Thanksgiving was so awesome this year. It started for us the day before Thanksgiving! We spent Wednesday with Cortney's family at Laura and Bobby's new house. The turkey dinner was delicious, and we overate of course. The kids were able to break only one bowl, so it was very successful in all! We walked to their park afterwards and watched Cortney try to kill some neighborhood kids on the merry-go-round. It's no wonder those things were taken out of public parks years ago! It was so cold, too! I was a genius and forgot jackets for the kids. But it was 70 degrees when we left our house! How was I supposed to know it was going to get cold! Anyway, it was a lot of fun, and we were so glad we got to do it. I, of course, forgot my camera! I did remember the pie.
On Thursday, we spent Thanksgiving with my family. Danny, Sarah, and their kids drove down from Colorado, so we were all together again. The last time they were here was for Dad's surgery, but Cortney wasn't here. But this time, Cortney was here, Danny's family was here, and we were all together. We also had Grandma and Grandpa Nelson, Uncle Jim, Cory, his girlfriend Mindy and her daughter Chelsea with us for dinner. The house was pure chaos! It was really a special Thanksgiving. It started for us at 3:45 am with Cortney getting up to smoke his first turkey. It takes several hours, and he wanted to make sure that the turkey was perfect. There were a couple of moments of fear and panic, but the turkey did turn out perfect! When we got to my parent's house, the Ping Pong Tournament of the Universes started. The Chinese would've been jealous. I'm not sure who won (it changes with everyone you ask), but I do have to say that the basement smelled like a men's locker room and for some strange reason the Champion's Belt is shrinking! Weird! Then we had another delicious Thanksgiving dinner where we overate and got sick, again. We then attempted to clean the kitchen, had the first round of pie, and then we went and drove the racecars at Speedway (is that what it's called?). Dad still thinks he's the fastest, but we all feel bad for him on a regular basis and let him win. But, after 2 races, several T-bones, deadly spin-outs, sore muscles, taunting, fist throwing, and a few bruises, fun was had by all. Except maybe mom; she got stuck with all the kids, watching from the side. It was probably good she didn't race. She is a fun target (Hey look! It's a deer!). After the race, we went back to Mom and Dad's and had the next round of pie and watched the kids continue with the chaos. It was so wonderful! I was actually very sad to see the day end, for many reasons. Cortney had to leave Friday morning to go back to Philly, and then it was only a matter of time before Danny and Sarah and family left. At least we had that day, and it was a good one. It will definitely go down in the Crandall Book of Awesome!
So, in a moment of desperation and need, I gave Lex the camera and responsibility of taking our Thanksgiving pictures. At least I remembered the camera this time! He was my star photographer! He took 130 pictures! So, here are some of the pictures he took and how he perceived Thanksgiving. There were a lot of pictures of Molly (his cousin who he is attached to at the hip, but who lives in Colorado), their dog Dexter, and random objects, but they were so fun to look at. He got some pictures I never would've gotten. I'm impressed! The pictures aren't in any order, whatsoever. I had to laugh at the picture of the neighbors awesome bouncy house taken secretly through the trees!
Danny and Sarah, we miss you! Come home again soon!
