[Try to follow along if you like!: Ian left for New York for a week starting back on Quinn's birthday to watch our niece while my brother, Arno, and his wife had to be in other time zones, and he didn't get back until two days before Thanksgiving. My parents arrived a week before Thanksgiving, and my brother, Barrett, came out by bus from LaCrosse for a day around then to visit with all of us before heading back to teach a few more classes and returning with his wife, Dosha, (and their dog) the night before the big feast. Arno and his daughter, Ellora, arrived the day before Thanksgiving.]
All in all we ended up with six guests (plus dog guest) staying in the house and it was great.
I think it was the first time I've been with my parents and both my brothers at a Thanksgiving table in over 20 years. After we all left for college it just wasn't worth the effort and expense to gather at the end of November when there was a longer break with even more relatives to see a month later. Having everyone together this year was a rare and wonderful treat.
Dinner
itself was delicious and fun. My mom made some excellent dishes for
the vegetarians among us, my husband cooked the turkey, I made pumpkin
pie, Mona made the place markers, Barrett got creative with the napkins,
and Arno made the potatoes into a nice Devil's Tower.
