We headed down to Charlottesville for Thanksgiving again this year. We left late Tuesday night and stayed until Saturday afternoon. It was a chilly weekend but really nice – not all of the leaves have fallen from the trees down there.

As always, it was a crowd with my parents house packed. Lina also came down with us and got to experience a Coughlin Thanksgiving in all its cramped glory. She slept on an air mattress in the playroom.

We did the traditional seafood boil on Wednesday night, which is always a fan favorite (at least for me).

Doug and Dave with the seafood bounty.

On Thanksgiving morning there is a mini Turkey Trot in the neighborhood. There were about 15 people who did it this year. The winner was a 4th grader, which Dave and I close behind him. The biggest difference between this neighborhood Turkey Trot and the big one at Boar’s Head is that Dave and I at least have a chance to place 😉

The Turkey Trot crew and helpers.

Dave did the cooking again, with some help from Nana this year on the stuffing.

 

The cooking fairy and his unicorn side kick.

The obligatory turning into the pot picture – of course I’m missing the most important person – Doug who has perfected the lowering after all of these years.

The girls put together a costume parade pre-dinner so that we were all in the right festive mood.

Here’s the group post-parade. It was truly magical.

The Thanksgiving table. Aleen and her mom, Yvonne, came over for dinner as well. You can see Lauren in the back holding up her turkey leg, which has become her favorite part of the meal.

Me and Becky. And the cousins. Lauren was given this pair of costume glasses and she wore them straight for about a week.

The day after Thanksgiving we did a long hike on the Monticello Trail and then his Pippin Hill vineyard that afternoon. It was an excellent few days.