17) Thanksgiving Traditions

Traditions are what make the holidays special with our family.  This year, my family pioneered some new traditions.

Normally, my grandma would reserve the gym in the 1st Ward church building, and my Uncle Bryan's family and my Uncle Mike's family would come and we would play basketball and have our traditional turkey dinner.  However, both my Uncle Mike and Uncle Bryan's families have moved out of state.  Despite my constant remindings that it was my grandma's responsibility as Grandma to prepare Thanksgiving dinner, my grandma was certain that this year we were going out to Chuck-A-Rama.  It looked like our traditions were being flushed down the drain.

Then just a few days before Thanksgiving, my Uncle Mike called and said that their family would be driving to our house and spending Thanksgiving here.  Boy am I glad they did because Aunt Crystal is an excellent cook.  We had homemade pumpkin, pie, lemon lush, and the whole turkey dinner.  My grandma worked as hard as ever with my mother to clean my house and prepare for their stay.  After this Thanksgiving, I think my grandma will return to our old traditions so she doesn't have any more last minute surprises.

My dad's side of the family had a new tradition this year too.  My dad is the youngest of five children, so there are a lot more people present at Thanksgiving dinner.  We usually have a full dinner, but this year, Aunt Anna Joy decided to only have each family bring a dessert.  We brought BYU ice cream because I work at the creamery outlet and know which flavors are the best.

My family was asked to bring my grandma's old BINGO set.  We visited and played BINGO for a few hours and each winner was rewarded with a prize.  I won one round and we got a game of Tidley Winks for our prize. 

Another change to our traditions was the recent arrival to our family.  My oldest sister had a baby girl this past September, so we all got to hold and fiddle with her.  After the Thanksgiving desserts with my dad's family, my sister brought her baby for my Aunt Anna Joy and Uncle Donald to hold.  We took their pictures and recorded this new family event.