Thanksgiving

How is it already half-way through December?! We've had Christmas stuff up for a few weeks now, but it still feels like we just put down Thanksgiving. We had such a great time this year hosting a nice big Thanksgiving. Including the six in our family, there were twenty people staying in our house for a few days. I absolutely love that we have the space to be able to do that now. Thanksgiving is one holiday where I feel like the more, the merrier! I mean, you go to all that effort anyways, why not share it with tons of people you love?

Wednesday night, cousins started trickling in. Nora and Gloria could not have been any more excited to see each other again!

Paul was the master of the turkeys this year, and had fits of nervousness all morning that he was waiting too long to put them in. He did one in the oven, and one on the smoker- both "spatchcocked," which made them decidedly less Norman Rockwell-ish, but they cooked a lot faster, which was the goal. They were delicious!

 Everyone brought various dishes, making my job of hosting a breeze! I made rolls, creamed corn and a salad, and that was it. We had SO MUCH FOOD, all of it exquisite!

Paul's Aunt Gloria brought cute little turkey candles and napkin rings that they use in their family every year. They paired perfectly with what I had planned for the tables.

 These three were instant buddies, and disappeared together for hours at a time. At this table was Gloria, Nora, Ari and Lincoln.

 The boys bonded over Minecraft mostly. And I tried really hard to be ok with that. :) At this table, there was Cannon, Lydia, Peter, Benjamin and Henry.

 And at the main table, we had Adrea, Josh, Seth, Maddy, Paul, Tony, Gloria, Abby, Patrick and me. I think baby Elliot must have been just out of the shot.

As kids thinned out during the evenings, we played some really funny games together. We have a drawing game that tends to be a favorite among this group!

 Lincoln and Lydia got some fresh air the next day. We took a walk while the others went to go see Big Hero 6 and Interstellar. Then later we all swapped and a bunch of us went to see Mockingjay part 1.

 It was a low key evening of pizza and more games.

I got a picture of the six who are related in the group. Adrea and Maddy are sisters, and are Paul's cousins. Gloria is his aunt, and Cannon is her son- Paul's cousin. Then Abby is of course Paul's sister. Our house was about 4-6 hours for everyone, right in the middle.

 Saturday was gorgeous, so we got out and headed to the zoo.

 Then it was time for goodbyes. These two were comforted only by the fact that they'll see each other again in just over a month! Fun times ahead...