Nepper's Landing: Thanksgiving Weekend Extravaganza

We had a lovely, yet busy, Thanksgiving weekend. Yes, this past weekend was Thanksgiving here in Canada. Why the two countries can't get on the same page about this is beyond me, but if I ever get the chance to sit down with Obama and Harper, I will definitely bring it up!

We had Rob's long time best friend, his wife, and their son visiting us over the weekend. They also brought along their Japanese exchange student. She is attending college here in Canada to improve her English skills (which are pretty darn good already!). So it was a packed little townhouse! We had our two kids in our room, the student in Abbi's room, and their family in Gabe's room. Talk about cozy. If that isn't a push to get working on the basement, I don't know what is!

They arrived very late Friday night. So Rob stayed up to wait for them, while I went to bed, in preparation for my Sociology midterm the next day at 9:00am. Yes, you read that right. My professor thought it would make sense to set up a midterm on the Saturday of a long weekend. Plain mean. Just plain mean. So I went to bed around 11:00pm, and was hoping to get up at 7:00am to do a little extra studying before my exam.

Not so, the kids decided it was a perfect idea to wake up (like for the day!) at 5:30am. First it was Gabe, then Abbi heard him, so she was up, and boy, we were all up. So much for my plan to study. Oh well, believe me, I was bright and bushy tailed by the time I arrived at my exam. How it went, I don't know, I'm still waiting on my mark, but I'm hoping it went well, seeing as how its worth 30% of my final mark!

So after all the school "fun" the girls and I spent the afternoon/evening at West Edmonton Mall. Being from Japan, the student is used to being able to do a lot of shopping. Shopping is actually considered a pastime in Japan. So when she arrived to their small town to discover that there was only ONE mall, and a fairly crappy mall at that, she was in a slight state of shock. So WEM was just what the doctor ordered for this poor, shopping-deprived exchange student. We were there for 7 hours. 7 hours people! Even I was starting to feel the need for a shopping intervention. And the best part? I think we could have stayed for another 7 and barely scratched the mall's surface! Wow...

On Sunday we all went to church, which was a great service, and a wonderful reminder of how central Thanksgiving is in our Christian walks. After church we arrived home to a completely cooked turkey that wasn't supposed to be finished for another 1.5 hours. So that meant that Rob had to bust a move in the kitchen to get the rest of the meal caught up. But being the cooking whiz that he is, he got it done.

With a little help from his friends of course...

Here she is cutting the brussel sprouts, she had never seen them before. We also introduced her to egg nog, which she found highly disgusting. I think she nearly spat it out she looked so grossed out. Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

Teo being tided over with some potatoes and cranberry sauce (he loved it!)

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from our meal, it was just too darn good to get up and start snapping pictures, but it was really nice. We had our turkey (obviously), whipped potatoes, brussel sprouts, cranberry sauce, buns, and a cranberry/apple pie that Ruth baked for us. All so delicious! You'll have to take my word for the yum factor.

We had a 15.5 lb turkey, which isn't big by any stretch of the imagination, but the student was completely shocked by it. She walked into the kitchen, saw the thing and gasped. She took many pictures of our meal (this was her first Thanksgiving meal).

I can't imagine what kind of info she is sending back home...

"These people eat giant 15 lb birds, in addition to many other foods. Sometimes eating as many as 3 helpings at one sitting. After they've gorged themselves, they lie around on couches for a few hours, until they return for more food. It is the ultimate display of gluttony."

That night Abbi got a very special treat. She got to go with Gammy (Ruth) to the Wiggles concert at Rexall place. Unfortunately I think she was a mixture of tired and grumpy before she even got there. I think she did enjoy herself, but didn't seem to be her usual bubbly self about the proceedings. Funny enough, it was the next day that she really started talking about the experience. "Did I get to see the Wiggles?" "Did they sing Twinkle, Twinkle?" Etc, etc, etc.

Abbi on her way, in the "Big Red Car" (what Abbi calls Ruth's car).

Abbi and Gammy, ready for the show.

Waiting, waiting. They had great seats!

Abbi apparently just sat back on Ruth's lap and munched away on popcorn for most of the show. Probably in awe more than anything...

Sunday night was also fairly laid back. The boys got to get away for "guy time," apparently because we women had our time (7 hours worth), so they needed some male bonding time as a result. They went out to a local pub here called Brewsters (which is fairly similar to the Longwood in Nanaimo, where they make their own beers), and had a great visit, sans women. Meanwhile, we girls got to watch "The Devil Wears Prada" and relax.

Monday morning was fairly busy. They had to pack up, and we all had to get on the road early-ish to head out to Rob's parent's house.

The boys eating breakfast.

the inlaws on the way home for their family, so we all had a lovely lunch there, which was also in celebration of Rob and Joe's birthdays the week before. We had chicken stew with dumplings, a mandarin salad, and an orange glazed sponge cake for dessert.

Rob had mentioned to me a few days prior that for his birthday next year, he wanted me to make this cake that his Grandma always used to make, as it was "the cake" that she made for everyone's birthdays. It was quite the surprise when he arrived to find out that his Mom had made that cake. And it was good!

The infamous birthday cake...

We had a nice visit, although they did have to get on the road as they had about 7 hours of driving ahead of them. So it was short and sweet, but definitely sweet! We had a great time over the weekend. Its so nice to have familiar faces around, especially during times of remembrance, tradition, and thanksgiving.

Some pictures from our birthday lunch...

Grandpa Joe waiting to see Gabe's incredible crawling abilities.

The handsome Bubster. I'm loving this Gymboree hoodie!

It was a full house.

Abbi's new best friend. They were like peas in a pod.

It was even busier with two busy boys cruising around, one walking and one crawling.

The kiddos waiting for lunch.

Dad and his girl

Isn't she gorgeous?

Gabe hanging out with Uncle. Both looking rather mischevious.

Grandpa Joe enjoying some birthday cake.

Marilyn cutting the cake.

Gabe thought an office chair ride was pretty awesome!

Finally, I just wanted to share a really cool thing that I thought was pointed out during the sermon on Sunday was about thanking those people in your life who have made a difference. Pastor Bev used his own personal example of thanking an old seargent of his when he was in the army. He said he had always thought of thanking him for the time and effort he poured into so many young mens' lives, but he really got the push to do it when he received an e-mail telling him that this man was dying of cancer. He finally wrote that letter, and got it to him before he died. But he really emphasized how we should take the time to thank people, before they are dying or before it becomes too late. Incredible, and not the typical message you hear about Thanksgiving every year. It was really poignant.

Oh, oh, and I just had to add a picture of my "new" fall display. I picked up these most adorable little pumpkins, 5 for $3 at Save on Foods. Love, love, love them.