Thanksgiving 2014 in Portland

Once again, Thanksgiving was amazing. It is so nice being with family for a few uninterrupted days. I so enjoyed seeing my Portland family who I usually only see once a year (at most) and it was so fun having so much time to play with Phillip! He is the cutest little guy around. Such personality! 

We arrived to Portland bright and early on Wednesday. My Dad picked us up from the airport at 8:30am and we stopped for coffee on our way to my Aunts. We arrived just in time for breakfast with the family. After breakfast we got settled and went over our folders (my Aunt Cheri is so organized, and has a little folder for the girls with the recipes we'll be making printed out for us) and received our traditional hand made aprons. I love this tradition my Aunt started, it must take so much work but I LOVE having these aprons. They're all hanging in our hall closet and I smile every time I open it. I was excited because my folder included appetizers & a hot chocolate bar (more on that later). My sister is always in charge of decorating the table and doing place settings, she is a seasoned pro! And, oddly enough for a pregnant lady, she was also in charge of cocktails! :) And my Mom helps Aunt Cheri with all the main dishes. They're quite the team in the kitchen. 

After we settled in it was time to head over to my cousins new house! They just built an amazing home on a beautiful piece of property with a view of Mt. Hood. Everything was done except for carpeting (and cleaning) last week, so we were able to take a tour. It was amazing, I was ready to move in.  After we took a tour, my Uncle took us to see his new office and do a tasting at the nearby Distillery. I am not a huge hard alcohol fan, but it was so fun to do the tasting. Plus, they made mini cocktails and had boozy ice cream! I got vanilla with salted caramel sauce, it was incredible! After our tasting it was back home for more cooking and family time. While the girls were in the kitchen, the boys played hearts. It's a family tradition to play on Thanksgiving, Andrew won :) 

Thursday we were up early for a yummy breakfast. My Aunt seriously outdoes herself every time we visit. After breakfast we managed to squeeze in our walk (we did this nearly everyday). It's beautiful scenery and somehow we even managed to stay dry. The rest of the day was spent cooking, visiting, playing with Phillip, watching football and eating. Lots of eating. 

One of the highlights was a photo booth my sister created. We set up her tripod with a remote and she made the cutest little Thanksgiving theme props. It was so fun taking pictures before dinner. 

On Friday, we all had turkey hangovers! But we didn't let that stop us. We had lanes reserved for bowling with a big group. I didn't remember that I was such a terrible bowler! But it was still such a fun outing. Back at the house our day was spent with more of the same, cooking, relaxing, and prepping for an amazing Hot Chocolate Bar Dessert Table (more to come)! 

One downside to the weekend was that our cousin Colleen and her family couldn't join us at the last minute. Her oldest, Jason, is a senior football player and their team made it to State Championships! My brother in law figured out a way that we could stream the game online, so we hooked up the computer to the TV and all gathered around after dinner to watch Jason play. Sadly, they lost. But it was nice to support him in his final high school football game. And it almost made it seem like we were all together. 

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend filled with family. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful, close-knit family. It was so relaxing and easy just hanging out with them for a few days! I hope you enjoy this little glimpse into our Thanksgiving weekend....

Mimi is Phillips favorite!

Prepping the table decorations on Wednesday night!

Our traditional (family favorite) spanakopita casserole in the making! 

Crafting with Mamma

Snuggles with Auntie

Apple Cider Mocktail for Sister / Pomegranate Cocktail for me!

Coloring a picture of "touchdown" (football) and "helmet" to wish Jason good luck!