Giving Thanks

We hosted Thanksgiving today. We had a total of 25 people join us, including my brother Dave and his family, My Dad and Bonnie, Uncle Gary and Aunt Roseanna, My cousin Aaron and his family, My cousin Dan and his family and my cousin Sheryl and her family. We prepared two birds, one oven roasted and one deep fried, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, my Mom's famous Candied Carrots and Green Beans, along with Chris' famous homemade Pumpkin pie. The meal preparation was very much a group effort. Dave and Tracy were a huge help the entire day, and our friend Poul was awesome at crunch time getting the gravy made and the birds ready for serving. Thanks to my Dad for providing the turkeys (2 beautiful 19 pound free range birds), Aunt Roseanna for her cranberry surprise and Poul for the fabulous platter of organic artisan cheeses. The food was awesome!

After a our feast, it was time for the annual Turkey Bowl football game with the Uncles battling the cousins for the years bragging rights. This years MVP was my cousin Aaron Wunrow. He not only was a difference maker on both sides of the ball he also gets the award for sacrificing his body on a layed our catch for a touchdown. The Uncles beat the cousins 35-21. It was a much more closely fought game that last years. It's just a matter of time before the tide will turn. The youngest player on the Uncles team was 40. But, hey it's all in good fun and it keeps us from falling asleep on the couch after dinner!

We finished up the evening at my cousin Sheryl's house for desert. We spent the evening socializing, watching bad pro football (man the Seahawks stink!) and eventually playing Wii sports. That was by far the highlight of the evening. My favorite memory was my Dad and brother Dave boxing. It was a fight for the ages, each fighter going down only to pop back up just before the 10 count. The fight went the full 3 rounds and in a decision, Dave was declared the winner. Dad gets points for not giving up, huffing and puffing all the while trading blows with his middle son. What he lacked in technique he made up for in heart. I've also updated the family website with new photo's from this weekends fun. Thanks again to all our guests for making this such a great Thanksgiving.