Thanksgiving 2013

To some families Thanksgiving is nothing more than another Thursday where there happens to be some turkey on the table to eat. But NOT for this family! We do Thanksgiving and we do it BIG! For as long as I can remember we have done Thanksgiving at my parents house in Atlanta with my grandparents and Aunt Dorothy. They come every year, it's just tradition. Some other Thanksgiving traditions of ours include:
1. Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Like most families we always watch the Thanksgiving Day parade throughout the morning. Nothing prepares you better for turkey than big balloons of cartoon characters, marching bands, and cheesy lip syncing performances. And of course we can't forget about Santa Claus! He officially rings in the holiday season by closing out the parade.
2. Shrimp. We have shrimp with cheese and crackers around noon every Thanksgiving to hold us over until the big meal. Grandpa and Grandma are in charge of getting it the day before from Fresh Market. We all tag along, drink some festive sample coffee, wander the isles of yummy food, and usually walk out of the store with way more peppermint candies than one family should ever consume.
3. Turkey Cook Off. In recent years we have had 2 turkey's at our dinner table. My mom makes the traditional oven roasted turkey. My dad deep fries a turkey. Then we sit around the table eating both and deciding which we like better. Nothing like a little turkey cooking rivalry to spice things up a bit!


Dad and his deep fried turkey - Mom with the oven turkey

4. Barnes & Noble. We always make sure to make a big family trip to the bookstore on Black Friday. Grandma and Grandpa treat everyone to a book to two!

This year Jameson and I, along with my parents, woke up early to go to a workout class at my parents gym. It included lunges, squats, running, jump rope, planks, push-ups...sounding fun yet? I definitely felt the burn but it was great getting an early morning sweat in so I felt less guilty about the apple pie consumed later in the day.
The meal prep this year was a tag team effort. Grandma and Aunt Dorothy prepared the squash and rutabaga. Ryan did the mashed potatoes and cornbread stuffing.  Mom and Dad did the turkey's. I made green bean casserole. Needless to say we had plenty of food and nobody had to slave too hard in the kitchen.

The table spread

We ended the day as any true American would: lounging around on the couch and watching football. The Lions won!! And Matt McGloin was starting QB for the Oakland Raiders. I never thought I would see the Scranton Slinger be playing in the NFL let alone starting on Thanksgiving Day. Even though they lost he still made us PSU fans proud.

I am so thankful I got to spend quality time with my family this year for Thanksgiving. Since we have gotten older and moved away family reunions are fewer and farther between, but every time we get together I am reminded how truly blessed I am to have them as family.

Val, Aunt Dorothy, and Jameson

With my sister Lindsay - please ignore my awkward claw hand