Oh Yeah - About Thanksgiving

With all the dog news, I overlooked the semi-requisite recap of our Thanksgiving Holiday festivities! Thursday we followed our since-we-moved-into-our-house tradition of dining on Hy-Vee catered prime rib. We didn't have extra guests this year, though, because our friends Ben & Karen scored us 5 tickets to the Sound of Music preview performance at TCR Lindale. A pretty large scale production to produce on a makeshift stage, but they pulled it off (due in no small part to the brilliant scenic design of my friend Bret).

Mike Wilhelm (Captain VonTrapp), Amy Friedl Stoner (Maria), Heather Harris Akers (Frau Schroeder) & Kids from TCR's Sound of Music

Unfortunately, Dad got sick during the first act and Julio took him home at intermission, so he didn't get to see the second act. Mom and the rest of us went home for pie after the show, then we all hit the sack.

Friday was our frantic house-cleaning day, in preparation for the annual Shaffer Thanksgiving blowout, hosted by my parents using our house as the "venue". This year we were expecting anywhere from 15 to 35 people (I think we landed at about 27 who actually attended). It's a stressful time, but that's what it takes to get me to excavate our house once a year, so it's well worth it! Not to mention how nice it is to have everybody together at least once a year.

It was especially rewarding this year, as John was able to bring his entire family (weren't sure they were going to be able to come, because Karen had to work that day - but they sacrificed sleep to be here), and Jason and family were here for several days, which gave us a chance to reconnect with their adorable kids. Ben impressed us all with his amazing agility - if you didn't know he'd just had spinal surgery 10 days prior, you'd never have guessed. He was moving around like a champ, and did a great job keeping up with the 10 year olds as well as the 3 and 4 year olds (he was also a great sport about being the only 6 year old in attendance).

Unfortunately I was so tired this year, I didn't get the full experience - spent most of the time trying to stay awake but it was all a blur (the stuff dreams are made of...I think...) So my memories are fuzzy - but I do recall snapping some photos. Here are a few of them: