welcoming appetizers

Nothing says "you're welcome in our home" like 5 pounds of fresh Gulf shrimp! Laura and I took a drive up to Aunt Joyce and Uncle Darryl's house in Lasalle, Colorado (very near where tornadoes blew through yesterday leaving a pretty significant path of destruction) last Sunday and spent the afternoon eating and playing games with their family. Our appetizers were this grand bowl of fresh shrimp. It's a bit of a tradition for some of my mom's family to gather around Thanksgiving, and sometimes other dates in the year on South Padre Island in Texas. Fresh shrimp is a "must" for these occasions (which I have only been a part of in Texas once). You didn't have to convince Laura and I that we were in for a treat when we gathered around the table!

We had a very nice afternoon with family and hope to get up there again soon!