Here's one of the main reasons I don't update my blog more. Rilla believes this is a legitimate way for Mommy to use the computer-- reaching around and through her legs to reach the keyboard.
Cheyenne's class put on a program for a school assembly the Friday before Thanksgiving. They told the story of the Pilgrims.
Here is Cheyenne, saying "The first winter in America was long and hard." I was impressed-- she was loud and clear. During their songs, I could hear her voice from the back of the auditorium. I guess she does have some Vaughan blood in her!
On Tuesday, they had a program for the parents. Cheyenne told a joke-- "What's the best thing to put on pumpkin pie? Your teeth!" Ha, ha, ha!
Marilla, enjoying the hand-me-down scarves from Grandma Jill.
I guess we don't really need to buy clothes-- that is quite the outfit!
It was gorgeous weather for Thanksgiving weekend up at the farm! Thankfully, this picture, taken Wednesday, paints a pretty picture of the day. Good thing the camera wasn't out Wednesday night. That's when I burned a pie crust in Mom's terrible oven (more on that later!), inadvertently sprayed myself with the kitchen sink sprayer (making Owen's day) and covered myself in turkey juice. I came this close to crying over exhaustion and frustration.
The next morning, though, was pretty relaxing. Elliott chilled with some stuffed animals from Aunt Emma.
Cheyenne observed Auntie's knitting lesson for Tori.
Rilla had purple polka dot legs.
Cheyenne got a little snuggle time with Gilbert, who is fat and adorable!
Playing Fluxx. (Hint: don't buy this for Lisa's birthday-- I don't think she likes this game! :-)
Elliott had a great time playing with blocks...
And reading with Daddy.
Marilyn used her artistic talent to color in the Barbie coloring book. Although I don't have pictures, Ashley also did some coloring in that book-- seemed to be a popular pastime, and all the kids were impressed with their technique!
Silly kids playing together.
Finally, we started eating some appetizers and cooking!
I am the picture of purpose and resolve. I had forgotten my apron at home, so I borrowed one of Mom's. I have a sneaking suspicion it was accidentally stolen from convention one year, but I tried not to be overwhelmed with guilt.
Not a lot of marks for elegant presentation of the appetizers, but they sure were yummy! Olivia made clam dip.
Lisa made this-- a block of cream cheese spread with some sun-dried tomato pesto. Super yummy.
And Ashley's guacamole, made even better by being served in a cow bowl!
The stuffing being made.
Clementine oranges, disappearing fast.
The Cooking Cottens.
Bethaney deals with an onion...
while Justin halves brussel sprouts. It was my first time trying them-- not to bad, but I'm not sure they're worth doing a lot of work for!
As my shutter clicked here, little Gilbert's eyes closed, and he fell asleep!
Lisa's handiwork-- fancy place tags!
By the time we were ready to eat, the kids were getting silly.
Orianna. She wore pink tights with polka dots as a counter point to Rilla's purple stockings.
Yup, Elliott and Orianna are still the evil twins.
As per usual, there was obscene amounts of delicious food.
Bethaney's turkey. We all made fun of Bethaney, because she was going to start cooking her turkey while it was still frozen. Well, it was done before my carefully thawed and brined turkey. (I think that oven bags don't work right in those stand-alone roasters!) Anyway, we had two huge turkeys, so plenty of meat.
And rolls, and sweet potatoes, and mashed potatoes...
And zucchini bread, and cranberry-orange relish, and cranberry horseradish relish. (Mom has a weird attachment to the last item-- none of the rest of us can stand it.)
The kids' and (some of) the ladies' table.
Digging in!
They all look like they're finding enough food.
At the kids' table. Note Bet is standing up-- there's not much peaceful eating at this table.
Olivia finds turkey hilarious.
I got to sit by Orianna Grace!
Lily giving Grandma a big hug afterwards.
Ashley, with her festive pumpkin-colored scarf.
I don't know what was in that glass, but the pictures are funny!
The kids getting ready to go for a walk with some of the aunts!
Justin provided the after-dinner music.
And, after everyone had time to let things settle a bit, there was pie! Blackberry, raspberry, pumpkin, apple, lemon meringue and pecan!
