Thanksgiving in Romulus

Happy Clintsgiving, America!

Alas, there will be no Clint and no Voigts this Thanksgiving.  The Houghs are no longer in Orlando, as you know, and we have no intention of flying back down to Florida in order to celebrate a holiday that, frankly, neither Kris nor myself really gives two hoots about in the first place.

You heard me, Thanksgiving.  You're not that cool, and lately you really just serve as a shopping incentive during the early stages of the Christmas season.  Consequently, Kris and I really don't get overly excited about celebrating you.

Well, since we're back in Michigan now, and around family once more, we have to start caring about Thanksgiving again (instead of just using it as an excuse to go over to the Voigts' house to watch the Lions lose.)  Since my own family shares my disdain for this holiday, we turned to Kris' family instead:  her mom's side of the family always holds a major family get-together down in Romulus (where most of them are based), so we carpooled down there with Marcy and Scott to celebrate Thanksgiving this year.

And will probably continue to do so on a yearly basis from this point forward. . .

Watching the Lions game (Scott's son and his wife are at the far left, followed by Kris' cousin, Colton, her aunt's Margie's husband, Patrick, and Yours Truly.)

Abby springs into action (in her Thanksgiving dress, of course.)

The girls run over to Kris' uncle Wayne's house (where the meal was being prepped.)  We were staying next door at her aunt Margie's house (yes, they live directly next door to one another.)

Kris' cousin, Scarlett, her aunt, Mickey, Marcy and the Cannonball, and. . . I forget.  Their family's frickin' huge.

The girls watch some TV with their aunt Lily.  Yes, the girl on the far right there is technically their aunt (Kris' mom is the eldest of seven, and Lily is the youngest daughter of Marcy's youngest sibling.)

Making potatoes.

More kitchen prep with Kris' uncle, Wayne (I helped by staying out of the kitchen.)

Two of Marcy's sisters, Maxine and Mickey (Mickey is Marcy's twin, Maxine is the second youngest.)

Circling items for their Christmas Lists in a toy catalog.

That dog (Captain) is huge - and he's only a year old.

Chapstick time (the kids go through it like crazy up here on account of the cold and dry air.)

Watching the game

Alayna, Abby and Lily hung out most of the day, which kept them occupied and out of our hair.

Mashing potatoes.

Kris' aunt, Margie, bringing pies and baked goods over from her house next door (where we're staying.)

Healthy snacks.  From L to R: potato chips, Cheeze Its, and cookies.  While watching Despicable Me 2.

Scarlett

The Laginess Clan

With the exception of a few individuals (Mickey's kids and their families, and Margie's younger son), this is everyone.

Margie and her grandson

Those are Margie's two boys, Andy and Cody

More chaos (playing with Scott's walker is a favorite pastime.)

Waiting patiently for dessert.

After dinner and desert, we drove over to Kris' uncle Jeff's house, where they were having a huge family Thanksgiving for members of her dad's side of the family.  

Kris' cousins and some of their kids (and no, I can't remember who's who in her extended family, and I've been around since '98.  To my credit, my dad had one sister who had two children, and my mom had one brother who had three children - my family is small.  Kris' mom had six siblings, and her dad had five siblings.  Each of them had between two and five kids apiece, sooo. . . yeah.)

Hammin' it up for the camera.  Par for the course, really.

Attempts at a group picture. . .

Abby started to get pretty tired while at Jeff's, but Alayna was having a blast, so I let Abby play games on my phone to buy Kris and Alayna more time to visit with her dad's extended family.  Never fails.

We eventually returned to Margie's  - later than we had expected - and put the girls to bed in the den, while Kris and I slept out on their sectional.  I slept like a frickin' rock.

- Brian