Our Thanksgiving took a different turn this year.
We decided, as a family, to participate in the Drumstick Dash this year. This is a fund raising event for feeding the homeless here in Indianapolis every year on Thanksgiving morning. The run/walk is 4.5 miles or 2.3 miles, with other fun events for children. Emilee and I decided that we would do the long course and Ed planned to stick with the shorter course. Stephen was asked to be a volunteer "celebrity" greeter and also did some other volunteer stuff while we were doing the walk.
It was dark when we arrived in the morning (before 7am). And very wet - the weather man called for rain all day.
Emilee is ready to Dash!
At first, Stephen's job was to greet the media and the other volunteers that arrived at the Applebee's restaurant to receive their instructions for the event. Stephen enjoyed rubbing shoulders with local tv/radio celebrities. Later he helped with the removal of the timing tags at the finish line.
Heading to the start line.
Umbrellas - necessary!
Waiting for the start - there were about 12,000 people participating in this event. An awesome turnout on such a dreary day - over $200k was raised at this event by Wheeler Mission to feed/shelter the needy.
When we reached the point where those finishing at 2.3 miles veered off from the rest of us, we were told that the long course (4.5 miles) was closed due to flooding, so Emilee and I finished with Ed. It rained fairly steadily the whole time we were out.
Afterwards, we grabbed a couple snacks (bananas/soup) at the food stations, rounded up Stephen, and headed home to start our own Thanksgiving feast.
I didn't take photos of our meal/meal prep as I was busy supervising the kitchen (both kids helped cook) and I had dish-duty the whole time!
We bought a fresh turkey and stuffed it with an apple/onion/celery and baked it for the time required, but even after that it still wasn't cooked through when we were ready to eat, so back into the oven it went. Emilee and I were opting out of the turkey eating anyway (she's following a vegan diet and I'm following a plant-based mostly), so Ed & Stephen didn't get to eat turkey for Thanksgiving dinner - they were completely full before the turkey was finally ready to eat.
Ed and Stephen are enjoying the leftovers, though.
We also had:
Appetizers - Delicata/Gruyere Dip, Stuffed Mushrooms, Raw Veggies w/hummus
Sausage dressing
Vegan dressing
Green Beans
Smoked Gouda Mashed Potatoes
Giblet Gravy
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Sweet Potato Pie
Desserts - Apple/pear pie, Pecan Pie, Pumpkin Spice Cake
We ate plenty.
And it was all GOOD!
Hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful and time with family and friends meaningful to you also.
Recent Comments