It was a humble gathering, and a happy one.

The food = delicious. The company = peppy. The bird = 18 pounds of nice and juicy goodness.

We watched movies, went on two walks (pre- and post-dinner; got to work off those 18 pounds of turkey somehow), and went back for second and third helpings of leftovers.

Laughter. Joy. Contentment. Gratitude. It was all there in abundance. I hope you and yours had a multitude of the same.

So, remember that pie I was trying to bum off you, the Facebook crowd, anyone who has opposable thumbs? Well, all my pleading led nowhere, so I had to put on my big girl pants and just get to it. Above is the before picture.

And here…

…is the after picture. Not bad for 11 o’ clock at night. (She said, oh so humbly.)

On our walk we climbed on some rocks…

…and looked a bit like an ad for a Levi’s commercial…

…and looked at the pretty scenery (ooh, pretty)…

…and then climbed on each other.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

…Emily carved the bird (she cooked it too; she’s multi-talented)…

…and our puppy kept careful watch, just in case.

“Move away from the bird, Emily, and no one gets hurt!“

Mom buttered the rolls…

…and we rolled out the beverages for a toast.

The end. (With a special guest appearance by this massive quadruped. “Hellooo…“)

Oh, and p.s.: my mom pointed out the following in the comment section–the beverage my underage siblings are toasting with up there is sparkling apple cider. True story.