thanksgiving weekend 2019.

Thanksgiving weekend is one of my favorite parts of the year, and we’ve created some really fun family traditions of late.

I’ll share them with you!

The preparations

Thanksgiving Day is deliciously slow, with morning hours cuddled up in pj’s. This year the cuddling included Milo. He is really just the cutest thing. David joked with me, “I don’t know who loves Milo more – you or Amie.”

If you’re wondering, I think guinea pigs make the perfect pet. Well, I really think cats are the perfect pet . . . but sadly we can’t have them because several of us are very allergic. So we settle for a guinea pig! Amie does all the work of feeding him and cleaning his cage (David’s job is clipping his nails), but it’s not a lot. And he’s just the happiest, cuddliest little thing. He talks to us in squeaks.

I usually start food preparations late Thanksgiving morning. This year our household was in charge of mashed potatoes, Southern corn pudding, and chocolate pecan pie.

You may wonder what Southern corn pudding is? Let me tell you. Our friend Ben Parker introduced us to this phenomenon at our church Friendsgiving – his secret ingredient is jalapeno — and it was my favorite side of Friendsgiving. So it’s become a permanent fixture in the Gentino tradition. David made it for us on Thanksgiving. Here’s the recipe, if you’d like to try it. We’ll add a second jalapeno to the recipe next year (or else leave in the seeds, it needs a little heat with all that cream).

Cooking for Thanksgiving was a dream in our new kitchen. It still seems too good to be true — but also like it’s always been part of our house.

I’ve been tweaking a new pie crust recipe this fall/holiday season and for the most part it’s been delicious, much more flaky than any of my previous crusts. You may remember about me that I make lots of pie around this time of year. Sadly last night my crust totally flopped. It was the worst I’ve ever made … it just sort of fell apart from start to finish. It keeps me humble and determined to try again!

Thanksgiving dinner

On Thanksgiving evening we gather at Steve and Linda’s for drinks and a fire pit with a couple friends from church who stay in town for the holiday, followed by a leisurely potluck dinner. This year we celebrated with Joey and Lauren, and Reid, McKensie, and sweet baby Cornelia.

Joey and Lauren have been fostering two adorable, rambunctious preschoolers since spring, who feel like family by now. Sadly I can’t post pictures of them online, but they were very much apart of the festivities, giving big hugs all around, wrestling Judah in the backyard for the football, searching for bugs with Noah, and generally ruling the roost at the Thanksgiving dinner table.

Tandem

We stuff ourselves on Thanksgiving evening, and then wake up early on Black Friday to go on a big hike. Last year it was Jones Gap. This year we decided to up our game and tackle Table Rock.

But first: we fuel up with breakfast at Tandem Creperie. Please, please go if you’re in Traveler’s Rest, SC (it’s 30 minutes away from lots of good hiking), and order the Lumberjack crepe. It will change your life.

12-year-old and almost-7-year-old

This was a big year: Noah and Gabe have officially graduated to each getting their own crepe, instead of having to split one. There were big smiles all around.

Table Rock

Table Rock is a 7-mile round trip hike; the longest and most rigorous we’ve done as a family. Although we all agreed that the Emerald Lake hike at Rocky Mountain National Park felt tougher. I bet it was because of the elevation.

It was a positively gorgeous day. Sunny and cool. There’s something so refreshing about waking up the day after Thanksgiving and escaping to the mountains.

Apparently lots of other people felt the same way . . . it was crowded! Especially on our way back down the mountain.

This is Amie’s “Dad, you’re the worst for making us do this hike,” glare at the halfway point.

But when we reached the top and beheld this spectacular view, it was all worth it!

Thanks to the kind man who insisted on taking a family picture for us! It was such a fun day. We did the whole hike (with a rest at the top) in about 5 hours. Noah was a champ; he had energy to spare afterwards. I, on the other hand, could barely walk back at the bottom and was sore for days! I need to get in shape.

Providence House

On Friday evening, our church served dinner and ate with the men at Providence House, a halfway house in our part of the city. We’ve been connected with Providence for years, love the ministry, and have many friends there.

David, the kids and I rolled in from our hike just in time to sit and eat with everyone.

Saturday

On Saturday morning, Gabe and I slipped out first thing to Home Depot to pick out a Christmas tree. He chose a huge, beautiful one for us this year.

But before decorating it, we headed to my parents’ for pie, hot tea, and a fire pit. They bought this house a couple of years ago and have done a fantastic job with the backyard, adding a workshop and deck over time. The kids’ favorite feature of the yard is their towering magnolia tree. I can hardly watch how high they climb in it.

The tree

Saturday evening was tree-decorating time. Poor Gabe was coming down with a virus that ending up making its way through our family, but he popped up from the sofa long enough to help hang ornaments.

David and I were amazed at how quickly the decorating went. We took our time but were done in less than 45 minutes. Having big kids makes it a very different, helpful experience. My mom told me to send them over to help her next year!