Home, Home on the Range…

WHEW.  Home from Montana.  I would love to say, “I’m so glad I am home”, but it feels like by saying that I am saying I am glad to be far away from Shannon and her family.  That I am not glad about.  We had an amazing vacation.  Read to the bottom to get your hands on the best Thanksgiving Stuffing recipe you’ll ever eat.

We had to leave our house at 3:30am.  I had a moment at the airport that I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown.  Our large suitcase was 2 lbs over the weight limit.  My husband opened the suitcase upside down to take out some stuff and my underwear fell on the floor in front of God and everybody.  Have I mentioned it was 4:30am at this point, I had already been up for two hours.  I was horrified.  Luckily it was 4:30am so the rest of the zombies probably didn’t notice my granny panties hanging out on the floor in front of them.

Here we are waiting on our plane.  We had a cup of coffee and were finally relaxed a little before the plane arrived.  Uh, ok I was relaxed.  My husband is always relaxed. LOL

So I tell my husband it’s going to be 15 degrees in North Dakota (we had to fly into Williston ND) and this is what he wears.  Anyone else see a problem with this?  Just asking.

Here is what it looks like when we get out of the airport.  Shorts?  Really?  Oh my.  That’s my hubby loading the luggage into the truck.  I was beyond thrilled to see Shannon.  *and John, her hubby*

As the sun sat on our first day in Montana we were excited to celebrate Thanksgiving together. 

Look at this beautiful table.  Shannon set the mood of a cozy warm Thanksgiving.  She did it it up Martha Stewart style.  I was impressed. 

These two little ladies were as entertaining as they could be.  Kenzley (Shannon’s little one) was so thrilled to have us there, and we were just as delighted to see her.

Shannon and her delicious spread.  She will not like this photo… because her eyes are closed LOL.  But I don’t care I think it’s cute.

Shannon, Aunt Linda and me.  Love this photo.

After dinner was dessert.  Aunt Linda made New York Cheesecake, Chocolate Pie, Pecan Pie, Chocolate Pecan Pie, and Pumpkin Pie and homemade whip cream.  The cheesecake was the best cheesecake I’ve ever eaten in my life.   Your butt probably just got bigger from reading that dessert menu, you’re welcome 🙂

Here I am hunting. (no I really am not, I am just trying to stay warm and watching)  We went out to Johns grandparents to hunt but didn’t get anything.  Part of me is relieved.  While I am all for hunting, I admit that killing a creature isn’t the most fun thing I can think of.  Would I eat it?  Yes.  Do I want to see it die?  Not so much.

Here is Macie in her hunters orange 🙂  She was super disappointed that we didn’t get anything.

The next day we went to town to watch the parade of lights.  I wasn’t sure what to expect.  Sidney isn’t exactly the epicenter of happening events, but I figured it couldn’t be any worse than Plymouth.  Turns out I am a little sad to say, it was better.  

Here is my Aunt Linda at her work.  She works at this cool party store.  They make the best popcorn known to man.  There are so many flavors to choose from.  One of the flavors is deceivingly named Puppy Chow.  I tasted puppy chow once at the age of the 3, it did not taste anything like this.  This was sweet and salty, and melt in your mouth good.  Made you wanna slap your pappy.

Kenzley and Marvin Jay could have their own sideshow.  You could call it “Adorable Girl terrorizes Dog”.  Really the dog is so cute and patient and Kenzley drags him around everywhere.

My trip wouldn’t be complete without some crafting.  I got Shannon hooked.  She loves crafting as it turns out. 🙂  Because who wouldn’t?  Am I right?

The kids made this craft.  They had a great time with this.  AND YES the mess was major.  Luckily Aunt Linda was the leader of this project and cleaned up the mess afterwards.  THANKS LP (my nickname for Aunt Linda)

That about wraps it up.  We had a great time.  We didn’t do too much going out.  Mostly we stayed in and relaxed and I loved every minute of it.  Here is Macie just relaxing and watching The Grinch.   Shannon was so worried about the fact that we didn’t go do anything super exciting.  I told her, are you kidding, that’s the best part of this trip.  Sitting around and eating.  It was so nice.

Ok I promised you that awesome stuffing recipe so here it is.  You can write it down or CLICK HERE and print it.

Shannons Thanksgiving Stuffing

1. Cut up your breads.  Either leave them out in a bowl overnight after you have cut them up or toast them in the oven.  They need to be crusty/stale
2. Sauté your onions and celery in butter.  They should be tender.
3. Put your cubed up bread pieces in a big bowl.  Pour your sautéed onions and celery with butter over your bread.
4. Pour in chicken broth
5. Mix all of those ingredients together.
6. In a small bowl beat your eggs & parsley.  Our this mixture into bread and mix all together.  Add your seasonings.  A little of each listed above.
7. Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking pray.  Cook at 375 for 30-45 mins depending on how toasty you want the top.