Four years ago we decided to start a new tradition at our house for Thanksgiving with all of our friends. Every year you are guaranteed to see your whole family a couple of times at the holidays, but we love our friends too, and the older we get, the harder it is to get together. In this, Friends-giving was created: a potluck Thanksgiving dinner at our house either the Saturday before or after Thanksgiving. Turn-out is usually anywhere from 20-30 guests.
This year was the best yet, with close to 30 friends arriving with their delicious sides, casseroles, and desserts. I keep telling Brian that we need a bigger house just to accommodate seating for Friends-giving!
We provide the meat and beverages for the evening, and Brian does the turkey carving.
I love being in my twenties because every year we have a few pregnant bellies in the room (last year it was mine!), and then the following year we have a house full of new babies! We got a picture of three of the preggo's (found out later in the night that we had another momma-to-be in the mix, but my lips are sealed until the official announcement is made- no, it's NOT me!). Left to right: Lindsey is due with Harrison next month, Amanda has a little boy in her oven due in early January, and Ashley has TWINS coming in April!
With so much food and so many people, we decided it would be easier to circle around the table to fill up plates, and then to sit and grub.
It took a little while to make the trip around, so I used that time to take more pictures...
This is my favorite pic of the night:
...and the sidelines:
Carson and I got the wish bone and I broke the larger end! I can't tell my wish though, or it won't come true.
Carson was elated to have a house full of boys!! Poor Deacon's room didn't stand a chance! (We put Deacon in our room to sleep so that he wouldn't be disturbed by the loud partying going on.)
Amanda provided the entertainment for the night with a guessing game. She has kept her little boys name a secret, so we ganged up on her and Adam and talked them into giving us some clues:
Tracey and Robert were my roommates in college, and I know Sarah through Tracey. :)
These are my friends from work!
Brian and I have known Krystal and Nick forever! Nick and Brian used to work together, and Krystal and I went to the same school. They are now married and have a gorgeous little girl.
Emily is so great about coming every year and bringing fabulous dishes! This year her husband, Grant, was able to come too!
Brandon and Ashley are our favorite Olive's that went on the trip to Grapeland for Labor Day weekend that we blogged about here.
Stephanie (my work wife, hehe) brought her husband, Jason. This is the second year for us to work together and we make a fabulous team!
Jill and Melissa came too! Jill is absolutely adorable and in love!! Melissa won the Trooper Award for coming after her car was towed earlier in the day, and she still made it out to celebrate and was fun like always!
With so much food and so many people, we decided it would be easier to circle around the table to fill up plates, and then to sit and grub.
It took a little while to make the trip around, so I used that time to take more pictures...
This is my favorite pic of the night:
...and the sidelines:
Carson and I got the wish bone and I broke the larger end! I can't tell my wish though, or it won't come true. I was THRILLED to hear over and over throughout the night how much Carson looks like me now, because everyone used to say he and Brian were twins! It is nice to know some of my genes carry over.
Carson was elated to have a house full of boys!! Poor Deacon's room didn't stand a chance! (We put Deacon in our room to sleep so that he wouldn't be disturbed by the loud partying going on.)
Amanda provided the entertainment for the night with a guessing game. She has kept her little boys name a secret, so we ganged up on her and Adam and talked them into giving us some clues:- Starts with an "S", but not "St"
- More than 5 letters
- "E" is the only vowel
- It is in the Top 500 baby names
- There is only one way to spell it
We were about to get the laptop out to start researching, when Lindsey (one of the preggos) guessed it! Since Amanda hasn't told everyone, my lips are sealed, so you will have to figure it out on your own, but it is super cute!
Tracey and Robert were my roommates in college, and I know Sarah through Tracey. :)
These are my friends from work!
Brian and I have known Krystal and Nick forever! Nick and Brian used to work together, and Krystal and I went to the same school. They are now married and have a gorgeous little girl.
Emily is so great about coming every year and bringing fabulous dishes! This year her husband, Grant, was able to come too!
Brandon and Ashley are our favorite Olive's that went on the trip to Grapeland for Labor Day weekend that we blogged about here.
Stephanie (my work wife, hehe) brought her husband, Jason. This is the second year for us to work together and we make a fabulous team!
Jill and Melissa came too! Jill is absolutely adorable and in love!! Melissa won the Trooper Award for coming after her car was towed earlier in the day, and she still made it out to celebrate and was fun like always!Carson loved Melissa too!
I think we gave the boys a little too much freedom. At the end of the night Carson called us over to see the fort they built in our bathroom...
I think we gave the boys a little too much freedom. At the end of the night Carson called us over to see the fort they built in our bathroom...
No comments:
Post a Comment