Our Thanksgiving 2025

The weekend before Thanksgiving, my parents and my brother, Matt drove down for a visit. We had our usual crockpot chicken tacos for dinner the night they arrived. Arlo was not feeling well at all, so we had a rather early night. Everyone went to church the next morning, apart from me, Arlo, and my mom. We actually had a little "girls time" together, which doesn't always happen during our visits. It was really nice.

After everyone else was home from church, the boys chipped away at a wooden puzzle we had started a few days prior. Arlo took a long nap on me, while I did a little knitting. My dad worked on a word-matching puzzle with Cooper and Finn. My mom read library books to the boys. And after a long nap, Arlo had a bit more energy. My mom brought her trademark chocolate zucchini bread, and I made sourdough focaccia and sourdough biscuits.

On Sunday, we had our early Thanksgiving supper. I baked a ham (overbaked it a bit, honestly), but we also had mashed potatoes, a variation of twice-baked potatoes my brother, Matt made (so good), and sourdough dinner rolls.

After the boys went to bed, I stayed up late with my family, and we recounted the harrowing misadventure my brother had on a photography trip, several years ago, involving a car (driven by a photographer friend) going off road into a river in the Candianan Rockies on New Year's Eve. Obviously, they were okay, but what a story!

Monday brought breakfast and coffee, and then we headed to our local arboretum for a hike. Nicholas took the day off, so we were all able to go. We hiked the trails a bit, pausing at two of our favorite spots – a very large oak tree, which always must be climbed, and a stand of white pines. We had to get Cooper home for a quick lunch before his homeschool co-op, after that.

Monday evening, after dinner, Arlo "opened" a few early birthday gifts. A very special wholecloth quilt my mom made for him, a few of Abbey Wedgeworth's books (What are eyes for? and What are ears for?), and a silicone bento box that will be rotation for his lunches before I know it. I also baked everyone's favorite sourdough Finnish Pulla (cardamom) bread.

Other favorite little moments from the visit:

• Hearing my dad's stories about his college days and the antics he and his roommates got up to (and the less than ideal apartment situations they found themselves in), and hearing about the early days of when my parents first met
• My dad and brother playing Legos with Cooper and Finn
• Matt and Cooper looking through dozens of special rocks together
• My mom folding entire baskets of laundry without me ever asking (so, so helpful, mom, thank you!)
• Finn asking my mom to read the same dinosaur book to him over and over
• Chatting sourdough with my mom (and she took some starter home with her an has been trying her hand at some sourdough recipes!)
• Seeing Arlo "turn the corner" after being sick and feel more like his sweet, happy self
• My family enjoying the coffee I made with my new coffee process Nicholas gave me for my birthday
• Seeing my family wear handknits that I've made over the years – socks for my parents, or the orange shawl I knit my Grandma Donna years ago that my mom now wears. So sweet.

And then on Tuesday, my family headed back to Minnesota, with snow at their heels. It was a wonderful visit.

On Thanksgiving day, I got dressed, donning what I refer to as my "November socks," perfect for Thanksgiving, and I spent the morning mostly doing kitchen things, while Nicholas played with the boys. Arlo fell asleep in Nicholas' arms, which actually happens somewhat regularly (our only baby with this tendency! So special).

My father-in-law, Bob, and his girlfriend, Kate, came over for lunch. Bob made the turkey and mashed potatoes. Kate brought a delicious pumpkin pie. And I made some of the other sides, like sourdough dinner rolls, this stuffing (so easy and SO good), my favorite easy cranberry sauce, oven steamed carrots (baked in parchment with salt and a drizzle of maple syrup), and a simple gravy made from the turkey drippings.

Bob carved the turkey, with two eager onlookers, who were more than ready to taste test the turkey. And then we had our delicious (if I do say so) meal.

After some train play and visiting, and some outdoor play for Cooper and Finn, we all sat down for coffee and dessert. Kate's pie was wonderful and I served an almond poppyseed cake that was well enjoyed.

It was a wonderful week. I'm so glad that we got to spend time with both sides of the family during the week of Thanksgiving. Sweet visits all around.