Happy Thanksgiving!

After good trips to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, Kansas City, and the island of St. John, we were ready for some rest. It was time to do laundry and unpack from our three weeks of flying about the country. Then we headed back to Oklahoma City to spend some time with our son and daughter-in-law, as well as Denisa's sisters. The timing of this trip was determined by the date for a fundraiser for the Oklahoma Children's Hospital. Our daughter-in-law is on the foundation board at Children's Hospital. The two of us were the weakest link on a trivia bowl team that was in first place after two rounds of science and history. (Then they changed to pop culture questions and our areas of expertise were over.)

Now we are back in the panhandle of Oklahoma for Thanksgiving. Mark's Mother's house has been the meeting place for Thanksgiving for as long as we can remember. We spent several days cooking and finding room to set up tables and chairs to seat everyone. We had room for 25 to eat in the living room and 23 more to eat in the den. We are expecting 48 for Thanksgiving dinner, and it looks like everyone will have a place at a table.

A storm blew in from the north on Wednesday night, but everyone managed to arrive before the snow. We were blessed to have both of our sons and their wives, and our granddaughter here for a couple days.

It was fun having Carter here on the ranch, where she got to experience the cats and dogs and horses first hand.

She liked the horses. When she was nose to nose with this guy she was even blowing him kisses.

Blake and Claire's golden retriever puppy was a little confused about the horses. In his doggy mind, he seemed to be thinking that they were the biggest dogs he had ever seen.

Cooking turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, dressing and all the usual trimmings is a big task for any size group for Thanksgiving. But making that feast for 48 is monumental! Mark's mother has finally agreed to hand over the ladle to the next generation, and with good cooperation in that tiny kitchen we managed to get everything ready. While most enjoy the entire meal, one of our nieces wore a shirt that declared, "I'm just here for the pie!"

That evening, we took a group picture. This year we had all Mark's brothers and sisters and their spouses, all of their children and their spouses, and all of their grandchildren gathered for Thanksgiving! What a picture! The woman who started all this--Mark's Mother--is sitting front and center surrounded by her legacy.

After the picture, we had leftovers for supper. Then we started an evening of games, topped off with three hours of family singing led by some of our nephews. We don't understand how these guys know so many songs, but we certainly enjoyed it!

We finish the holiday with our favorite little turkey-eater--our granddaughter.

It was fun watching her explore some new territory.  Gram couldn't think of anything she would rather do than following Carter around the ranch. She's a great thing to be thankful for.

So we had a very happy Thanksgiving! Even though this blog is late, we hope you had a great holiday as well!