Gobble, gooble!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Twas a veritable feast...fealty for a king...le fete du siecle! The Thanksgiving Dinner prepared by TND was beautiful and bountiful: turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing, green bean casserole, sweet potato bake, sweet corn, gravy, cranberry salad, rolls, apple pie, cookies, and wine - all on Ben and Grace's fine china.

Memorable moments from the evening include the gravy that "almost was not", the surprise jello shots supplied by Brad, Eric's failed attempts to avoid dishes, and cleaning up to Christmas music. Also, note for next year: though sweet potatoes and yams are often called by each other's names, the two starches are different. Go figure!

Many thanks to Lyndee for organizing the big event and cooking such a delicious turkey! Words can ill descibe its juicy goodness. Even on day three of leftovers, the meat was still sumptuous. Too bad it can never be replicated since she randomly combined three "recipes" in the typical Lyndee-fashion.

One question only remains: why in the world did we not do this before???!

Mexican Movie Night...kind of

Last Saturday night we gathered chez Newsomes for our first "Family Dinner". We enjoyed some tasty Mexican tortilla soup and 7-layer taco dip followed by Baked Alaska for dessert. Though I went through a dozen and a half eggs and ran Ben's electric bill up by $20 using the mixer, stiff peaks finally formed. Note to self, sugar to egg ratio is very important when making meringue.

After dinner, we performed an impromptu rendition of Phantom of the Opera. Though the notes were very high, the singing was zestful- despite full bellies and the late hour.

After a round of Yahtzee (during which I rolled a perfect Yahtzee with all dice facing the same direction (see picture) ... the boys spent the next 10 minutes trying to figure out the probability of my amazingness. Little do they know that perfection as found in someone such as myself can never be duplicated or calculated. It is a phenomenon that should simply be admired and loved).

Anyway, after Yahtzee, we pulled out the air mattress, donned our PJ's and settled in for the sleepover part of our evening. During our first movie, Gladiator, almost everyone fell asleep - even Eric who insisted on sleeping on the floor. Brad's involuntary foot movement probably got to him.

Sunday morning, everyone woke bright and early for a breakfast of scrumptious sausage and egg biscuits with apples on the side. I parted ways with the group to go to church (heathens, the lot of you!) while the rest went hiking in the Gorge. Someone else will have to write that post!

The next gathering is scheduled for this Saturday - Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings!