Thanksgiving!

So, this weekend I went up to Ottawa to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. I had been looking forward to it since like, last month, and so I was pretty excited when this weekend finally came!
Thanksgiving is the holiday we ALWAYS spend out at my Aunt and Uncle's house in Carleton Place which is about 30 minutes passed Ottawa, in the country. They have a gigantic property and my Uncle, being a mechanic, has tons of old cars, tractors, trailers, mini bikes and 4 wheelers for everyone to play with lol. They are surrounded by forest, they've got a pond (that, on numerous occasions, someone has drunkenly stumbled into haha), and man made waterfalls on either side of the house that give off that relaxing sound of running water. It's the perfect place for our family get togethers, since we have a pretty huge family, (on any given occasion there will be at least 20 people there)! I'm super close with my family so going to Ottawa to see them is always a highlight.
So anyways, we got out to Carleton Place in the afternoon and having a few hours to kill before dinner we filled our time with all the fun activities there are to do! It began with a semi drunken horse shoe tournament between a couple of cousins and a couple of Uncles. I sat around with some of my other cousins and watched as they basically threw huge horse shoes in eachothers directions, hoping that they would "score" on the other team (basically the point is to throw the horse shoe as close as you can, or around, a metal pole in the ground, and try not to hit anyone in its way!). Seeing as they were all pretty "happy" at this point they were getting pretty into the game, yelling at the dogs if they came close to the track, for fear that they might cramp their style and "throw their game off". Then, when the "tournament" ended, some retreated back to the house to switch up their empties for new beers, and the rest of us ran to shotgun ATV's. A bunch of us took off on the 4 wheelers racing eachother on the tracks, seeing who could go faster and what not. After deciding that I couldn't keep up with my insane cousins, AND after almost being driven OFF the track into the pond (and I wasn't EVEN drinking!), I decided to take a break and watch as the others tried to show off who was more "macho" and daring, and who could drive while standing on the seat on one foot the longest...all the while just WAITING for one of them to flip off and break an arm, this is usually how it goes, everytime. Anyways, then finally, dinner was ready! Everyone piled into the house, scrambling to grab a plate, AND a seat, before everything was all gone! Dinner was, to say the least, amazing. Turkey, gravy, potatoes, stuffing, buns, turnip puff, veggies, and....so much more....I ate so much I literally threw myself into a food coma. After we had all stuffed our faces, as it usually goes, we headed back outside to hang out some more before attempting to fit dessert in! And so, it was back on the ATV's, my Uncle busted out his 1929 Chevy Coach car, one of his many old jems he's been working on, to show it off and take it for a spin, while the rest of us, just sat around drinking and laughing, watching the youngest cousins run around, and just enjoying our time together. A little while later, one of my cousins was sent into the woods with a friend he'd brought along, to gather fire wood (we always make new guests work when they join us, it's like a sort of initiation, lol). Then we made them build the fire in the bonfire pit, which was quite enjoyable to watch. When we were all feeling a little less full we, again, piled back inside and grabbed dessert: pumpkin pie, topped with whipped cream, apple pie, ice cream, some caramel thing my cousin made, annnnd.....i think that was it...After, a bunch of us went back outside to sit by the fire and enjoy the fruits of our, well, my cousin and companies, labour.
It was as always an awesome day, and a perfect way to spend my time. I honestly can think of few things that I enjoy more than a day spent out at my Aunt and Uncle's with my whole family just hanging out, and having fun. I love that we all get along so well, and there are always a ton of things for us to do. Since the age range with my cousins alone runs from 30 to 2 years old being out in the country is the most awesome place to spend time since theres lots of room for the kids to run around playing with the dogs, and lots of space for the rest of us to just sit back and relax. Needless to say, I was sad to have to say goodbye to everyone and come back but I know I'll be makin that trip back up to see them all in no time....and I can't wait!