today there was cake

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today there was cake, a photo by kristin~mainemomma on Flickr.

happy birthday to my mom.
today is her birthday.
and we like birthdays in this house.
about a week ago i asked my mom what she would like me to make for dinner. birthday person always gets choice. she really likes this sausage sun dried tomato goodness i make every now and then, that was one thought, but then i had an idea. every thanksgiving we make a feast, and i have to say, it is freaking delicious. not at all healthy for you, ummm no, but 100% overeat yourself into a food coma good. see i am pennsylvania dutch by blood, we know how to make a good turkey feast with all the trimmings, and really, turkey day to me is ALL about the trimmings! anyway, each thanksgiving we go on and on about how good the meal is, why do we only do this once a year, yada yada yada... but never follow through with making it again until the following thanksgiving. so that was choice number 2. she loved choice 1, but knew the kids would adore choice 2, so turkey day it was.

now normally summer here means a nice 70-80 degrees. most days i can complain it is not warm enough.... well that is until i decide to make thanksgiving feast in july. oh yeah, yesterday and today both broke 90 degrees here. it was hot. we have no AC (ok we have a huge honking unit in our basement, down a set of wooden stairs, that could have been hulked up the stairs and possibly thrown out someone's back in the process all for one 2 bloody hot days. i am not a fan of ac. i am not a fan of risking anyone's back. the unit stayed where it is. in the basement.) the heat was just going to be tolerated. a dip in the cold kiddie pool DID happen today mid cooking point.

the trimmings got prepped yesterday.
stuffing
mashed potatoes
potato filling
green bean casserole.
and one butter cake with chocolate frosting.
at least i had enough of my wits about me to remember to bake the cake a day ahead, since today my not so big oven would be filled to the brim with a yummy turkey.

today was turkey, gravy, baking all the trimmings, and we even had cranberry relish (my kids LOVE that) so yes, it was hot in my house from all those hours of cooking, but man the food was good. it was totally worth it. they practically licked their plates. so thanksgiving in july may become a new tradition round here... time will tell.
and of course it is not a turkey feast without pie! we had to have pie. my mom baked her coconut cream pie, which is kellen's favorite dessert. he asks his nanny to bake that pie all the time. it is good, but he thinks it is awesome! (seriously this kid skipped cake for a slice of pie, actually so did i!)

after all that we were stuffed and sweaty so we took an after dinner trip to the beach to "take a dip." i say that a lot and rarely ever get in past my ankles. our water is cold, the positive spin on that would be "refreshing", but today was extra hot, and the water was really kind of nice. my family wandered in ahead of me while i snapped pics of them jumping waves. i then put my camera away, took off my shirt, and walked down to the water. kellen and i waded out kind of deep. the waves were bigger than usual. he and i decided we were ready to dive together and did the "1,2,3" countdown. i began my dive and as my face hit the water i felt it happen... my glasses were still on my face!!!!!! WERE being the key word in that sentence. as the wave washed over me it took with it my glasses. i panicked. kellen instantly knew something was wrong as i cried out loud "i lost my glasses!" i got he and casey safely to the sand with my mom as jason and i went and tried searching for them. i thought for sure they were gone. goodbye. oh i was so mad at myself. how the heck did i just do that?!?! what was i thinking? where was my head? hubby kept on searching. i went into shallow water hoping maybe they were washing in rather than out with the tides... nothing. finally Jason gave up too and as he walked back toward the sand from the deep to give me a hug, he kicked my glasses. i swear it! he found them as he was coming to give me a hug. i cannot explain that kind of luck. i am just SO thankful i was gifted that luck tonight. wow.

maybe i was delirious from that turkey dinner???

happy birthday mom.

we love you!