HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

What a beautiful day!

We woke up and went to watch Daddy play some football at our ward's annual Turkey Bowl:

While we watched, Alegria decided she wanted to try out Little Josh's jogging stroller:

All warmed up, Daddy came over to shed his warm ups and play in just his shorts:

Alegria found a football on the sidelines and challenged Little Josh to a scrimmage:

Apparently, she prefers playing offense than defense:

After getting drilled, Cameron comes over to ask if his nose is still bleeding. He fell on his face, therefore on his sunglasses, which caused a half-inch gash on the bridge of his nose:

That didn't keep him from playing, though, he went right back out.

In the meantime, Alegria and Josh decided that they needed the cones for their own game and took them from the playing field:

This is pretty funny...if you take a look at this picture, and then the one after it, Alegria and Cameron seem to be running the very same way! Like daddy, like daughter!!!

The men had to play less rough than they normally would have...not only were there a few girls playing, but there were also some pretty young children playing as well:

Can you see all the dirt from where Cameron fell?

Cameron and Justin Conte blocking each other:

Back home, Alegria had some lunch and got all dirty, so Daddy took her shirt off. She loved walking around like that:

Then Daddy teased her about her little belly, saying she has a beer belly...and she sucked it in!


Once Alegria was down for her nap, I put the turkey breast in the oven. Then I got ready and once I was all set, I finished preparing our Thanksgiving dinner.

For my first Thanksgiving dinner, and since we weren't having anyone over, I decided to keep it simple. Cameron and I prefer white meat, so I opted to buy a turkey breast that was seasoned and ready to just pop in the oven for about two hours. We also had mashed potatoes and stuffing (which I prepared from a box), corn (which I just heated up in the microwave), gravy (which I just warmed over the stove) and rolls (which I just baked in the oven)! It was the easiest turkey dinner ever!

I didn't realize until later that I didn't have a tablecoth or fancy dishes or even serving dishes, but it worked for just us. Maybe for next year I'll get fancy decor and more adventurous in the kitchen now that I've had a successful first Thanksgiving dinner preparation!

We had to wait for Alegria to wake up from her nap in order to have dinner, but Cameron and I were very hungry, so as soon as she was awake, we began the festivities, no waiting for Alegria to wake up completely...hence why Alegria still looks groggy and disoriented!

Daddy carves the turkey (breast):



It was all delicious!

We even gave Isis a taste!

Alegria and her punch moustache:

Nooooo! Don't touch the camera lens, please!!!

Too late! The lens is now all greasy! Time to clean it up!

Yum, yum! Stuffing!

After dinner, we all pretty much just sat on the couch and let our dinner digest...all of us except Alegria, of course...she was off learning to fill bigger shoes!

Then it was time for pumpkin pie. My secret recipe (don't tell anyone!): get in my car, drive to Wal-Mart, and buy one from the bakery...very good! :)

Alegria: "Let me guess what I'm eating..."

Alegria: "Hmmm..."

Alegria: "Pumpkin pie, I say! And it's always better eaten one finger-licked at a time!"

Alegria, maybe you should start learning to use a fork...

Alegria: "But it's so much better like this, Mommy, like Tom Thumb!"

Alegria: "Okay, okay. I'll try it your way..."

Alegria: "Hm...this seems to work..."



NOT!!! :)

Later on in the evening, we stopped by Abilehi's place to feed and water Maverick and then we went to the house of a friend of Cameron's from work...the Abbatacola's.

When we got there, their little four-month old boy, Quinn, was having a fun time in his jumper. Alegria thought it was the funnest thing and wouldn't leave his side! It was so cute!

And then their dog, Wrigley, joined the party and Alegria followed the dog everywhere! When she left Quinn's side, poor Quinn got jealous and cried because he wanted Alegria to come back and entertain him. So sweet! :)

Kerri had made a ton of simply mouth-watering desserts! And her place settings were beautiful...she had even used apples to tie ribbons to and secure our name cards to...ingenious!

We had a fun time hanging out with the Abbatacola's and a couple friend of theirs. Alegria even went down memory lane to the days when she used to only be able to sit and suck on a teething toy:

But then the Giants started to lose the game AND it was past Alegria's bed time, so we said our goodbyes and left.

*sigh*

If only Thanksgiving were every day...

And in our hearts it is. We are thankful for so many things in our life. Life, for one. To be alive is such a miracle, is such a blessing, we are ever so grateful for that. For our family...that, too, brings such happiness to us. Not only for each other and Alegria, but also our parents, for all the love, all the guidance, all the support, all the teaching. For our siblings and their love and support and fun times and memories. For our extended family...grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins...everyone who is always there thinking of us even though we don't see them very often. For our friends who have helped us become who we are and who have loved us even with our shortcomings, as have all of our family as well. We are also grateful for Cameron's job, for the financial stability it offers us and the home it provides, along with all of our belongings that make life easier, more convenient. We are also grateful for our trials and the strength they make us build up. We're thankful for our health. And we can never forget the Gospel and the truth in our lives, for the knowledge of our living Savior and Redeemer, for the Atonement, for the blessing of Temples and our eternal marriage that will allow us to be together as a family forever. For these and so many things, we are ever so grateful...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!