Count My Many Blessings

Two of my favorite blessings

And I don't know why there are two pictures there...

Thanksgiving this year was a lot of fun. While both of our families had big traditional Thanksgivings in Utah, and we missed them a lot, it was fun for us to experience Thanksgiving here.

The day before we decided to try out a new museum and- JACKPOT! We loved it. The Chicago Children's Museum. Here are some pics of the things we found there. You will notice that Spencer is as enthralled, or maybe even MORE enthralled than Cadence, or really than ANY other kid there. Yes, this will be a family regular for us:

This last one is on our way home, with two exhausted kids. There was really no way to prove that we actually were transporting children with our stroller--all bundled and snuggled and curled up and sleeping...

We got up early and caught the bus downtown to see the Thanskgiving Day Parade on State Street. It was so fun. I had been up late the night before making pies, and so when we woke up for the parade I was cranky and admitted to Spencer that I wasn't looking forward to this particular family event. Cold + Parade = standing for hours in the COLD being bored. (Sorry mom and dad for using such a crass word). He dragged my sorry bootie out the door anyway and guess what?!? It was fun! And I realized why I had such a poor expectation from a parade... I was used to parades in Salem, Spanish Fork, or, if I was really lucky, Provo! I'd never seen a big-town Parade before! It was fun. We saw those big blow-up "floats" (the ones that really float), several marching bands playing Christmas music, drill teams, color guards, a couple of beautiful cars, some Chicago-native Harlem Globe-trotters, tap-dancers, etc.! And the weather was beautiful. It was fun. Thanks, Spencer!

Thanksgiving Dinner was hosted by the Baileys, a family in our ward and in our building. Here's the breakdown:

12 Adults

1 3-year-old

5 2-year-olds

1 1-year-old

4 2-4-month-olds

4 High chairs and a booster seat

2 gallons of Apple Cider and

4 liters of Soda

1 Huge and very moist Turkey

Dozens of very soft and warm crescents

2 bowls of raspberry preserves

1 gravy boat

1bowl of green salad that was so yummy and prepackaged at Costco!

1 huge pyrex dish of herby mashed potatoes

2 1/2 times recipe of Boston Market's sweet potatoes

Plenty of better-than-stovetop-stuffing

Cranberry sauce that all were drooling over

2 pumpkin

2 apple

1 banana cream

and 1 peach pie

with ice cream and whipped cream

100 pounds of leftovers (well, roughly)

Countless stand-offs over toys

Who knows how many games of pretend (Madeleine has a kitchenette, a toy broom, a tea set, a stroller, and more! Poor girl had to share her toys with so many that day! She did great :) )

1 Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving showing

No major spills

No photo documentation (!)

One big ol' good time had by all!

Thanks to the Bailey's for hosting the madness that we thoroughly enjoyed! We missed our families greatly but we had delicious food with good friends and that made us greatful for what we have.