Thanksgiving in Mesa, 2022

Roger and I love the new plan in the family for Thanksgiving of being invited to our various children's homes. We had so many wonderful all of the family together gatherings, but we just got too big, especially now that the great-grandkids are arriving.

This year we traveled to Mesa to stay with our daughter, Stacy, and her family, or at least, part of them, as oldest daughter, Syd, and her husband and two little boys live in Watercolor, Florida, couldn't come; son Jake, is traveling around Europe and is a TA over the internet with a BYU professor and could't come; and Londyn and new husband went to Mexico over the Thanksgiving break to work on new houses for the needy. But BYU freshman, Maddy, was home for Thanksgiving and, of course, twins, Max and Luke were there. 

We love to be with this wonderful family - they make us feel so welcome and loved. 

Stacy had this message hanging:

This turkey at their front door I bought years ago for our growing up family and I passed it on to Stacy. Each of our kids got a different holiday wooden figure that were all made by the same creative couple.

And speaking of turkeys, we had our traditional Turkey Bowl on Thanksgiving Eve.

Fun being with Miss Maddy

Rick, Jodie and family had a Turkey Bowl, too, though Blake was sick and Jodie stayed home with him. There wasn't Rick's usual dominant score, because Jodie wasn't there, he said.

Stacy usually has most of Tom's family, but this year only his brother, Jimbo, Sham and their five kids came.

The adult table

Roger and I fixed the turkey, roasting it in the big Magnolite turkey roaster we gave all of our kids for Christmas, years ago.

Stacy made Grandma Strat's candied yams, her apple and pumpkin pies and her rolls.

Jimbo made a from scratch green bean casserole with fresh green beans and Sham made her famous ribbon salad with fun flavors of Jolly Rancher mixed in.

Ryan's family, who live five minutes away in Mesa, was in San Diego Thanksgiving weekend at the beach house with some of the Gilberts. The very exciting event was Pete proposed to Izzy! Her family lives in San Diego and Pete waited until he could, in person, ask her father for Izzy's hand. She is a darling girl and we are thrilled that she is joining our clan!

Ryan and Emily's growing family

It was such a relaxing, happy weekend with the Youngs. We watched ballgames, ate, went to the movies, ate, enjoyed a visit from our new friends we made on our Viking cruise from the Gilbert area, Dorothy and Jerry, and ate some more. I love Thanksgiving!