(And Evan teasing Orianna. But that's a constant.)
My lemon meringue pie wept. I can never bring myself to care about this, but I know it's a culinary no-no.
Yum, pie crust!
Lily dug into the peanuts for supper.
She's very protective of her peanuts. She didn't really trust Olivia when Olivia took this picture.
"Step away from the peanuts."
There was lots of to-ing and fro-ing, as 20-something people moved around all the extra tables.
Lily's comfortable seat.
I think she was getting a little tired by now.
So was Elliott. Though he was helped by the coffee he was sneaking from various adults.
Dad burns the baler twine from the hay in his furnace, so he brings it in after chores. A whole new level to the usefulness of baler twine was discovered, with the electric blue twine their neighbor uses. Cheyenne and the other kids loved and used it for all sorts of games.
Olivia's Black Friday purchase. Particularly beautiful when paired with these pajama pants.
Elliott was into pink, too.
Making pizza Friday night.
I did the heavy looking on while Bethaney worked on them.
She was really impressed with having her picture taken, apparently.
Remember Mom's awful oven, the one that cooked 60° hot and shocked you when you used metal spoons to stir pots on certain burners? Well, on Saturday she got a new stove! Since they paid $10 for the other one, used, 15 year ago, I'm not sure it was necessary, but it is pretty.
The greatest thing, of course, was the stove box.
It got a little crowded in there with five kids, but it kept them contained. Cheyenne was quite distressed that the other kids didn't share her decorating vision and attention to detail, but they were quite happy just crawling in and out and poking their head out the windows.
Especially the sunroof.
Saturday night, sleepy little cousins read books together.
All the kids' favorite spot-- the window ledge behind the love seat.
Gilbert chilling on Mom's lap. Look at that neck control!
A good time was held by all-- even my weird son.
Here's one of the main reasons I don't update my blog more. Rilla believes this is a legitimate way for Mommy to use the computer-- reaching around and through her legs to reach the keyboard.
Cheyenne's class put on a program for a school assembly the Friday before Thanksgiving. They told the story of the Pilgrims.
Here is Cheyenne, saying "The first winter in America was long and hard." I was impressed-- she was loud and clear. During their songs, I could hear her voice from the back of the auditorium. I guess she does have some Vaughan blood in her!
On Tuesday, they had a program for the parents. Cheyenne told a joke-- "What's the best thing to put on pumpkin pie? Your teeth!" Ha, ha, ha!
Marilla, enjoying the hand-me-down scarves from Grandma Jill.
I guess we don't really need to buy clothes-- that is quite the outfit!
It was gorgeous weather for Thanksgiving weekend up at the farm! Thankfully, this picture, taken Wednesday, paints a pretty picture of the day. Good thing the camera wasn't out Wednesday night. That's when I burned a pie crust in Mom's terrible oven (more on that later!), inadvertently sprayed myself with the kitchen sink sprayer (making Owen's day) and covered myself in turkey juice. I came this close to crying over exhaustion and frustration.
The next morning, though, was pretty relaxing. Elliott chilled with some stuffed animals from Aunt Emma.
Cheyenne observed Auntie's knitting lesson for Tori.
Rilla had purple polka dot legs.
Cheyenne got a little snuggle time with Gilbert, who is fat and adorable!
Playing Fluxx. (Hint: don't buy this for Lisa's birthday-- I don't think she likes this game! :-)
Elliott had a great time playing with blocks...
And reading with Daddy.
Marilyn used her artistic talent to color in the Barbie coloring book. Although I don't have pictures, Ashley also did some coloring in that book-- seemed to be a popular pastime, and all the kids were impressed with their technique!
Silly kids playing together.
Finally, we started eating some appetizers and cooking!
I am the picture of purpose and resolve. I had forgotten my apron at home, so I borrowed one of Mom's. I have a sneaking suspicion it was accidentally stolen from convention one year, but I tried not to be overwhelmed with guilt.
Not a lot of marks for elegant presentation of the appetizers, but they sure were yummy! Olivia made clam dip.
