Happy Thanksgiving 2014!

Happy Thanksgiving!   This year, our oldest son, Jack, is not traveling back from Notre Dame to come home for Thanksgiving.   I kind of understand.   He had classes until 5 on Tuesday, which means he would have traveled for 12 hours on Wednesday to get here, and then left again on either Saturday or Sunday for another 12 hour trip in bad weather.  I am even a little bit glad he isn't traveling on icy roads.    Besides, Notre Dame has a nice Thanksgiving meal that it serves today for the students who stay.   When I went to Bucknell, there was one kids from Rhode Island and two Korean students who stayed.  I guess that isn't the case at Notre Dame.


We celebrate Thanksgiving morning every year by doing the Abington YMCA Gobble Wobble 5K.   We have been doing it for about 7-8 years.   This is only the 12th year they have had it, so I remember when it was just a few hundred people.  Now it seems like there are 2000 people there...it is just mobbed.

The first problem is the bathrooms...Of course the girls' rooms are mobbed...these pictures were taken while we waited in line.

We ran into our friends, Missy,  and her son, Paul.   They are both really good runners.

  This is Matthew with Paul...they have been friends since they were babies...they are both 12.

Timmy and Anna were running together, so they moved up to the runners corral.

The fun part of this race is that people get dressed up in Thanksgiving themes...there are lots of Pilgrims, turkeys.   These guys wore kilts...the other guy was dressed up as a Thanksgiving oven.

             Waiting outside for the race to start....it snowed yesterday, and it is cold.

Matthew, Lily, and I walked.  They walked ahead..I think they were planning something.

This is the guy who came in first place.    He was finishing after we had walked for about 10 minutes...his time was around 13 minutes.

The favorite part is the amazing after race food--this is my friend, Leslie Portner, who had a bag of food...my kids wanted us to take lots of food, and make that our Thanksgiving dinner.

There were amazing desserts, bagels....food from Trader Joe's...so no one really cared about the bananas.  

Anna, Matthew, Timmy, and Lily in front--a great way to start the day!

We watched a series of parades the rest of the morning, into the afternoon.   I always say I want to get us up and moving, but Thanksgiving is the only day we really just relax all day.  

Lily helped me set the table....She did a great job (the pumpkins were from my garden!).

All of us sitting down to eat...and missing Jack.  

We did our usual sit around and tell each other what we are grateful for...Lily got a little long-winded, so Anna decided to make it even more dramatic by pretending she was Lily's arms....Lily thought it was hysterical!

Happy Thanksgiving 2014!!