Thanksgiving Story

Last week, we went to the Gaunt Ranch (Maureen's Aunt and Uncle/Grammy's Sister and Brother-in-Law) for Thanksgiving. As always, we were welcomed with open arms as soon as we entered their home. Actually, we were greeted by the Lowe's (Maureen's Cousin Whitney, her husband Jesse, and their son Thomas) in the driveway. Thomas was so excited to show us his train that he took a header in the driveway like little boys under the age of 2 are apt to do.



As we entered, we were greeted with the delicious smell of the turkey and some fine appetizers, mostly dips and things of that nature. Mind you, I'm not a fan of dips or sauces, so I was able to much on the chips and bread. I hope John doesn't take after me that way. So far, he does seem to eat most things. Anywho, our hosts (Fred and Patty) made us feel at home. The other Gaunts, Kevin and Rachel (Maureen's cousin and his wife), came over to see us. Shortly after that, Thomas decided to go outside to see the horses.






Once we got outside, John was in heaven. He wanted to run around and look at everything. He made a beeline for the rose bushes and I had to steer him away from them rather quickly. He also kept on walking past the stables to the place where there were some brown bins. My guess is that there was horse manure in those bins, but I may be wrong. I kept on having to pull him away from it. By that time, Cousin Adriana had joined us and she delivered this great observation: Horses poop all over the place. For a five year old, I think that's pretty profound. She's always good for a good line or two like that.


Maureen specifically bought John his cowboy shirt because we were headed out to the ranch. She would have bought him a cowboy hat to match , but he hates hats of any sort and would have thrown it off. It turns out that Whitney had purchased the same shirt for Thomas. It's my goal in life to be Joe Simpson and turn the two of them into a pop singing sensation. With the additions to the family, we may have to expand the duo into a quartet. Enough of my stage father dreams and back to the Thanksgiving story, John just wanted to play with the water bucket by the pen where the horses are groomed. He kept on reaching for it and didn't understand why I wouldn't let him touch it. One day next summer, Maureen can take him back to see how the horses are groomed and we'll see if he still wants to play with the water.



JD didn't quite make it for the turkey. He had his little raviolis and some fruit compote, but he did get to sit at the kids table and enjoy the company of his cousins. As a matter of fact, he had a blast at the table. The dogs kept on coming up to him at the gates and he started to throw food at them. It was a scene reminiscent of Spanky when he was a toddler in The Little Rascals where he'd feed Pete the pup under the table. John kept on tossing the monkey bread and Cheerios on the floor. Sadie and Tango were his best friends by the end of the night, but he didn't like it when Sadie came up and started licking his face. He still needs to get used to dog kisses.



By the end of the night, Maureen had changed John into his super hero jammies and he was entertaining people with his dazzling charm and bon mots. Actually, he really wiped himself out and he slept in the next morning. It was the best feeling not to wake up until 7 AM the next morning. To quote the Fresh Beat Band, "What a great day!"