Punkin's first Thanksgiving

Punkin experienced his very first Thanksgiving. He enjoyed himself very much... wanna see?

First, I was asked to make the greenbean casserole for dinner at my Step-family's dinner. (We travel to their house in the afternoon for lunch and then to my dad's for dinner).

Punkin reeeeeally wanted to help -- to the point where he was begging. Can you turn down this face? Huh? Can you?

He read the instructions on the can and helped me prepare the dish. He was a pretty good help until he got distracted by the television.

Here he is saying "Oh! Pretty colors! And what is this thing called a Parade?" He had never seen anything like it!

And he was extremely impressed with these folks holding other folks up. He can barely hold himself in place much less someone else!

We headed down to our first stop and he got love from his Pop-pop (my step-dad). Pop-pop has an awesome place to pose for pictures! And you talk about a Georgia Bulldog fan?! We were shocked that he wasn't in red and black... nor did he have a Georgia G anywhere to be seen!

This is Punkin's Granny (my mom). She has an awesome shoulder to lean on if you need it. Punkin wanted to whisper sweet nothings to her, but he got a little shy.

He discovered a Southern dish, too... the corncakes. They are like flat, pancake-like cornbread. Big Mom mixes cornmeal, water, and bacon grease (next to him) and fries them up. OMG... they are soooo good. Punkin patiently waited until he could eat about a dozen of them, but he had to fight off the rest of the family... they are bigger than he is so it wasn't a fair fight.

These persimmon's came out of Big Mom's back yard. He only liked them for the color.

On a side note... for some reason this family loves "J" names. This is Big J, J-man and baby JP. JP's mom is a J name as is Bug's. Funny, huh?

Back to Punkin... he begged Pop Pop for the last bite but didn't win. When it comes to the Blueberry Congealed Salad (sounds gross but trust me, it is yummy) NO ONE gives up any of it. You have to get your own and guard it until it is gone. Trust.

As the family was eating, JP needed a nap. Punkin volunteered to sing him a lullaby... it worked.

Behind Punkin is his family. They stay at the table for an hour or two discussing politics, family gossip, kids, church happenings... and pugs. Of course they discuss pugs! Who doesn't?

So while they were distracted, Punkin stole some more turkey... he's a glutton.

Because of his clepto tendancies, we had to leave Big Mom's and head to my dad's. There the festivities aren't so traditional...

We had ham sandwhiches, bean dip (OMG it was soooo good) and... SHRIMP!

And cheesecake!! Which one to choose? Oh my... they all look so good!

Then ended the night by playing games. The kids stayed with MeeMaw and PawPaw to play games... Punkin and I headed home to sleep of the day of food and traveling.

Punkin claims he had a great time. He is VERY excited about doing it all again at Christmas... and to top it off he may get to take another road trip. There is a good possibility we are heading to Texas on the 26th. Now THAT will be an adventure.