thanksgiving weekend

Thanksgiving weekend was, in short, a very full weekend. I spent the first part with Kathy, my co-worker, and her family in Appleton. With all the parents, siblings, spouses, grandchildren, and myself there were 18 people in the house, which meant zero privacy but tons of fun.

One of my favorite people to bug that weekend was the youngest, Phillip

Babies are adorable, but they're even cuter when they like you back. With 14+ aunts and uncles in the house, there's always more than enough attention to shower on the youngest, which he totally didn't mind. Since leaving Baby JUMP at Coast in June I haven't had too many opportunities to cuddle with babies, so I was a very happy "auntie" this weekend.
Food is a big deal in Thanksgiving; holiday cooking for a family of 18 is another matter all together. I think the women talked about the menu for the weekend for at least 2 hours on the night Kathy and I arrived in Appleton.

Crazy action in the kitchen

Kathy's mom is amazing. She was always the first one to wake up to prepare food and worked non-stop the whole day. Yet she never complained; if anything she was always making sure that her kids (including myself) were well fed and taken care of. The love and strength that radiated from her 4'10" frame are some of the most memorable things I'll take away from this weekend.

Yay for men who work in the kitchen!

Kathy's younger brothers are pretty awesome. They were really helpful, and probably much more useful than I was in the kitchen. Kevin (the guy in blue) totally kicked my butt in de-boning chicken thighs. I was the shameless (or shameful, if you're my mom) guest who took naps on the couch in the family room. But I did mash 3 gallons of potatoes, which I was extremely proud of. :)

Kathy on drugs (she was sick the whole weekend) and me after my afternoon nap

Saturday morning I drove down to Chicago to hang out with Alex & Co. from Ann Arbor. I was really excited to see him, since I only get to see him about once or twice a year. Of the 5 of us he was the only one who was familiar with the city, so he was the tour guide of the day.

Alex and me in front of The Bean

CNN bus by Millenium Park! Could it be Anderson Cooper inside??? I'll never know...
Alex and Joaquin, the "superior Argentinian with a hot accent" who also ended up saving a boy from getting run over

View of downtown from Hancock Observatory
City lights

We had Brazilian BBQ for dinner. All I can say is...it was definitely worth it :)

Fogo de Chao
("Fiery Ground"...or something like that)

My 6th? 7th? serving of meat
I could've had at least 2 more of these fried bananas if I wasn't so stuffed with the meat

Another memorable part of the trip was seeing the Chicago skyline at night. It was oddly peaceful and comforting, not to mention breathtakingly beautiful. It was almost as good as watching the crashing waves from La Jolla cliffs at 2am...almost. I wish I could've captured what I saw on camera, but some things are best left experienced in person.