So close...

Thanksgiving is just around the corner!
I'm so excited to see all my family (minus Jed, Danielle, and Joie sadly) for the holiday. Ever since we were kids we have been getting together with my Dad's side of the family for the holiday, rotating between our house and my two aunt's houses in Seattle and Longview. This year is my parent's turn, and the first holiday to be spent at their new house on the golf course. I'm looking forward to turkey, pumpkin pie, laughter, wine induced giggles, and Christmas movies.
My family is big on traditions and there are certain things that just have to happen for Thanksgiving - and family is number1!
Firstly, the day before Thanksgiving my Aunt Janet starts her baking projects with pies to die for, and gingerbread cookies that are almost too cute to eat! My aunt is an amazing baker, and the holidays wouldn't be the same without a slice of her apple pie. During the day while my Aunt Janet (and usually my mom and Aunt Sandy too) is baking, my Uncle Rodney and I start a game of gin. Years ago he taught me how to count cards and play a number of card games, and although I'm not good at it, its so much fun to sit and play with him. He is an amazing person with an abundance of life experience and is a joy to talk to. Around our 30th hand of gin (seriously!) my Uncle Lauren joins in- we always invite him to begin with, but I think he enjoys just watching for a little while. Once he joins in, it seems to spread that card games are fun and we soon have an entire (or almost entire) family tournament with group solitaire or hearts, spades, or zero going on. We have too much wine to drink and too many sweets to eat and we are all happy, and content, and having fun. On Thanksgiving day the cooking frenzy begins bright and early. My mom and aunts have been forcing my cousin Jill (she only 9 months younger than me) and I since we were little to help with the cooking, but they usually get frustrated with our "laziness" halfway through the morning and we're free to spud with the boys until its time to set the table.
Thanksgiving is a day for movies! We have our traditional ones that we watch when we get together like "Joe Dirt" (yes I'm serious) and "My Cousin Vinny" and we usually rent a few hit blockbusters too. My cousin Jill's (now boyfriend) Blake has a serious DVD burning issue and always supplies us with TONS of DVDs to choose from. (oh my gosh, I just realized that this Thanksgiving will be the first that Jill and Blake will be together. for years Blake has been attending our family Thanksgivings as one of the family since he has been close to my cousin's family for ever, and we have been telling those two that they need to get together, and now they are!) The day after Thanksgiving we have to watch two movies "Home Alone" and "National Lampoons Christmas Vacation"- these movies are our traditional kickoff to the Christmas season!
Anyway... as you can probably tell, this time of year is my favorite. I am very excited to partake in family fun and tradition. The food, the smells, the fun, the laughter...
Ahhhhh, the holidays...
gotta love it!