The Madsen Mad House: A Deep-Fried Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving this year. We didn't want it to be stressed and crazy. Jed deep-fried a turkey (maybe he will do a post about it). It turned out really good. I was so scared the whole time. I was afraid he would burn off his eyebrows, or worse. I was terrified that some kid was going to walk by and dump hot oil all over themselves. I was petrified that Annie was going to sneak outside (she can open doors now). It was actually pretty stressful. I was inside making everything else, while watching 2 grumpy kids...not so fun. But it didn't take to long. Annie wanted to go outside and watch Jed so bad. We then went to our friends house, the Whiteheads and had dinner with them and the Stapletons. We followed it up by a relaxing afternoon and an early bedtime for the kids. Then we ate pie with our Thanksgiving friends and looked at ads for Black Friday. It actually turned out to be a really laid back and relaxing day, probably because we left the dishes until Friday. It was awesome.

I braved the Black Friday crowds early the next morning. It was actually a lot of fun, and also kind of pathetic that I went by myself. I wish I would have taken Annie. She would have had fun. I kept thinking about the Black Friday I went shopping with my mom, Rayna and Marisol (I believe). It was such a blast. I miss living by my crazy family who will be crazy with me. Then I came home a few hours later to find Jed and the kids exactly as I left them. Too bad the house wasn't exactly as I left it :) I swear if Jed stayed home, they would all still be in pajamas when I got home from work. He has no idea how to get them and himself ready. But thats what I am here for, right? I mean, who am I to complain? I got to go shopping sans kids for a few hours. It was pretty nice.

The rest of the weekend was great. We did our traditional Christmas decorating. Annie wants to touch everything, all day. It doesn't get annoying at all. But she loves it. Her favorite is the nativity scenes. She thinks that "Joseph" is "Joseph Smith". It is cute. It is also super cute how she keeps trying to show Truman everything. "Truman, look! Jesus! Look, Santa!" Oh yeah... and she keeps bringing me candy from the candy dish, saying, "Mommy, let's share." Man, she knows her audience.

We are gearing up for our upcoming trip to Utah. We are so excited! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. It sounds beyond cheesy, but I am so thankful for my family. I miss everyone so much. Its true that you never really know what you are missing until you don't have it annoying the crap out of you anymore :) LOVE YOU GUYS!

Happy Deep-Fried Thanksgiving!

Thank heaven Scott was here to help. The instant they started lowering it, it was smoking like crazy and bubbling over. I wonder what would have happened if Jed did it alone! SCARY