No Dirty Dishes

Happy Thanksgiving. We had a very interesting day. We usually spend Thanksgiving with a large group of family, alternating between the Emig and Earl groups. The last couple of years we have either driven 10 hours to Arizona, or hosted at my home. With my parents on a mission, and all of my family going to their in-laws, I was faced with making our own Thanksgiving feast for Joey, me and the kids. I am no longer intimidated by this meal, as I have (with the help of my family) pulled off dinner for over 30 with all the fixins...but it seems like a lot of work for a group of kids who aren't even sure if they like mashed potatoes. So this year Joey and I decided to take the kids to Chuck-a-rama! I found this idea to be exhilarating and kind of funny. Lots of food for my picky kids to choose from, and NO CLEANUP!

I bragged around about my non-traditional plan. And people thought it sounded funny or sad. I think it actually helped me to not miss family so much. In the end, my best friend Celeste and her family joined us. (they too, thought the idea sounded stress-free) It was fantastic. Here are the pictures.


Ty and Jack in the car on the way there. They were so excited! (Ty has a few injuries, a fat lip from playing football, and a cut on his eyebrow from being accidentally pushed into a bookshelf at school!)

It was cold, which is why Carolina wouldn't cooperate and get in the picture.

Tyson and Adeline.

Me with my two boos.

Ella Rose and Jack. (Ella was being "too cool" to smile)

Grace, before eating...look how clean and sweet she is. Also, I wanted to show a picture with the buffet in the background.

Celeste and I. I was so glad that she and Darren came (Darren's parents came too.) She IS family to me.

Grace, after eating all a little girl could want (in her case, peaches, mac and cheese, applesauce and ice cream) looking less clean, but cute as usual.

The "kids table". It was so awesome, because the kids all sat together and had the best time. They were very well behaved, which surprised me. My kids haven't been to restaurants very much, so we had alot of talks about how to act in a "fancy restaurant". (This makes me laugh...when I was growing up I thought Denny's was so fancy, and it was for us....and I wanted my kids to feel the same way I did, that they were so special to be able to go out where grownups are, and they had better behave or else!...I'm not sure if I'm making sense to anyone right now, except maybe my brothers and sisters)

The "grown up table"....sorry Joey, I caught you mid-chew, but it was the only shot I got.

The highlights: the kids loved the slushie machine, Grace loved the pickles, I loved the rice pudding, and Joey loved it all. After eating Tyson had a bad tummy ache from eating too much...I guess he's like his dad and wants to get his money's worth at a buffet.

We came home and hung around. In the morning we watched Kung Fu Panda in the theater with the kids (funny movie). At night Joey and the boys watched a demoralizing Cardinal football game. I give my husband credit for not freaking out and making the rest of the night enjoyable for me. We watched Top Chef together snuggled up in our bed, and I couldn't help but think that I'm a girl who has it all. To all my scattered family...I love you! We are so blessed!