THANKSGIVING

Now I could be like my husband and list 100 Things I'm Grateful For or you can just assume my list is pretty much the same with a few slight differences (if you really wanted you could try and decipher which ones- that would be a fun game).  Anyway, there are so many things to be thankful for and as I think about it more and more I get a little choked up- see what happens as I get older; I get more sentimental.

As long as I can remember my family has always played football on Thanksgiving morning- the "Turkey Bowl"- it started when my dad was young and he played with his buddies then as they grew older they decided to include their kids (me and my siblings) then as they got older and moved away my dad carried on the tradition with his kids.  It's been fun and it's something my boys now look forward too.  Since this year it was a whopping 10 degrees or so at 9:00 in the morning, we decided to cancel.  This is the first year I remember that is was ever canceled on purpose- so sad :( but for the best.

This year of food was the year of perfection.  My dad was in charge of the turkey and he had brined it like he always does, but then he did secret stuff as well- and followed Alton Brown's instructions and it was SO GOOD! The white breast meat was just as tender and juicy as the dark meat.  I usually prefer to eat the dark, but it was all the same texture and I didn't care what part because it was so tasty.  Yum Yum.
We all took our share in the meal responsibilities (as most families do) and I can honestly say I am so thankful all my siblings can cook/bake, because it makes for a great meal.
Me- family recipe of stuffing from my great-grandpa Nick
My sister and brother-in-law- Yams, Cranberry sauce (2 kinds- so good!), Cranberry/Lemon cake [because we also celebrated the 5 November family b-days we have]
My brother and sister-in-law- Mashed potatoes, gravy, and cranberry/pear cake
My brother and fiance- Pumpkin pie, egg nog pie, green bean casserole

It's sad that we only get this meal once a year, but then I guess if we ate it more often the novelty would wear off and it wouldn't be as special.  But I sure enjoy it.

We ate at 2:00 pm and after the meal we had plenty of time to play games, look at ads, watch football, nap, and just spend time together.  We left about 8:30 and it was just a fun day.  Thanks to all!