The Lee Family: Getting Ready for Thanksgiving!

We arrived at the farm on Tuesday around 5:30pm, just before sunset and unpacked before it got dark. The girls were so happy to see their Grandparents and we were happy to have arrived. After we got settled, we drove into town for Sunny's BBQ - our usual first meal after we arrive at the farm. It's so delicious and we all look forward to Sunny's with each visit! Cynthia and her crew actually arrived a few hours after we did, so the girls were super excited to see their cousins.

On Wednesday, I woke up at 7:30am, as usual, to walk Buddy to the end of the runway and back. Because of the dew, the grass on the runway is sopping wet, so my shoes were drenched and squeaky within a few minutes. Buddy loves the farm and runs all over the runway to pee on whatever he can. Once we made it to the end of the runway, the horses, donkeys and cows were terrified of our little blonde dog. Finally, the two donkeys worked up the courage to walk over and sniff Buddy. Buddy was a bit uncertain, but after a quick sniff he was unimpressed. After our walk and getting ready, CK and I headed into town to buy our ingredients for our side dish - roasted brussel sprouts with bacon and balsamic glaze. We also wanted to make a traditional cheesecake from scratch, which neither of us have made since we’ve been married. Ironically we both made one shortly before we met on our first date. Plus, we were making an appetizer plate for Thanksgiving night for us all to snack on while we opened our presents, so we needed to buy cheeses, meat and crackers for that too.

Once we returned to the house, we started working on our cheesecake, which was surprisingly easy to make from what we expected and remembered. Meanwhile, the cousins were having a ball together driving the Gator around the farm like maniacs. They each took turns, so we’d see Sofia driving while they all held on in the back, and then a few minutes later Jackson would be driving, etc. It was pretty cute and they all had so much fun together and enjoy spending time together. At one point Jillian and Olivia took a break from the Gator and created a restaurant in the garage, where they served us dinner. They wrote out a menu, set up their kitchen, set their table right outside the garage under the tree, and then asked Grandma, Cynthia and me out to eat in their restaurant. They gave us each a menu explained all of the food and then let us order. After our order, they returned to their kitchen, prepared our food and then delivered each of our plates! It was so cute. They had so much fun running their restaurant and it's fun to watch them together. They are big buddies and get along so well.

At one point, Grandma had all of the grandkids in to work on a 'turkey cookie' and an 'acorn cookie' project. The kids loved it and they especially loved testing those that didn't make the cut. They originally didn't want to take a break from the Gator, but once they were working on their cookies, they had a great time. Of course, Jackson had to be next to Sofia throughout the experience. He adores Sofia and wants to be wherever she is. It is so adorable.

The cheesecake came out perfectly and we found out on Thanksgiving just how delicious it tasted! It really was perfect and not really that hard to make. We both remember our respective cheesecakes in the past taking several hours to make all those years ago. It was so fun and easy!

With our cheesecake finished, we were done with our chores until the next day. We decided to go out in the Cub and it was a perfect day to fly around and check out Orange Lake. We looked for alligators, but had no luck finding any! There were lots of birds and some cows on the shore and a few airboats. It's such a picturesque lake and so fun to fly over. Such a fun day before Thanksgiving!

Buddy on his morning walk - his favorite part of his day.