Thanksgiving 2007

Its been a busy week. James' parents drove from Murrietta (2 speedy hours away) for Thanksgiving. James' oldest brother Steve and his girlfriend Kathleen also joined us for dinner. Excellent holiday! I'd do it all over again, but maybe not with two turkeys. James and I have liked to have a turkey ready before all other side dishes need to be cooked. That way it can be cooled and carved and pretty for presentation. We also like our guests to return to their homes with their own supply of meat. We overdid it this year with a 20 pounder and an 18 pounder. Nothing will be wasted, I assure you. I love, love, love turkey. Here are some highlights of our week so far.

The girls baked and painted cookies.
















The girls and I at a beach house in Ventura. Gorgeous house!!








James' parents Paul and Marian.









Have you ever used egg wash to paint cookies? I remember doing this as a little girl. My mom basically rocked in the kitchen! I scrambled to find a sugar cookie recipe, but it was not tasty. However, the (almost inedible) cookies were vibrant! I tried a recipe from the ward cookbook. Generally they are the tried and true, generations-proven recipes. I actually had to scratch a big X on this page. Oh well, we doctored up a few with cream cheese frosting....everything is good with cream cheese frosting!

Our friends from Utah, the Cranmers, visited us and invited us to play at their beach house. Leslie and Ken have been our friends for almost 15 years. They brought 2 of their sons, Kyle (15) and Luke (9), and Kyle's friend Ty (15). Kyle and Ty are extremely cute and so my girls were sure not to miss out on the beach house with the Cranmers. Monica brought her friend Anna.

Last night, 10 of us went to see the movie "Enchanted". I had the best seat between Jenna and Brielle! We giggled and laughed throughout this movie. Even James isn't holding back on how cute--and yet enjoyable this movie is. We took his parents and our friends Allison and Anna.