Gobble Gobble

How did my favorite holiday already pass us by? Our Thanksgiving gathering was small this year, but Jackie bought a proper roasting pan so we just had to cook another 17-pound turkey. It wasn't as fun without mom, dad and Jord, but we managed to eat to our hearts' delight and then pass out on the couch while watching Pocahontas.

Jocelyn put together this short video of the evening to help us remember the night because that's what she does best!

Hiking it Off.

When the parents are in town, it's all about eating and shopping. Factor in Thanksgiving and Black Friday and we already had a pretty full agenda lined up. To balance out the heaviness of sweet potatoes and mac n' cheese, we suggested dragging everyone up the Hollywood hills to the Griffith Observatory. With the forecast reading 80 degrees and sunny, it ended up being the most perfect afternoon outing.

Warm Fuzzies.

This past weekend, my dear friend Pierce proposed to my dear friend Bonnie. 

I wish you two all the love in the world.

Wishing I Was There

Dad is in Paris right now. Jaloux!

from littlebrownpen

from here via vic

I'm in dire need of an out-of-this-country adventure. Preferably somewhere warm. Or France. How about the Cote D'Azur? I'll take it!

Dads are the Best

circa 1988

circa 1996

Happy Birthday Dad! How old are you, 29? Ok ok, that's not passable. 35??  Ohh just kidding. You're not old enough to be making "old" jokes...I think you have to qualify for the Ross Senior discount before that happens!  Plus, grey hair is kind of cool now...

_________________

I think I turned out to be a pretty good mix of mom and dad. While I don't really look like either of them, there are many things about me that are very "mom" and other traits that are totally "dad".  For instance, my stubbornness is all from dad. My appetite? Dad. My soft-spot for cheesy movies like Drumline? Definitely dad.

This post could go on forever because there are many other things that I love and appreciate about my fasha.  Here are some of the highlights:

- He makes all my friends feel like family. 

- He's my biggest fan. He supports me in everything I do, even if it's not his first choice.

- He's pretty sappy. (My second-grade science project STILL travels with him throughout his many offices at Microsoft.)

- He's adventurous and has taught us to value traveling and seeing/experiencing unfamiliar cultures.

- He takes my mom on vacations and dates.

- Family is and will always be his number one.

- I know that he's always praying for us.

Maybe one day I'll have kids, and they can inherit some of these traits from Gung Gung (uhh creepy to write that out). Let's be real...maybe one days Nats or Jord might have kids and my cute nieces and nephews can learn these things from Gung Gung. :o)

Love you Dad, H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y!

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving - sleeping in, time spent by the pool, the feast of a lifetime, and TWO desserts made from scratch.  The last couple years we've had a more traditional Thanksgiving menu with the sweet potatoes covered with marshmallows, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce...the works.  This year, we took it up a notch with dishes like swiss chard and sweet potato gratin, gourmet mac n' cheese, creamed spinach, broccoli and cauliflower lemon zest salad, stuffing, rotisserie chicken, apple pie and pumpkin cheesecake.  There were only four of us. But we conquered. Leftovers are already gone - I can't believe it!  Love love love Thanksgiving (and paid time off!)

{Sisters in the kitchen, Jackie's beautiful apple pie from scratch, our favorite mac-n-cheese all prepped and ready}

Nats didn't know what chard was...

See more pictures on Nat's blog.