Santa at the Orchard House

We visited Santa at the Orchard House for our fourth consecutive year. the folks at the Orchard House really put on a big production for Christmas. And they are located about 2 miles from our house. This year, Clyde the camel joined in on the fun. I had no idea that camels were so friendly. He gave all of the kids big sloppy kisses and ate ice from their hands.

This year Mrs. Claus joined Santa at the Orchard House. This year Elena was able to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas. She had to repeat herself because she was talking so fast, but I think he got the message. After telling him what she wanted for Christmas, all of her bravery was spent. She refused to ask him for a candy cane.

She also refused to wear a funny hat or pose for pictures after chatting with Santa. Fortunately Marcus was game.

Christmas Tree

This year we were able to get our first Christmas tree from our cabin in Donnelly. The temperatures were forecast to be sub-zero for most of the weekend, and this time the forecast did not disappoint. When we arrived at the cabin, it was barely above freezing inside. It took about 4 hours and a case of hot cocoa to get the cabin up to temperature.

We didn't take any pictures of our Christmas tree hunt. The camera wasn't working well due to the cold, and well, there was lots of crying involved. Despite the new snow clothes the kids had on, they still froze. We finally found a suitable tree and headed back to the cabin for another case of hot cocoa. While we were warming ourselves, our dog Guinness started yelping. It took me a few seconds to realize what was going on. I think you can figure it out from the photo below.

Elena was actually helpful during the decorating process. Here she is hanging ornaments.

Here is the final product. Note that we ran out of lights due to the ridiculous girth of this particular tree.

You may remember that we have been sans-Christmas tree skirt for many years now. My mom came through this year with a beautiful hand-made skirt for us. Here you can see part of it peeking out from beneath the tree.

And here is our tree on the ground. I'm not sure who tipped it over, but it looks as though it may have been a group effort.



Karen's Bad Day

On Tuesday, I was running late for work and left in a bit of a rush. In doing so, I forgot to feed the dogs. As I grabbed my phone to ask Karen to feed them, I received this text from her.

Needless to say, I didn't mention the dog feeding oversight until nearly a week later. I guiltily set my phone aside for a few hours before responding because I needed my library card number. Note to self: when Karen is having a bad day, it's worth texting more than two words in recognition.

Thanksgiving

Karen and I hosted Thanksgiving again this year. We really enjoy hosting Thanksgiving. This year we were joined by my parents, Kory and Sylvia, and Karen's parents.

This year I decided that everyone needed to get lots of leftovers. We generally cook a single turkey in our electric roaster, but once the meal is done there isn't much meat left over. We needed two turkeys, but I only had space to cook one. A quick stop at Campbell tractor solved our problem; I bought a Traeger smoker/grill on Tuesday. I went all-in, cooking both turkeys on the grill and followed a recipe I found on the web.

Karen's family likes their gravy. Gravy literally makes or breaks family dinners for the Finch family. With this in mind, I put a drip pan under the turkeys filled with yummy stuff to add flavor.

 Add two turkeys. They weighed 23 and 20 lbs.

Dinner was planned at 4:00. I didn't know how long it would take to cook the birds since I wanted to smoke them for a while prior to turning up the heat. When I put the thermometer in them at 2:00, they were done. I took one bird off of the grill early and carved it up and packed leftovers for everyone. The other bird coasted and managed to remain moist for dinner.

We really need to take more pictures at our family gatherings.  Once things get going I always fail to get the camera out.

This is the first year Karen and I have celebrated Thanksgiving without one of our grandparents attending. My grandfather was a very small man, but he was a master of hyperphagia. I remember lying on the couch, grasping my aching belly, only to watch him go back for serving #4. He sat at the abandoned table and just kept shoveling it in. Enter Sylvia, hyperphagia master. She cleaned her plate AND had dessert. Well-played Sylvia, well-played.

 The kids enjoyed the meal as well.

 The ladies prepped dessert while the guys watched football.

 

I would like to thank everyone who made it for the holiday and we look forward to next year!