Thanksgiving '09

I've got to give a Thanksgiving report real quick. I'm such a scatter brain since coming home. I couldn't find my camera, then couldn't find the card reader, and now can't find the memory card, so I'll add pictures from our camera soon, but will start with pictures my siblings shared. (found. pictures added.)

Thanksgiving '09 Highlights:

• Everyone agrees that the company was what made it so great. The kids were thrilled to be with their cousins. Christina had some older cousins to hang out with. We got to meet the Davis kids for the first time. Jim & Allison were amazing hosts---& our kids love them to pieces. We really enjoyed meeting and getting to know Allison's parents & her brother, Kevin. I hope we get to spend more time with them in the future. They are a neat family.
• Breaking in Jim & Allison's "cabin" which Jim and Allison designed from the ground up. Nestled in the Catskills, Jim & Allison designed the great room with huge windows to take advantage of the gorgeous scenery. We stayed in the guest house above the garage. There's a long storage bench against one wall, deep enough to serve as a bed. Three of our kids slept head to tow along the bench. We took a dip in the woodburning hot tub on the deck just outside the Master...heavenly. The orange window sills on the exterior of the home look super cool. I loved the rolling barn door hardware they used for the pantry doors & the chestnut wood flooring.... there's just so much more to love about the house. It should be in Architectural Digest.
• The kids loved exploring outside. You can hear the stream around the property & Thomas was constantly asking me if he could play outside. It was so peaceful and beautiful.
• Embarrasing moment #101 for me.....We drove up in the evening, so it was pitch black outside & it had been a few years since we've been to Jim's cabin (the old cabin was burned down this year). Anyhow, there's a fork in the driveway and we drove straight up to the house with the lights on. Can you guess where this is going? I saw a couple in the kitchen. Knowing Allison's parents would be there, whom I'd never met, I assumed this couple was Allison's parents. Grace & Christina excitedly followed me in (no knock needed when it's family, right?) & I instructed them to take their shoes off and leave them on the rug in the entry. I proceeded to the kitchen to introduce myself to "Allison's parents," "Now, who are you?" (sounds lame, but I said it in a nice way:)) I can't recall their names, but no, they were not Allison's parents. Thankfully Jim had let them know they were having lots of company for the weekend, so this nice couple introduced themselves, chatted for a few minutes, I profusely apologized, and excused myself to the RIGHT address. I can say that Jim and Allison have very nice neighbors. Funny thing, when I turned around to leave, Grace & Christina had already darted back to the car, leaving me in my embarrassment.
• Thanksgiving dinner was delish....it's our favorite meal of the year. Allison's dad, David, took charge of the turkey. He's a surgeon and I swear he had a twinkle in his eye when I said I had quilting thread in the car that he could use to sew up the bird. He also tried using a safety pin. At one point his wife, Mary was holding a flashlight to help him see. It was like being in the OR, only we were covered in food prep crumbs & wearing aprons.
• Sherry gave a great tutorial of grandma's rolls. I'm realizing that no one follows the recipe...NO ONE. Why did I ever get discouraged when my rolls didn't turn out? I'm ready to give them another shot.
• Speaking of shots, the guys went pheasant hunting & have stories to tell. Like the time Adam and Wayne shot the same bird and obliterated the poor thing, leaving nothing to bring home for dinner. On that same outing, Wayne survived riding in the same car Allison's dad was driving. No small miracle:)
• Lots of rockin' out to Beatles Rock Band
• The make shift art room- an unfinished room in the basement. We used blue tape to hang the kids' art work on the walls. It's a gallery for sure!
• The Inn. Jim and Allison are members of the Inn or club, or whatever it's called, and we spent most of Friday there....fishing, Ninja training and combat in the padded area of the play room, track ball, eating ice-cream, play, play, playing.

This next picture makes me laugh because Caroline would run up to Jonathan with her "weapon," run right into him and then fall backward....not a threat at all & Jonathan would just laugh. All I can say is this set up would be so great in our basement. FYI, the mats are attached to the wall and each other with Velcro. I kid you not, this had the kids (and big kids) laughing and playing for an hour, and when they're done, there's no mess. Genius.

• Hiking to the waterfall (a moment or two of trespassing was involved)
• Bingo, cardmaking, & t-shirts to decorate, and puzzles to solve for the kids (big people too). Our kids loved the little extra fun things Allison planned that made the weekend that much more fun. Thomas is still raving over the Slinky he won. And Grace had a ball during magic trick lessons from Uncle Jim. We lost track of how many quarters she pulled from our ears and were in awe of her magic tricks that defied all explanation.
• The cousins sported t-shirts I made for them. Caroline forgot hers, but her green t-shirt reads, "JOY"... and Arlo & Jack are actually 4 & 6 yrs old, but we agreed that 3 & 5 are cool numbers too. Kathryn's shirt has a "k", Ceseley's says, "elf," Des' says, "SANTA!" (think the movie Elf), Grace is "merry," & Wesley is "jolly."

When Wesley woke up on Sunday morning in his own bed, he sleepily asked, "Where's Des?" Cousin time was wonderful. We certainly missed those in our family who weren't there & wish it were easier for us all to get together more often.

Thanks again for everything, Jim & Allison! We love you!