We fried a turkey, cooked and ate with friends, cared for seven pets, and generally had a great time!!

Yes! It was Thanksgiving here in Red Bank. Scott came in from Denver and Shane came in from Boston. One of Lee and Devon’s co-workers, Steven, came along. Morgan and Amy left their dog Dante with us while they went to Denver and Devon brought his dog Fitz, so all told we had six adults, one child, four dogs, and three cats running through our house this holiday. It was insane!

We had Devon frying a turkey in the rain. (Fairly dangerous and wet, but the resultant turkey was quite good.) Shane and I whipped up some falafel stuffed portobello mushrooms, yams, and our traditional cream cheese and garlic mashed potatoes. Mmmmm.

There was pie… er there were pies… four of them. Shane and I started in on the pecan pie, which he had requested the previous week, the evening before thanksgiving, and finished it on the actual day. Unfortunately for my pregnant waistline there is still pie. Anyone want some pie? (Please come take some pie!)

We had a nice time playing board games and Katamari Damacy, which is a very odd japanese video game where you roll up stuff into a giant ball to make stars and planets. Monkey even took her turn on the playstation and enjoyed some Katamari fun.

Shane and Devon enjoyed some philosophical discussions over beer and wine. We all played Dominos, a game called Chickenfoot, and Monkey did very well. She really began to understand the finer points of strategy near the end of the game and pulled off some tricky moves.

It was a very nice holiday, very low key and pleasant. It was especially fun this year as Scott came in on Tuesday and left Saturday so it felt as though the celebration and fun lasted much longer than usual.

Here are some photos:
Monkey playing Katamari Damacy

Lee and Devon and Scott

Monkey with a final snack and kitten cuddles

Monkey, Mommy, and Rue at bedtime

Monkey and Rue get some much needed rest

Lee and Misty in the kitchen

Otter gets bigger and so do I

Misty and Steven play Katamri Damacy

Shane and Devon talk late into the night

All in all it was a wonderful holiday. We missed our traditions and the people we usually see, but we had a nice time in spite of being so far away.

Happy Holidays to all of you back home!