Thanksgiving (round two!) with The Wonderlands

Ok, so most people out there who experience a wonderful meal on Thanksgiving with friends or family are already quite blessed, right? Well, this year, I had the privilege of celebrating twice! My hips aren't quite as thrilled about that fact but that's beside the point. One of my dear friends, Kyra, came in town from San Francisco for turkey day and brought her sweet boyfriend, Ted, to celebrate with her family for the first time. They live upstate in Middletown which is just a short train ride from Grand Central. Kyra's family had a duel Thanksgiving themselves as they celebrated with grandma on their own on Thursday. Their second celebration for the rest of the family would be Saturday so, since we only get to see Kyra a couple of times a year AND she was on the east coast, she warmly invited Allison and I to have dinner with them.

Side note for a second. Kyra is the type of friend that I can proudly say anyone would be jealous of me for having. She is one of the greatest people I know and I'm pretty sure her heart is really made of gold. I adore Kyra and she's truly found her counterpart in her boyfriend, Ted. He is every bit as terrific as she is and I'm such a lucky girl to call them both my friends. How adorable are they:

Back to food talk. We took an early afternoon train on Saturday and, when we got to Kyra's house, I swear I immediately felt like part of the family. We met her brother and sister, along with their significant others, and one of their longtime friends. Kyra's parents were also just fantastic and so welcoming! I can truly see where Kyra gets her warm and accepting personality. :) It was so very good to have everyone together like that:

After lots of chatter and catching up, it was finally time to eat. I have to point out that the turkey was one of the best turkeys I've ever tasted. Kyra's dad grills it every year and I've never had such tender, juicy turkey meat in my life. It had that distinct smoky grill flavor too which really elevated the flavor. Hellooooo, Thanksgiving round two:

I think our food comas made everyone have the giggles, hehehe:

Maybe it was the SEVEN desserts, instead.

We had such a wonderful time laughing, talking, and being together. I felt so at home and it made me really miss having my entire family together. Those moments are priceless and I enjoyed being a part of that time with Kyra and her family. All I know is either I'm moving to San Fran or Kyra's moving back to New York because I can't stand all the miles between us anymore. If up to me, I say we just started a whole new Albanese/Wonderland Thanksgiving tradition. ;)