It seems every Thanksgiving in our family brings something new. This year we were able to be with Ryan's family for the better part of Thanksgiving day, eating dinner with them, playing games, and just visiting. Thanksgiving is the one holiday that Ryan's entire family, siblings and all, are together. Though our children are much younger than their cousins, they always love to feel older and be included with the "big kids" at G-Mom and G-Dad's house.

(This is what a child will do for money when prompted by an uncle.)
With our bellies full, we then set out for our second destination - a hotel in SC, in a small town where my parents both grew up and where my grandmother still lives. We checked-in and made a mad dash for the indoor pool. To our surprise, we walked into the pool area to find my great-aunt and three of my second cousins....this was only the beginning. I have a large family. Large. And they were all in this small town celebrating the traditional Thanksgiving that I grew up celebrating on the farm. This year, they all flooded the local hotels to stay an extra night to celebrate something huge - my grandmother's 90th birthday. However, before we could celebrate her birthday, we were to enjoy homemade french fries at the annual Thanksgiving night french fry gathering. I am not quite sure who came up with this tradition but it is sticking. The young, the old, and everyone in between gather together, make homemade fries, talk football, and eat until the heart can take no more. This year, during this time, I was introduced to a food item that I would not recommend - spicy ketchup. EWWWW.

My grandmother was one happy lady on Friday. She had her five children, 11 grandchildren (number 12 was working) and 14 great-grandchildren all in attendance for her birthday bash, not to mention her own sisters, nieces, nephews, their families, cousins - basically everyone you can think of in a family, they were there, all in one room, all smiles, all recollecting the good ole' days, all taking pictures of this occasion, all sharing in my grandmother's 90 years on this earth. It was a perfect end to a perfect Thanksgiving holiday. A perfect reason to be thankful.