Thanksgiving!

    Upon first arriving in Australia, Em and I were practically adopted by several families. We came up with the idea early on of doing a Thanksgiving dinner sometime before we left so that we could do something to show our gratitude for everyone’s kindness while at the same time sharing our culture with them. Luckily for all the guests our moms decided to come visit. Naturally, we planned to have Thanksgiving while they were here so that the food would consist of more than crispy turkey, canned green beans, ramen, and brownies with little turkeys iced onto them.

    As it turned out Thanksgiving was a huge success. We had it last weekend and since both moms combined forces it turned out to be an event grander than any actual Thanksgiving Em and I ever attended back home. Mom and I did the turkeys, her famous stuffing, wild rice, green been casserole, and sweet potatoes (by 'Mom and I' I mean I cut things up and diligently watched her do the rest). Em baked rhubarb, plum, pumpkin, blackberry, and apple pies. Her mom Judy made a cous cous stir fry dish, mashed potatoes, and baked homemade bread. I prepared the s’more dish unsupervised. Everything turned out perfect and we had more than 20 could possibly eat. All of our guests were incredulous when we told them it was actually a very traditional Thanksgiving dinner. After everyone prepared their plates we made our way outside where we ate dinner as a big, happy family. When it got dark a little while later we got the fire started and I showed the kids how we roast marshmallows over the campfire for s’mores. Everyone joined us with drinks and I got out the violin and played the Last of the Mohicans theme song, Danse Macabre, and many other random songs mostly from movies, while we passed the time in good spirits and conversation. It was a beautiful night and we stayed out by the fire ’til almost midnight. Half the guests stayed the night since there was plenty of room for everyone at the lodge.

    The next morning, I got the violin out for an encore performance and Shaynee decided to accompany me on the didgeridoo. Once everyone was sufficiently irritated with us and up and at ‘em, we started to get ready to head to the Riverhouse for the next get together of the weekend. Life here is pretty rough…

    Thanks to the moms for a wonderful visit and Thanksgiving dinner! We love you guys!