Happy Thanksgiving!

Holidays are special events at Valle Del Oro. Decorations are everywhere.

This is a big stuffed turkey sitting on the stage in the ballroom

The ballroom is transformed into a dining room to feed Thanksgiving dinner to 1000 of our closest Mesa friends.

Making this Thanksgiving extra special for us is a visit from my two sisters. This is Aunt Catherine beside a Mrs Scarecrow decoration on the wall.

This event is BYOTS (bring your own table setting). This morning Aunt Catherine helped us put out our plates and stuff. There is a marvelous albeit a complicated plan to have a 1000 person potluck. One of things they do is let folks sign up for a specific table but not specific seats. So if you don't reserve your places by putting your plates, etc. early, your group might not get to sit together. We were early enough this year.

Becca helped us with our Thanksgiving theme paper goods.

So at 3PM social hour began with dinner starting at 4. Here is my sister Pat (Aunty Pat) and Aunt Catherine at our table #10. They drove here yesterday from California. They made good time across the desert but when they got to Mesa they got a little lost and didn't get here until it was dark. They were safe but exhausted. After resting over night in their little Park Model (single wide) rental, they were up to joining us for the turkey dinner.

VDO RV Resort provided the turkeys (they cooked more than 400), stuffing and gravy. Everything else is brought by the diners. Our assignment was to bring potatoes. Gramma and her new oven prepared "Funeral Potatoes" using Amanda's recipe--very yummy. Plus she made broccoli with lemon butter--also very yummy. Our table was heavy with all of the traditional Thanksgiving fare from pupus to dessert. Aunty Pat spoke for us all when she said "I should stop eating, but I can't! Everything is so good."

Definitely a day to be thankful for. Hope your was too.