Wherein We Give Thanks

Thanksgiving weekend at Grandma's and Grandpa's house was lots of fun. This year we were joined by Damon's brother Jotham and his family.  After the Turkey Trot it was time to join Joanna in the kitchen to get our feast ready. Thankfully, she's got an enormous kitchen with plenty of room for lots of food and lots of cooks.

Aunt Dana worked with Maggie and Cassie to help build a veggie turkey tray that Grandma spotted in a magazine.

Voila! Isn't it cute?  And it was tasty way to munch while we waited for the rest of dinner.

Here's Joanna posing with the beautiful feast before we started to dig in. I made the stuffing and green Jell-o (a.k.a. Pond Scum). Damon made the rolls. They were so buttery and yummy. The turkey was great. Joanna also made a new sweet potato recipe that had cooked pears in it. It might sound strange, but it was SO GOOD. Everything was delicious, of course.

The kiddie table. (It's pretty hard to get a serious picture out of Cassie. It makes us all laugh.)

Gunnar had a drumstick! As I recall, he made a pretty decent dent in it. (The photo makes it look as long as his arm, but it wasn't quite that big.)

And, here's baby Kara, joining the grown-ups at their table. Last year Jotham and Dana didn't come for Thanksgiving because this little one was just a week old. Now she's eating dinner with us!

We are so thankful to be living closer to family now. It has been one of the true highlights of our time in California thus far. Holiday time, especially, has been that much more special because we get to share it with family now.