Thanksgiving Day and Following

There were a few moments earlier in the week when I wondered if I would be able to pull off the Thanksgiving dinner that I had been so looking forward to. But each day got a little better, and it was a success! By Thanksgiving morning my cold/flu was pretty well behind me and my head trauma was healing nicely. The only thing that still bothered me (and still does) was a pain in my rib cage, which must be a result of the fall.

I did a lot of the preparation on Wednesday, and then, on Thanksgiving morning Dan drove out to Mother Neff Park and picked up Kelsey so she could come and help me finish getting the meal ready. Clara came, too, so we had a nice morning together - just us girls. Around 11:00 a.m. Kelsey, Clara and I drove to Belton and picked up Mom and brought her to the house for the festivities.

The guys showed up around noon - Chris and Robert, and their good friend, Jason (aka J-Dog), and his father, Jon, whom we hadn't met before. All in all, nine folks to gather for the Thanksgiving feast. Oh, I almost forgot that there were two others - Max, the kids' dog; and Zeph, Jason's dog. They enjoyed a beautiful sunny day in the back yard.

Clara and Max, playing in the back yard. Notice Clara's new fashion statement - glasses!

Chris and Robert - two of the special men in my life

Mom, Clara, Robert and I. The sun coming through the window made it a difficult shot, but it's better than no picture at all!

Robert loves our living room rug, because it has roads and a round-about for his cars.

For Friday, Kelsey planned a birthday celebration out at camp. Robert, Clara and Jason all have birthdays in the couple weeks around Thanksgiving (Clara's 9th and Robert's 5th). Clara and Robert knew that there was going to be a party, but it was to be a surprise for J-Dog. It is sooooo hard for a five-year old boy to keep such a big secret like that, but Robert did it!

Kelsey baked the cupcakes at camp, and that takes some talent!

 J-Dog was surprised that he was one of the three birthday honorees.

Kelsey brought a pretty table decoration, but the wind kicked up a bit right at party-time, so what better to keep it on the table than a strip of duct tape (the camper's secret weapon) up and over the top!!! 

J-dog was such a good sport, joining in on the scavenger hunt, playing pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, and blowing out the imaginary candles, just like one of the kids.

The birthday kids heading to the stump - to find the next scavenger hunt clue.

Clara reads the clue aloud, and everyone tries to guess where to go next.

"Come on J-Dog! Hurry!"

The end of the hunt - and a bag of prizes for the three participants.

Clara gets spun around before trying to pin the tail on the donkey.

Kelsey's turn!

Robert models one of his birthday gifts.

Maybe Kelsey needs her own TMNT cap for Christmas!

Jason is a superb campfire chef! He pretty much takes care of all the meals. That's Jon, his dad, reading in the background.

Dan and Jon really hit it off and spent most of both days in never-ending conversation.