lots to be thankful for...

this was our 2nd year celebrating thanksgiving at the lake house. mom & dad headed up on tuesday afternoon, i came up by myself on wed morn, my cousin ben and uncle jim came just before dinner that evening, and my brother and his gf, mckay, came up on thurs around lunch about the same time my cousin caitlin and my aunt ellen arrived. the reason i came wed morn instead of with my parents was b/c i had dinner with my childhood friend, cherry. we went to 1308 cantina on montrose to enjoy some sangria and texmex. yum! jim and ben came up on wed ahead of their girls b/c they wanted the traditional roast beef dinner my dad cooks every year the night before thanksgiving.... trust me, you don't want to miss that dinner!! ellen stayed behind in dallas (trish, my cousins grew up in plano & that's where my aunt and uncle still live) to wait for caitlin to fly in from ny. she goes to nyu and she had a class that went until late on wed that she couldn't/didn't want to miss.

my brother also had work commitments or something going on or maybe his gf did... in any case, they came around lunch time. they've been dating maybe a yearish... and this was the first time i'd gotten to meet her! my mom had only met her a few times, but she'd filled me in on her as best she could. when i met her, i was surprised! she was cute! and nice! and friendly! wow, so much different than any of the other girls i've ever met. including the last one - liz.

caitlin and my aunt ellen arrived soon after and we all ate a nice lite lunch in anticipation of a big dinner. after lunch, we all went for a boat ride on the new boat... the only boats allowed on the small peaceful lakes are electric. all 9 of us piled on the boat and we fit... though it was close/comfy! and we sat rather far down in the water. we enjoyed a nice boat ride around the various finger lakes and then headed back after awhile since everyone was cold.


can you feel the love between cousins here?! we were just joking around :)


andrew and mckay


aunt ellen and uncle jim


mom and dad... dad is always at the helm!

then it was football time: dallas always plays on thanksgiving. i forget who they played, but they won. the dallas contingency of the family was happy. and then finally - dinner!! we all gathered around and loaded up our plates full of yummy food. my dad used to serve us at the table, but at the lake house there is more room for stuff if it is all laid out buffet style. and since my brother became a vegan, my dad makes 3-4 extra dishes just for him.

on our menu we had the same things we have every single year:

turkey
stuffing
cranberries: both with and without whole cranberries
peas (which i don't eat)
oysters thingy that dad and my uncle enjoy - my nana used to make this for the holidays so even tho only two of them eat it, he likes to still make it
my mom's famous rolls (which this year, unfortunately something went wrong and they just weren't the same. i'm not being mean - she agreed. mckay tried to be nice and say they were fabulous... but really, they just weren't the same)
my brother's tofurkey - gross
my brother's asparagus
vegan rice mixture thing for my brother (and anyone else)


all of us at dinner: from left to right: caitlin, me, ben, jim, dad, mom, ellen, my brother andrew, and gf mckay.

after dinner, mckay and andrew had to leave and we settled on to the super comfy couch and watched the dvr'd a&m vs texas game. my cousin went to texas and i almost went there, but decided to obviously decline and go to scripps instead... so we watched a great game between the two schools and texas ended up winning as they were predicted to. a&m was commemorating the 10th anniversary of the bonfire collapse. it's so hard to believe that's been 10 years!! and after that, it was pretty much bed time as we were all stuffed and exhausted.

caitlin, jim, and ellen all left the next morning and ben stuck behind for a bit. he ended up going for a walk with my mom and dad which was very cool. he's such a good kid. i guess kid isn't the word, but he's 23 and that is just young to me these days :) i guess he wanted to talk to my parents and just kinda hang out. it's been tough growing up in his family... his parents are the alchies...his mom the one who's been struggling and in and out of rehab. and his dad turns 70 this year, which isn't that old, but it is when you're 23 and worried about his health - he's smoked his whole like and refuses to go to the doctor and such... and worried about what will happen to his mom if his dad dies... so it's got to be tough for him. but he's lucky that my parents are such wonderful people - he doesn't need to worry... they'll always be there for him no matter what. anyways...

so i am thankful for a lot of things this year. way too many to list, but most of all i'm thankful for being born to my fabulous mom and dad without whom i have no idea what i would do... not just financially but emotionally. i am so thankful for their unconditional love!!