THANKSGIVING DAY

When I picked up the kids from school the Tuesday before Thanksgiving they were immediately chattering with excitement over their 5 days off from school. Then, Cole mentioned in a sad little tone that no one would be coming over to our house for Thanksgiving. Little did he know that Jamison and Carrington would be coming over. We've had it planned for weeks, but I waited on telling the kids in case something changed at the last minute. Cole and Brooke were ecstatic when I told them. It was so strange to not have to prepare my simple designated items at the last minute and then feel rushed to split our time between Nathan's family and mine. The cousins playing together is always the best part of any family get together. It's heartbreaking when Brooke says she misses her cousins or asks if they miss her. She still doesn't understand just how far away we live.

I was surprised but very grateful when Rachel asked if we wanted to get together for Thanksgiving. I thought it was a great idea because I knew it would distract us from missing everyone back home. Thanks for thinking of us, Rachel!

Justin, Rachel, Jamison, Carrington & Baby Audi

We ended up at our house because I found out that Old Navy was open that day, and it is maybe 8 minutes from our house but nearly 40 minutes away from theirs. They had some awesome deals on jeans for the kids, so Rachel and I sure did run up there before dinner and buy some stuff.

Now for the big dinner...

And ta-da! Here is our turkey. This would've made more sense if it was ground turkey, but it's not. It's just plain old ground beef with some taco seasoning mixed in. That's right, we had tacos for our Thanksgiving dinner. It was soooo much easier, cheaper, faster, and yet still very tasty. No big fuss, no big mess. And we sure ate far less calories since we didn't have the normal face stuffing temptations all day long during lunch and dinner.

I made cupcakes and let the kids decorate them all by themselves. Okay, I decorated some, too. I just couldn't resist.

Football is always a given on Thanksgiving Day. It wouldn't be the same without the Dallas Cowboys and the Texas Longhorns. Granted, we watch them no matter what day they come on, but you know what I mean. Awesome that both teams won!

All in all, I think it turned out to be a pretty good first Thanksgiving far away from family.