Thanksgiving traditions!

I love to make pies for Thanksgiving.  It makes me happy.  I make Jeff an apple pie, since that's his favorite.  I like to make a pumpkin pie because it doesn't feel like Thanksgiving without it.  I also make cream pies because they remind me of my dad.  Every year that I can remember my dad would be in the kitchen helping with the stuffing or what not for Thanksgiving dinner.  His specialty was to make the cream pies!  He always  had banana cream and a chocolate cream.  He did others, but those were my favorite!  I love carrying on that tradition for my kids and it brings back good memories for me too! 

 

This is the awesome apple pie I made.  It was so good!  It is a crust recipe I haven't done very much, but it really was amazing!  Sure the turkey was good and mashed potatoes yummy, but the pies really are Thanksgiving to me ;)

 

 

 

Growing up the other tradition was Shop-til-you drop day!  I think it's more commonly referred to as Black Friday now :).  I haven't really gotten into this crazy shopping day for years.  There is so much that can be done online and even before or after this big sale day that it doesn't make shopping in huge crowds, fighting over some silly gift, really late or early in the morning, sound really appealing.  Well, now that I have a sister-in-law in town to shop with it was worth heading out to brave the crazy crowds.  The stores opened at 6 pm on Thanksgiving night... that was new.  We didn't want to leave the family that early so we headed out once the kids went to bed.  It wasn't that crazy and we found most of the stuff on our lists. 

 

I think the best part of the long shopping night was spending it together.  Tiffany is so great and we really have so much fun together!  I'm glad she is close so we can do silly things like this together!

 

Here we on in a department store in the mall sitting on the floor trying on fun rings.  

 
By the time we made it to Walmart there was no one there.  It was actually pretty creepy!

Shopping was a little crazy because we left a bag at the register and then we went back for a movie that was forgotten, but otherwise it was a fun night!  I'm glad we were able to get some of the fun stuff for the kids' Christmas ;).