Friendsgiving 2015

Well, since we are a full week into December, there's no time like the present to recap Thanksgiving, right? Thanksgiving was a little different this year. A few weeks prior, we found out that Parker's squadron wasn't going to let us take leave. Through our years in the Navy, this would be our first Thanksgiving apart from family. We were initially pretty bummed, but there was nothing that we could do, so it was time to figure out how to still make the most of the holiday. 

We realized that we had several friends who also didn't get to go home. We love hosting, so the idea of Friendsgiving was born! A couple of our friends had family members that were able to come, so 10 of us all gathered around the table and had a wonderful day!

I busted out the fine china and made little pine cone place settings for everyone. Our table by no means seats 10 comfortable, but we all squeezed in! A crowded table with copious amounts of food... ahh Thanksgiving. 

We did a Thanksgiving pot luck, and everyone brought the dishes that were special to them. I really loved that! I did the stuffing, deluxe mac & cheese, Kentucky Spoonbread, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. Most everything could be made the day before, so it was totally manageable. I got nostalgic making the crust for the pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving morning. I knew my family was 1400 miles away doing the exact same thing. :)

After we ate until we couldn't eat anymore (Is there any other way to do Thanksgiving?), we retreated to the living room for some board games and good ol' fashioned conversation. Lots of laughs with wonderful people!

Friendsgiving 2015 was one for the books! A part of me has always wanted to do Thanksgiving with our military friends, and I am really glad we got the chance to this year. Your military friends become like a family. You can't choose them, so you just have to hope you get stuck with some good ones. We have been really blessed with our Navy family, and I am so thankful to get to do life with them!