Belated Thanksgiving celebration

A few hours ago (on Sunday afternoon), we celebrated Thanksgiving with around 30 others at the home of Jim and Angela Beise in the southwestern suburbs of Paris. Lots of scrumptious dishes: turkey, gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes, cranberry salad (courtesy of my wife and kids), foie gras (a French touch), homemade bread for one of their neighbors, pumpkin and pecan pie, etc.

It was a hassle to get directions off the Internet to their place and to get all 5 of us out the door. My wife did an excellent job of preparing food, drink, and toys ahead of time for our kids. But we all enjoyed our time in the countryside. We didn't know most of the people present ahead of time.

The 3 kids did great. There were other kids there and this was a kid-friendly event. It's nice having the older two who can function more independently. They ate at the kids table and didn't need our constant attention all the time.

We even found a way there and back (thanks to mappy.com) that had us avoid most Paris traffic, which made the trips seem much smoother. While it wasn't the mostly direct route, it saved us time and stress in the end.

This was definitely the type of event that is part of the DNA of la Fonderie in terms of bringing people together. It was lots of fun and good memories.