Thanksgiving

Wednesday afternoon I took off from work and headed to the north and west and went to my Mom and Dad's house south of Ellinwood for the annual Thanksgiving feast. I got there early enough to spend some time with Zach just after he'd gotten up from his afternoon nap. My Mom watches him a day or two a week and Wednesday was one of those days. After Zach went home, I made my famous (in family circles anyway) pumpkin crunch dessert and helped my Mom with a few other things. Thanksgiving morning my niece Victoria helped us vacuum floors and get the table ready. I made a spicy macaroni & cheese dish and my Mom put together the last-minute green bean casserole, sweet potatoes and the cornbread dressing. She also makes the BEST turkey gravy on the planet, at least I think so. Present at our feast were Dad, Mom, brother Mark, Terri and Zach, brother John and his girls Jessica and Victoria, uncle Ed and cousin Jason, Heather and their daughter Madisyn. Later in the day my sister Teresa, brother-in-law Kenny, nephew Christopher, niece Katie, Katie's boyfriend Frank and our family friend Doris joined us for supper.

Here's Zach in his special Thanksgiving bib:

Can you see the two teeth on the bottom? He's drooling and working on more, probably as I type this. He loves mashed potatoes and gravy (and his Aunt Chris!):

I took this next picture of him when he first came in the door. My camera was a little foggy from being in the car overnight and then coming in to the warm house. But I like the effect. And the stocking cap.

Here Mark gets his blood pressure checked by Katie who was on call as part of her EMT class:

She pronounced everyone healthy enough to eat dinner! Everything was delicious and we had a good time. We even played a game of cards in the afternoon, which Teresa won (she says she NEVER wins at cards).

My heart goes out to Christopher who had to have his cat Neeko put to sleep Thanksgiving morning. Neeko was the coolest cat I have ever known. I was once at Christopher's apartment in Oklahoma City and played a very entertaining game of fetch with this cat. The best thing about playing fetch with a cat as opposed to a dog: no drool. You will be missed, baby Neeko!