Thanksgiving post at last

So, at the beginning of November I challenged myself to create a new blog post everyday.  I was doing pretty good and then wham--life, and death, got in the way and now it's been almost a month since my last post.

Let me catch up a little bit by starting with Thanksgiving day.  

Our family likes to start the day with a Turkey Trot.  This year we unexpectedly found ourselves in New Mexico for the holiday and luckily for us they have an annual Turkey Trot.  We figure that you have to earn all the calories that come with a holiday feast.

It was a little chilly that morning, but not too awful.  The Trot is hosted at the Balloon Fiesta Park.  It seemed like it took forever to reach the one mile marker.

Even longer to reach two miles!

I'm not going to lie, this seemed like the longest three miles of my life.  I can hike on a trail for miles and it doesn't seem this long.  Of course, I stop to smell the roses, enjoy the views, and take photos when I'm hiking.  It's been a long time since I've done a 5K and I am really our to shape.

Finally!  The finish line.  There's Dana, Adam, and Miss G waiting for us.  Yes, everyone beat us.  Irv was nice enough to be a slowpoke with me.  When I get too hard on myself I just try to remember that I had foot and knee surgery in the last year.  I'm grateful to just be moving!

Here's the obligatory finish line shot with our medals.  When did they start thinking everyone deserves a medal just for finishing?  I remember when they used to be something special.

After the run it was time for the festivities to begin.  Whole Foods came to the rescue with some delicious food for the holiday.  When you're not at home you have to find something easy and quick.

We always like to have an evening meal for Thanksgiving.  That means the afternoon is filled with delicious appetizers.

The afternoon was also filled with a gingerbread house decorating contest.  Everything is a competition in our family.  I originally only bought a kit for Miss G, but then I thought why shouldn't all of us get in on the action.

Everyone did their best...some put in a little more effort than others.

Quite festive don't you think?  Who do you think did the one on the far right?  If you guessed someone whose name starts with I and ends with V then you would be right. 😆

Votes were cast and it was no surprise that Miss G took home the grand prize followed closely by her Grammy.

At last the bird was warm and dinner was ready.

I think Thanksgiving dinner is my favorite.  I love, love, love turkey!

The guys both munched on the legs.  No tears this year since Jillian wasn't here to hear all the growling, crackling, and snapping (long story).   

We were so grateful that Miss G and her parents joined us for the holiday.  Our family is spread far and wide so it's always a treat to be with at least some of them especially this year since we were grieving the loss of a family member.  We greatly missed the family members who weren't able to be with us.