The food assignments for this year were as follows:
Dan-Turkey, Stuffing, Green Bean Casserole, Cranberries, & a Dessert
Mark-Yams, Green Salad & Dressings, & a Dessert
Ann-Potatoes, Gravy, & Mom's Cranberry Salad, & a Dessert
Andy-Rolls & Toppings for them (let us know if you want us to take care of the butter), Relish Plate, & a Dessert
(Clearly each important Thanksgiving food group was covered...especially dessert!)
Here's a bit more of what was planned for the big day:
"After the feast has been consumed and whatever's left (if anything) is put away, we have several games planned. Some will require enormous skill and some will be no more than dumb luck, we'll even have individual events and team competitions, as we begin the Horrocks Family Thanksgiving Olympics. Prizes will be awarded to all winners....
There will also be paper and writing utensils so that we can all send greetings to Becky. We'll be sure to include crayons and such for those who may wish to draw her a picture.
Our plan is be finished early enough to prepare for Black Friday (everybody bring your Black Friday ads), those not interested in participating in the shopping mania, other games will be continuing."
We also asked the families for the following:
"Please send us a brief update on each member of your family (including Mom & Dad) with 2-3 highlights of their life since our last family gathering in July. These can be anything you think they would like our family to know about them. We will all be figuring out who's who with this information. We need these items by Friday, November 19th please."
The wheels continued to turn. Once everything was planned, we began gathering supplies and prizes needed.
THE BIG DAY! Dan and I went early to the church to set up:
When Amanda and Sid arrived at our place, we put them to work making the stuffing:
Amanda's watching and waiting for the water to boil.
The pot was aluminum so it took waaaaaaayyyyyyy longer than normal to boil. Yeah to Sid for figuring out the problem so the stuffing could be finished!
Dan and I tried to catch a quick nap before the big extravaganza while Amanda and Sid were cooking.
On all the chairs were two puzzles for everyone to do--one was a word search with everyone's name, including Grandma and Grandpa Horrocks. The other was a crossword with the clues being the updates received about each family member. (The internet is such a GREAT tool for finding sites to make word puzzles for free!)
Everyone arrived, they took their seats, and began working on the word puzzles while waiting for the food to be put out and the prayer to be said...
Finally the food was all out....
Time to say the prayer...
(Not quite the 1:00 that was planned.)
...and not a moment too soon. :).
It was time to eat...but only after everyone finished the word puzzles!
Sign of a true Horrocks, games before food no matter the occasion! :)
After dinner, and before dessert, we then began the rest of the Thanksgiving Extravaganza!
Games; lightening, Yahtzee, dominos, puzzles-but not played in the "typical" fashion, they had Uncle Dan's twists and tweeks...
...of course scores were kept, another true Horrocks trait! Uncle Dan did his magical mathematics to determine the rankings for all 25 family members (including Cousin Kelli):
While the calculations were being made, others occupied themselves with other things:
The tallies were completed and it was time to hand out the prizes! No one was excluded, Cousin Rebecca, already on her mission in St. Louis, received a gift too; "Kiss Me" socks complete with mistletoe! Others received games, books, calendars, glow-in-the-dark dinosaurs, Thanksgiving centerpieces Dan and I decorated, mini photo albums...
...cars (Hummers to be exact) for the soon to be 16-year-olds
...and we can't forget the prize for Sid...our next missionary to head out into the field in only a couple months...
...THE GIRL OF HIS DREAMS TO WAIT FOR HIM!
(Her banner says "Future Mrs. Sid Horrocks!" and she has a picture of Sid, which has been kissed, and a note saying "My Heart Belongs to Sid")
The food was eaten....
In some cases just licked....
...a family photo of the Bert & Ione Horrocks Descendents (except our missionary, Rebecca):
...the leftovers wrapped and put away...
...time to head to our homes with full stomachs, uplifted spirits, fond memories, and anticipation for our next Horrocks family gathering!
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