We had an
amazing time with family and friends at my brother (Charlie’s) house in
Atascadero, CA. I love their home. It has this fantastic view off the back deck.
And if that
isn’t picturesque enough for you, here’s a photo of a sunrise looking out from
the back deck.
And if that’s
not stunning enough for you, how about this sunset looking through the huge oak
tree in the front yard.
They have
this fountain right outside the large front window, and my sister, Jeanne, took
this photo with a couple of hummingbirds and finches taking advantage of the fresh water.
There were over
26 of us for the four days. We had our
RV there and they borrowed two others to house additional family members. I called it Buzz Haven RV Resort (Buzz short
for our last name, Buzzetti). Our "old" RV is on the right.
Part of the
prep for dinner always includes the potato peeling party. My brother, Charlie, keeps a keen eye on his
slave labor (left to right: niece Heather, cousin Rhys, my brother Charlie, and his daughter Heidi) ensuring that not even one little piece of potato peel is left
behind! Their motto that night was "no peel left behind!"
There were
26 of us at his house this year, and my sister-in-law, Lori, did am amazing job
with so many little details to make the event picture perfect, including the
napkin rings that had lines from poems and sayings from famous people … all
with a thankful theme.
Another one of her
creative ideas was to have her very artistic daughter, Lauren, write the names
of the food dishes on a roll of paper.
Lauren’s assistant was another one of my niece’s, Heather.
Here are a just
a few samples of their creative talents.
We started
off the meal with these scrumptious squash soup shooters that my cousin Bettina
and her son Rhys made. OMG, they were so
fantastic that one was just not enough!
They were devoured. We keep
asking Bettina for the recipe … she simply can’t keep it all to herself!
How about this picture of my brother-in-law John who couldn’t help licking the inside of
his glass.
Before we opened the food floodgates, I had everyone gather around one of the tables for a group photo. What a motley crew we make!
I included this second photo (of the same scenario) so my brother Mike (left) was also included.
Then it was a free-for-all (well, not really … just controlled chaos!) as everyone swooped down on the buffet table to enjoy the bountiful feast prepared by so many loving hands.
After
dinner, it was GAME-ON! My family is
very gamey (ha!ha!). We love to play
games and get a little over competitive in the process. Here's a group of us playing Mexican Train dominoes. My brother-in-law John beat the crap out of the rest of us! Left to right: Cousin Bettina, sister-in-law Lori, me, brother Charlie, niece Katie, brother-in-law John.
This particular game of Pictionary (below) got rather loud, so loud in fact, that we couldn't hear the TV in the other room! In other words, they got VERY competitive and very raucous! They had three teams of about 4 each so when it was an "all play" ... well, I'll just say it wasn't a passive relaxed atmosphere in there.
Those who
weren’t playing Pictionary or Mexican Train may have found themselves a little comatose from
dinner--like my nephew Nick who couldn’t keep his eyes open. Was it the tryptophan in the turkey?
Then there
was the TV team or couch potatoes, who kept the couch warm while enjoying the hours upon hours of the Thanksgiving football frenzy! Left to right: Gary, my brothers Mike and Charlie, and my brother-in-law Jerry.
There was more than just games going on. Lisa and
Randy brought over this amazing wooden puzzle that kept a few of the family
members engaged for hours. All the
puzzle pieces are different shapes like flowers, animals, snowflakes, etc. In other words, this was NOT an easy puzzle
to figure out, but they were tenacious, hung in there, and completed it. These puzzles cost about $100 and Lisa has a
few other friends who have them as well.
What they do is finish their puzzle, sign their names in the lids, and
then they trade them with another family’s puzzle like a round robin.
The two principal
puzzle aficionados were my niece, Katie, and Sheri who were two women with a mission! Helping them right now is my brother-in-law, John.
Here’s the
completed puzzle.
There were a
few others who dropped-in ... Rhys; my brother-in-law, John; and my niece,
Heidi. They popped in and out of the
puzzle production process. But they were
also included in signing the puzzle box lid as part of the puzzle creationist
crew.
A real special "treat" for us was my niece Heather (who is very musically talented) playing my dad's trombone that my brother Mike brought over. My dad played the trombone when he was growing up and he and his brother and sister used to have a little group!
Time for these kissin’ cousins to say adieu! Left to right: Lauren, Sean, Nicole, and Heidi. Lauren and Heidi are my brother Charlie and Lori’s two girls and Sean and Nicole are Randy and Lisa’s kids. Lisa and Lori and sisters. Got it?
The day after Thanksgiving, we went to the afternoon matinee to see The Hunger Games. Gary and I caught up and watched the first one at Charlie’s the day before so we would be ready for #2. We really enjoyed both of them and had a great time. Our family took this whole row--10 of us!
Sunday
morning, we took off back to Santa Fe Springs to pick up our new RV on Monday (more on that one in the next blog). What a wonderful life we have surrounded by
loved ones who enjoy life and having a good time. We are so thankful for everything … God has
been very, very good to us!
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