Hi! My name is Dan Oaks. I am the creator of Cook'n! And, jest for the fun of it, I thought I would post some photos and videos of our Thanksgiving celebration to give you a glimpse into Thanksgiving with the Oaks Family!

Note: the idea to put this in the newsletter did not occur to me until AFTER Thanksgiving was over. So, nobody is making an attempt at impression management. This is the real deal.

Our holiday began when we finished our work-day on Wednesday and then went to my sister's house that evening (This is my nephew, Jeffrey, building a house. Wow! What is he standing on??!! I'm glad I build software!!).





With 16 cars, my sister's driveway looked like a parking lot!





We were pretty excited when we arrived...kinda like Donkey in the movie Shrek!





We assembled a race car track while the teenagers played games and watched a movie.





The little kids danced!





I got LOADS of snuggles from my precious nieces.





We read books to the little kids to help them fall asleep.





The next morning (Thanksgiving Day) we took care of first things first...more snuggles for Uncle Dan!!!





Look at this precious one!!! Any guesses who my favorite is? :)





Then, we cooked a HUGE breakfast to get ready for the Turkey Bowl.





Everyone was in great spirits.





This was breakfast round #1. Round #2 included gravy (for the biscuit) and waffles.





Breakfast was delicious. Smiles all around. Off to a great start!





My neices ate all their food.





How adorable are these precious girls!





After breakfast, we headed out for the Oaks Family Turkey Bowl. The weather was spectacular! I played quarterback on offense for the yellow team and rushed the passer on defense. We had a WONDERFUL time! And, nobody even went to the emergency room this year...so yay!!





When we came into the house after the game, my sister Kim had hot chocolate and this amazing spread ready for us to snack on. Wow! She's wonder woman! She must read the Cook'n Newsletter!





We showered at my sister's house and then we all watched the video of our flag football game. After that, the little kids put on a puppet show for us! They had hand-written tickets that they gave out to each of us. So cute!





Just before the Thanksgiving feast, we went around the room and gave everyone a chance to say what they were thankful for. That's when my nephew Jeffrey and his wife Carrie made this surprise announcement.





They've been trying to have a baby for years!! What a Thanksgiving!!! No more standing on a scaffold for you Papa Bear!! When I stopped filming, Kathy said "Wait! Give Danny and Cecilia a second chance to say what they're thankful for!" Haha (she wants a grandbaby!)





Mom said a prayer to give thanks and to bless the food and then we pulled this beautiful bird out of the oven.





My sister, Kim, went above and beyond the call of duty! What a Thanksgiving feast this was! The food was absolutely amazing!





The pie was spectacular!





And, three days later...we boiled the turkey carcass and made this amazing Turkey Soup!







Well, this was just a glimpse into the Thanksgiving holiday with the Oaks family. The food was amazing. The Thanksgiving spirit filled the home. It was a wonderful time and we are SO grateful to Heavenly Father for the abundant food, loving family, and for all of our many blessings. We hope you had a happy holiday with your loved ones as well. God Bless!!