The Big Family Gathering

There are somewhere between 19 and 22 of us depending on whether you count long time boyfriends, unborn children and adult children who couldn't make it to the family dinner.  We are a quiet reserved bunch who enjoy simple pleasures like singing hymns and... OK, I have to stop now.  This is the most raucous, rambuncsuis, rowdiest gang of fun loving people you could ever hope to be around.  All led by the matriarch of the family, my Mother in Law.  Oh, she tries to reign the boys in a little bit when they get especially rowdy but she usually just ends up with a little half smile on her face and a shake of the head and some declaration about not coming to her when someone gets hurt.  You know that deep down she enjoys the ruckus because there is a lot of love there.

Brother in Law, Jim and his wife Linda were the ones brave enough to host again this year.  They usually end up with wither Christmas or Thanksgiving due to  the fact that they are both pretty centrally located and have room to fit everyone in. The rest of us are spread out between just below the Pennsylvania border and Delaware.

Jim is so dedicated to the family gathering that he even took the wall between his eat in kitchen and his dining room down sot hat he cold fit in a long table for 20.

We made the hour trek to Jim's and arrived to find tables laden with food.  I have to give a big shout out to Linda for serving one of the moistest, tastiest turkey's I have had in a log time.  And I do love turkey.

Our contribution to the dinner was strawberry soup, a recipe borrowed from 1900 Park Faire restaurant in Disneyworld.  Our desert contribution was Baklava which Big Boy helped make for the first time.  I will post the recipe in my cooking blog after I get caught up from the holidays.

After dinner, we all hung around the table visiting for a while and then adjourned downstairs to watch the big dance off.  Jim had the Kinnect and Just Dance hooked up and we all had a great time watching the kids (and by that, I mean BIL David and adult nephew, Matt). 

Then, we opened gifts.  And the big hit was...

 

You got it!  A paintball gun given by Uncle Jim.

And since it wouldn't be a P family gathering without guns, David took Lil Bit and her cousin J2 outside to shot their new guns (J2 got an automatic rifle airsoft gun.)

We had one moment of excitement when Lil' Bit decided that she wanted to go deer hunting.  Jim thought he would be helpful by pointing a light down into the yard so Lil' Bit could see but she kept pointing the gun the other way.  So, J2 yelled "shoot at eh light" meaning the circle of light from the flashlight beam.  Well, Lil' Bit took the instruction literally and whipped around to shoot at the source of the light...the flashlight that Uncle Jim was holding.  He dropped the light and made a mad dash inside, thankful that he was still alive.

Unfortunately, my husband had to leave for work right after dinner and he missed out on a lot of the fun but we a re grateful for all those years that we all were able to make it even though there were five police officers in the family (yes, I am counting Shane, he ain't going anywhere).

We partied late into the night - or at least it seemed that way to Jim who is used to going to bed at eight.  We headed home, happy but tired.