. Here are of few photos from our turkey day!






























































One of these days I will get my nieces to smile at the camera instead of hiding under their sweatshirts :-).

After dinner,Aunt Heidi took the kids on a turkey trot. This is another yearly tradition that my Grandma Shore started years ago. After dinner, you go on a walk to burn your dinner off before you eat your dessert. For the kids, it becomes a race, for the adults who choose to go, it is a nice walk :-).

Once again,I am in awe of the many blessings I enjoy in my life. I am Thankful for another year that has been filled with those many blessings, wonderful friends, & family that I could not live without!

happy thanksgiving from our family to yours!



We hope everyone had a safe turkey holiday, surrounded by those you love. We spent the afternoon with my family in the Bay Area. 41 of us, enjoyed turkey dinner @ my parents house.


{ I hope someone else has this photo too-mine is blurry. Poor AShley got suckered into taking our family photo with everyones camera}

It was great to have all of my siblings in one place this holiday...thankful for each one of them & my parents!



Lots of food, lots of family, lots of laughs, & lots of dishes to wash-LOL!

A few things I am thankful for today:-
- a good hubby who took his wife to see TWILIGHT yesterday because she wanted to see it again :)!
- healthy, active boys
- boys who will still humor their mother/aunt & wear a silly hat for a photo opp..

- my home
- black Friday sales that start @ 5 am tomorrow...woot-woot!
- my family (all 41 of them today)
- christmas music, holiday tunes officially started tonight @ our house.
- memories
- yummy food

- the Christmas holiday that is fast approaching

Enjoy the rest of your November! Make it fabulous!

I have been making these babies all night! I am in charge(along with my sister, Amber)of bringing desserts & Sodas to our Thanksgiving feast tomorrow! We are also making a few to give to our neighbors. Quick story. I made these for our neighbors the 1st Thanksgiving after they had moved into the neighborhood. I saw the wife of this family a few days later & she told me that she loved the pumpkin roll so much that she had eaten the entire thing herself. When her husband had inquired as to where the rest of the pumpkin roll was, she told him that she had to throw it away because the ants had gotten to it! He bought the story & we laughed. I made them two rolls the next year-LOL!

I pulled this recipe on of All Recipes.com last year. I was too embarrassed to call my friend Michelle & ask for the recipe AGAIN. I could not keep track of the recipe that she has shared with me several years in a row :). I think this one is very similar to hers. it has become a family favorite.

Pumpkin Roll
3 eggs
1 c. white sugar
2/3 c. solid pack pumpkin puree
1 tsp. lemon juice
3/4 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 c. chopped pecans
confectioner's sugar for dusting

1(8oz.) pkg. cream cheese
4 tbsp. butter
1 c. confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
confectioner's sugar for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10 x 15 in. jellyroll pan.

2. In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar with an electric mixer on high for 5 minutes. Gradually mix in pumpkin & lemon juice. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and ginger; stir into the pumpkin mixture. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle pecans over the top of batter.

3. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the center springs back when touched. Loosen edges with a knife. Turn out on two dish towels that have been dusted with confectioner's sugar. Roll up cake using towels and let cool for about 20 minutes.

4. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, butter, 1 c. confectioner's sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Unroll pumpkin cake when cool, spread with filling, and roll up. Place pumpkin roll on a long sheet of waxed paper and dust with confectioner's sugar. Wrap cake in waxed paper and twist ends of waxed paper like a candy wrapper. Refrigerate overnight. Serve chilled; before slicing, dust with confectioner's sugar.

Here are a few adjustments I make to the recipe!
* I leave out the lemon juice & pecans(some family members do not like nuts).
* Instead of rolling cake in dish towels, you can use aluminium foil. Grease foil & dust with flour. Works great!

Enjoy! Happy turkey day to each one of you!