Thanksgiving… 2011

Ahhh Thanksgiving..

You gotta love it.. It is mainly the celebration of gratitude for all that we have.. for the great land we live in.. for the love of family and friends .. and of course FOOD !!

Lots and lots of food !!

Every year my brother and sister in law host Thanksgiving mainly because my nephew was born (11 years ago) on Thanksgiving. (It's kind of a two for one if you will )

This year was no different.. these are the pilgrims that set out the feast for our Thanksgiving celebration.

They still act like young and in love whipper snappers..

Guys… guys.. For the love of all that is holy…. get a room !

Speaking of young whipper snappers.. my father in law was also in attendance .. ready to raise a glass.

While on the topic of celebrating..

this year in March there will be a LOT to celebrate.

Both Maria and Erin are expecting…( a week apart !! )

Can you believe THIS young face belongs to a soon to be Grandpa?…

This was to be a double celebration..

Thanksgiving and…

Thanksgiving.. for Luca’s birth !!

Everyone enjoyed each other’s company… & all were in a good mood..

everyone except....

This guy…

Look…

We all gotta go sometime right? It was just his time.

He was delicious !!

as were his compatriots..

Ham and pasta..

( What?… pasta could have been at the first Thanksgiving ! )

Mashed and Sweet Potatoes cranberries and dressing

The works…

As usual everything was GREAT !!

Don’t let this steely exterior fool you..

inside she is wiggling with delight

As are these two..

These two have not yet quite grasped the concept of masking the emotions.

And so….the event that takes a week to get ready for.. was over in 20 minutes..

The tryptophan kicked in right away.

Some worked off the meal by racing cars..

some just relaxed the bellies with T.V and the internetz.

Others cold crashed on sofa contact.

Once everyone had a chance to recuperate…it was time for phase II of Operation carbs..or..
Luca’s Birthday cake!

The Brothers were geared up.. locked and loaded ready to roll.

I’m sorry but aren’t they the cutest bunch of knuckle heads you’ve ever seen?

Everyone was giving Luca some love.

Uncle Marty… putting the “LOVE SQUEEZE” on Luca..

you can see how much Luca enjoys it.

If I am being totally honest here… (and I’m not)

It was a pretty violent birthday this year for Luca.

First the “LOVE SQUEEZE” from Uncle Marty… Then round II with the sucker punch from the Dad..

Not to worry… Luca is as strong as an ox…

And got his licks in as well.

When the clowning was done… the important part began..

Dante was pretty impressed with Luca’s lung capacity.

This kid’s smile just kills me..

Luca .YOU are our favorite part of Thanksgiving !!

All these people seem to think so too !

The over 50 crowd kinda likes you too.. they raise an empty glass in your honor.

Gino and friend pull off to the side and take it all in.

After dinner Mike and Maria joined the party… ( they alternate as do my sister and her family… so dinner was at Mike’s parents home this year)

They got there in time for the birthday celebration… I’d say they have impeccable timing…

Getting there just as the sweets were being served

Apparently Mike needed something sweet to tide him over.

Like I said before… PEOPLE…GET A ROOM !!

So there you have it.. our wild and wacky family’s idea of Thanksgiving..

I am pretty grateful for them all !!

Thanks again Gino and Nancy… I know it’s a lot of hard work.. but every year you do a great job..