Yes, you read that right. I know some amateurs may celebrate Thanksgiving with just one dinner, or possibly a second dinner featuring leftovers, but not the Ipes. We do Thanksgiving like champions…. or pilgrims.
Wednesday
After work and school, we all got home and changed clothes to go my sister’s for dinner. Unfortunately, traffic on the NJ Turnpike was reportedly terrible, so we opted for an alternate down I-295. Sadly, US Route 1 was not much better, and we sat in traffic for a long while. After eventually arriving at my sister’s, we had a nice dinner and everyone had a good, low-key time.
Thursday
Ah, Thanksgiving itself. Low-key day for the most part, and the family hung out at home. We initially signed up for this program where we could host a family-in-need (due to Hurricane Sandy) for dinner, but we never received a response. I hope that means they had more than enough volunteers to host Thanksgiving. Instead, we drove up to my cousin John’s place for a big extended family Thanksgiving.
It went well. Saw a lot of relatives, spoke to only a few of them, chatted with parents very briefly.
Friday
Well, Friday wasn’t too busy. We took the kids to the supermarket for a few items (like buying a turkey), took the kids for flu shots at the pediatrician’s office, then home for a brief respite. We skipped all of that ‘Black Friday’ nonsense, but we did take the kids to Menlo Park mall to see Wreck-It Ralph. After we got home, Nums and I had to prep and brine the turkey for Saturday’s “Friendsgiving” event.
Saturday
Saturday was busy. Around noon, we left for Linden, NJ, to our friend’s house, with a large turkey in tow. Although we were not ” Friendsgiving” this year, we agreed to roast the turkey. We brought it to our friend’s house, got the oven to 500 degrees, and the hung out there for a few hours as everyone gradually showed up. Long story short, a very good dinner ensued, but I was awfully tired at this point.
Well, that’s it for Thanksgiving this year. I’m tired, and certainly heavier, I’m sure.