Gathering

 Can you believe this display of food?  We gathered with my husband's extended family on Thanksgiving.  There were 30 of us and we had a blast.  My favorite part of the evening is gathering around in a large group while the men tell stories and we all laugh until it hurts.

All of the cousins are fairly close in age, so it made for a fun evening for the kids, too.

We hosted Thanksgiving for my side of the family on Friday because my mom has been under the weather.  We wanted her to save her energy for eatin'!

My husband smoked the turkey on the grill this year.  I can usually skip the meat and just enjoy the sides, but this time I went back for seconds on the bird.  Way to go, Honey!

I love to try new recipes, but this year, I stuck with the traditional: apple and pumpkin pies.

 My brother and sister-in-law haven't been here in almost a year, so it was nice of them to come for a few days.  After dinner, we enjoyed a relaxing evening by the fire pit as we allowed the turkey coma to settle in.

Later in the evening, I couldn't find the guys.  They were all gathered in our bedroom catching up on football scores.  Silly boys, we'll share the family room!

On Saturday morning my dad came over for some target practice.  I'm so proud of him for taking up a new hobby.  Way to embrace life, Dad!

 We all gave it a try.  I'm staring 40 in the face, so I better start embracing new hobbies too!

 I hope your time of gathering was filled with love and laughter.