I am thankful for mostaccioli

We're going to St. Louis for Thanksgiving! I'm really looking forward to it - I grew up in St. Louis, and my family's gone back every year since we moved to Kansas. I haven't been able to go for the past four or five years, though, and Randy's never been.

Every year, we stay with our friends the Calderwoods. We lived across the street from each other in St. Louis from the time I was about 6, Brian was 4, Abby was 3, and Steven and Erin were 2. Kevin wasn't born when we moved in, but I remember the day he came home from the hospital. We grew up together - playing like best friends, fighting like siblings, leaving our shoes in the wrong family's living room, obeying (and disobeying) all four parents pretty much equally. Our backyard had a big swingset and theirs had a pool, and we spent all summer running back and forth between the two houses, our parents joking about the Calderwood-Drescher gym and swim club. Abby, Erin and Steve share the same birthday, February 3, and Kevin's birthday is February 2, so there were lots of shared birthday parties when they were younger. The Calderwoods over-paid me to babysit when the kids were little, and I taught Kevin, a fellow lefty, to tie his shoes. I couldn't possibly love them all more, and I am so looking forward to being there again.

And this year, Randy will finally experience the wonder of a Grandma Gilda Thanksgiving. She's not our grandma (she's the Calderwoods'), but she always spoils us like she is. I don't think there have ever been fewer than 15 people at her house for Thanksgiving, but there's always enough food to feed probably three times that many people. There's turkey, of course, but being an Italian grandma, she also serves mostaccioli. And mashed potatoes. And sweet potatoes. And green bean casserole. And gravy. And rolls. And peas. And stuffing. And pumpkin pie. And apple pie. And pecan pie. And angel food cake. And pizzelle. And I'm sure I'm forgetting half a dozen (or more) other things. She's not happy unless you're rolling home.

I can't wait to see everyone!

On an almost-completely unrelated note, I went to the dentist today (after finding one that did not have a five-month wait for an appointment). I was kind of nervous about it, since I haven't been in probably four years, but I would like to report that the dentist told me I have the best teeth he's seen all week, and my gums are fantastically healthy. I just realized, though, that he did not give me a free toothbrush. Hrumph.