So how was your Thanksgiving?

Our Thanksgiving was a little different from the norm:  A week or so before the big day, my sister in Kansas called and invited Cliff and me to spend Thanksgiving with her, her son, her grandsons, and their families.  As soon as she gave me the invite, I was pretty sure we would go.  For many years, Maxine has spent her winters in Texas, so there haven't been a lot of opportunities to spend the winter holidays together.  Also, I had not seen my nephew's family for years.  Add to this the fact that my sister is almost 87 years old, and the fact we had not seen the house she bought in Kansas... well, we just had to go, that's all. 

 It's a big house for one person.  Maxine keeps it shining and spotless, as is her custom.  It was difficult for her to sell the home in Kansas City that she and her husband built back in the 60's, but she felt at her age it would be better for everyone if she lived nearer her son and his wife.

I had not met my youngest great-nephew's wife and two children.  All I can say is, my nephew has beautiful grandchildren!  Here you see two cousins enjoying one another.  My great-nephews live near one another in Oklahoma, so their children are as close to their cousins as if they were siblings.  

This is the youngest

Both my great-nephews have beautiful, well-behaved children.  It was a pleasure to just soak up the family time, watching the kids play.

My nephew carved the turkey while his wife and his mother bustled around in the background.  Dinner was great.  Desserts were in such abundance that I was able to secure two pieces of Maxine's perfect lemon pie, probably my favorite item on the menu.  

Maxine always makes sure that everyone present sits at the same table, rather than spreading out all over the house like we do here.  It's a nice custom.  On the left is the wife of the youngest great-nephew, the mother of the beautiful baby you see in the picture above.  This was our first time to meet her.  We liked her just fine.  

My sister and me, with one of her great-grandchildren playing games on his Ipod.  We noticed that several of us were wearing red that day.

So there you have it, a little peek into our Thanksgiving day.  It really was worth the almost five-hundred-mile round trip; gasoline was comparatively cheap, too!  The oldest grandson took care of the cow and calves for us and made it possible for us to do this.