A Happy Thanksgiving

It's been a good weekend filled with lots of activity and so much to be thankful for. The weekend started off with a birthday party for Kristy. We ordered Thai food and spent some time hanging out with wonderful friends and cute kids! I am so thankful for the incredible friends I have been blessed with. I cannot imagine my life without these incredible people in it.

Saturday I spent the entire day in the Lockport school gym coaching my grade 9 girls volleyball team in a tournament. I was surprised at how intense I became but the there were some close and exciting games. The girls played awesome (although the 8:30am game wasn't our best) and we ended up winning the whole tournament. Yeah!!! It's really neat to be a part of these girls lives at this stage of their life. I remember grade 9 and for me it was absolute hell. There is no other way to describe it. It's neat to be able to let these girls know that as crazy and stupid as grade 9 is, there is so much more ahead of them. Junior high and high school is such a little part of life that really ends up not being that important in the big picture. It's neat to be a part of these girls' lives - they are such a joy and I hope I can be someone with whom they can look up to.

Derek and Courtney picked me up from the tournament and the 3 of us headed out to the lake to join the rest of the family for a great big Thanksgiving dinner cooked by Grandma. This is a meal you definitely don't want to miss. All the basics were there: mashed potatoes, stuffing, turkey, salads, homemade buns, apple, pumpkin and banana cream pies, & cucumber salad. We all left the table feeling overwhelmingly stuffed.

After a full dinner the only thing to do was to lay down on the floor in hopes of stretching our stomachs out.

It's rare that the entire family gathers out at the cabin all at once. There are so many memories that we shared out there, specifically on Thanksgiving. However, when my Grandpa passed away 7 years ago, traditions of hunting and thanksgiving at the lake sort of died along with him. It's only been in the last 2 years that we have been able to resurrect the tradition and it is very much welcomed.

The rest of the evening was spent playing games and being goofy together. I have a pretty neat family and although our quarks are definitely there, we are all pretty neat people. I'm thankful to be able to have a place like the cottage that allows our family to come together on a regular basis.

Dominika and I have this thing we do where we pretend to be "gangsta's" - we're practicing for Halloween. Out of nowhere my mom decided she was going to get in on the fun, so she gave us her best gangster pose. I don't think any of us have ever laughed so hard. Normally my mom is quite prim and proper, so this was WAY out of character, however quite entertaining! The picture isn't great due to the constant laughter - I couldn't hold the camera still

Sunday morning most of everyone went home to get to church and other family festivities, but my parents, my grandma and myself decided to stay out at the lake for the remainder of the weekend. I was hoping that the weather would cooperate so that I could venture outside for a fall walk in the fields and along the shore, but unfortunately the rain was constant and made for time spent inside, which ended up being fabulous too. Time was spent doing a puzzle, crosswords and movies all cozy under a warm blanket in front of the fireplace. It doesn't get much more picturesque then that!!

All in all it was a great weekend filled with lots of activity and constant reminders that I indeed have much to be thankful for in my life. May I never take them for granted.