Noodle-Making Day

(Gunshot Fire)
May the holiday season begin!

I don't really know how long ago it started.
Well...our involvement in it anyway.

Noodle-Making Day.
The day before Thanksgiving.

I know that Paul's grandma, GG (Great-Grandma), has been making noodles for years, but I'm not sure when we joined in. It was probably around the time when Thanksgiving came to Judy's house...which happened to be about the same time that Carrie became old enough to hold a rolling pin.

Tradition.

Today, the little boys enjoyed a snack while waiting to roll out the dough. Josh couldn't wait to roll!

The snack, you ask?
Goldfish...but not the cheese ones...these are called "Smores Fish!" Chocolate flavored fish, honey flavored fish, and little marshmallow fish (like the marshmallows in Lucky Charms). Very yummy!



Mentoring at its best.




You just gotta love an electric mixer!
It's amazing how quickly noodle-making goes now that Grandma has an electric mixer.



Carrie has gone from "Noodle-Roller" to "Noodle-Cutter" to "Chief Noodle-Mixer." She is the one who will carry this tradition on to future generations of Atkinson children. I can just see us someday heading on over to Carrie's house and making noodles with all of my daughters-in-law and grandchildren.

Are you ready to have that torch passed on to you, Carrie?



One of William's favorite things to do on Noodle-Making Day is to sift the flour.
We shall call him "Noodle-Sifter."



I cannot tell here if Matthew is the "Noodler-in-Training" or if he is "Noodle-Commander."



Ah.
Question answered.
See that little finger?
He is definitely "Noodle-Commander."
So he thinks.



Joshua is finally getting a chance to do what he came to do...try his hand as "Noodle-Roller."



You are never too young to start rolling!



How many times do you suppose GG has done this?

I would guess that she could make noodles in her sleep.

And I would also guess that there have been many years when she has dreamed about noodles...especially since the noodles would dry on sheets and towels on her bed.

Now the noodles are left to dry on Grandma's spare bed, the GG bed.



Joshua dreams of the day when he too can be "Noodle-Cutter."
I think that the age that we set for the big kids was Age 7.
So until then...



More flour?



"Noodle-Cutter."
(Better than being the "Cheese-Cutter." Sorry...I couldn't resist!)



Hey!
What's that?!
Joshua has been promoted to "Noodle-Cutter!"
"Some kids get all the luck," says William.



And what were the big boys doing?

This was Paul's first year ever to come to Noodle-Making Day.
He's still recovering from hernia surgery.
I think that we will not let him go back to work. We're all going to miss him when he goes back.



Would it be simpler to use the noodles that you find in the freezer section at Walmart?
Yes.
But it wouldn't be as much fun!

Sometimes you have to make a choice.
Sometimes simplicity in life comes with the quietness of tradition.