Where to even begin?

This Thanksgiving weekend was one for the ages. Cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, oh my! So much fun packed into 36 hours. How did we do it?

We started off with a delightful 5 hour drive. Upon arrival in Oxford, where I may have caused a brief detour on the way to the hotel, we checked into our hotel room and waited for our parents to arrive. Jessica snoozed immediately, I managed to wait up, and when they arrived, they came prepared and bearing goodies!

Fresh rolls and cranberry sauce from Bob Evans! Our perennial favorite. It's kind of like StoveTop--nobody does it better! Why mess with success? They were a delightful midnight arrival snack. After the snacking and laughing and talking that carried on endlessly, we finally snoozed into dreamland, all together as a family.

The next morning, ready and raring to go (after a breakfast of rolls) we headed over the big house. This, incidentally, is where Jessica and I stayed over Gustav. It was much more fun having it full of laughing relatives! We spent the morning and afternoon in fine style, bowling on the Wii, as demonstrated by Grandpa,

and helping in the kitchen. Our fruit salad was delicious!

After everything was ready, and the table set and enough chairs put at the table, everyone wiggled and wormed thier way into seats. It was a tight squeeze! My daddio gave a wonderful toast to the returned missionaries, and we dug in.

After the tasty meal, we all left the dishes in the sink to head outside and leaf surf! So much fun. Here is my dad demonstrating exceptional form.

After hours of leaf fun, we trooped back indoors, helped with the dishes and then some people watched a movie. I tried, but succumbed to the pull of the turkey and took a nap.

It was a really wonderful and fun day. And the fun doesn't stop here. Oh no, it keeps on coming. Let's just say...we were raking leaves, not money, at this point. That was all about to change...