Lisa made this-- a block of cream cheese spread with some sun-dried tomato pesto. Super yummy.
And Ashley's guacamole, made even better by being served in a cow bowl!
The stuffing being made.
Clementine oranges, disappearing fast.
The Cooking Cottens.
Bethaney deals with an onion...
while Justin halves brussel sprouts. It was my first time trying them-- not to bad, but I'm not sure they're worth doing a lot of work for!
As my shutter clicked here, little Gilbert's eyes closed, and he fell asleep!
Lisa's handiwork-- fancy place tags!
By the time we were ready to eat, the kids were getting silly.
Orianna. She wore pink tights with polka dots as a counter point to Rilla's purple stockings.
Yup, Elliott and Orianna are still the evil twins.
As per usual, there was obscene amounts of delicious food.
Bethaney's turkey. We all made fun of Bethaney, because she was going to start cooking her turkey while it was still frozen. Well, it was done before my carefully thawed and brined turkey. (I think that oven bags don't work right in those stand-alone roasters!) Anyway, we had two huge turkeys, so plenty of meat.
And rolls, and sweet potatoes, and mashed potatoes...
And zucchini bread, and cranberry-orange relish, and cranberry horseradish relish. (Mom has a weird attachment to the last item-- none of the rest of us can stand it.)
The kids' and (some of) the ladies' table.
Digging in!
They all look like they're finding enough food.
At the kids' table. Note Bet is standing up-- there's not much peaceful eating at this table.
Olivia finds turkey hilarious.
I got to sit by Orianna Grace!
Lily giving Grandma a big hug afterwards.
Ashley, with her festive pumpkin-colored scarf.
I don't know what was in that glass, but the pictures are funny!
The kids getting ready to go for a walk with some of the aunts!
Justin provided the after-dinner music.
And, after everyone had time to let things settle a bit, there was pie! Blackberry, raspberry, pumpkin, apple, lemon meringue and pecan!
(And Evan teasing Orianna. But that's a constant.)
My lemon meringue pie wept. I can never bring myself to care about this, but I know it's a culinary no-no.
Yum, pie crust!
Lily dug into the peanuts for supper.
She's very protective of her peanuts. She didn't really trust Olivia when Olivia took this picture.
"Step away from the peanuts."
There was lots of to-ing and fro-ing, as 20-something people moved around all the extra tables.
Lily's comfortable seat.
I think she was getting a little tired by now.
So was Elliott. Though he was helped by the coffee he was sneaking from various adults.
Dad burns the baler twine from the hay in his furnace, so he brings it in after chores. A whole new level to the usefulness of baler twine was discovered, with the electric blue twine their neighbor uses. Cheyenne and the other kids loved and used it for all sorts of games.
Olivia's Black Friday purchase. Particularly beautiful when paired with these pajama pants.
Elliott was into pink, too.
Making pizza Friday night.
I did the heavy looking on while Bethaney worked on them.
She was really impressed with having her picture taken, apparently.
Remember Mom's awful oven, the one that cooked 60° hot and shocked you when you used metal spoons to stir pots on certain burners? Well, on Saturday she got a new stove! Since they paid $10 for the other one, used, 15 year ago, I'm not sure it was necessary, but it is pretty.
The greatest thing, of course, was the stove box.
It got a little crowded in there with five kids, but it kept them contained. Cheyenne was quite distressed that the other kids didn't share her decorating vision and attention to detail, but they were quite happy just crawling in and out and poking their head out the windows.
Especially the sunroof.
Saturday night, sleepy little cousins read books together.
All the kids' favorite spot-- the window ledge behind the love seat.
Gilbert chilling on Mom's lap. Look at that neck control!
A good time was held by all-- even my weird son.
5 comments:
Looks like fun! =)
the stuff in the cup was coffee. he's slightly different from you and evan, no? ;)
Oh what fun you had! =-) and precious memories made!
So this was way more fun with words and more photos, and by the way I LOVE the nametags!
Don't you think like Marilla looks like a little immigrant child coming into Ellis Island with all of the scarves wrapped around her? You just may have a gypsy child on your hands!
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