Thanksgiving 2005

I quite like the holiday that is Thanksgiving.

Betsy and Nate and co. came down Wednesday afternoon and on the way picked up our Thanksgiving Dinner on the way (more on that later). The kids ran off and played while we sat around, talked, cooked some spaghetti and just relaxed. We let the kids stay up for quite awhile and then tucked them in and spent the rest of the evening making cookies and talking and played a round of Cinq-O.

Thursday rolled around and we rolled out of bed (the kids were making a little too much noise). I made a big old breakfast consisting of breakfast tacos (sausage, egg and cheese) with a side of refried beans (for those who wanted them). We had a big breakfast so that we could have dinner a little later in the afternoon.

It was Nate's idea this year to get a turkey from Rudy's (dubbed "The Worst BBQ in Texas"). I've asked Mindy if we could one for the alst three years and she's always said no... but whne Betsy called and asked us if it would be okay, she jumped on it.

Nate ordered a 12 lb bird that was rubbed with their spices, smoked and precooked. He ordered some stuffing, corn in cream and gravy. Betsy brought a banana creme pie and made a pumkin pie (and I think I saw a key lime pie in there too).

Min made some mashed potatoes, some banana/apple salad and baked some rolls.

We invited Denny to come over for dinner (she teaches with me at the university) and she kept Alex occupied while we finished the meal preparations.

Dinner was good. Everyone was stuffed. Desert would have to wait for awhile.

We sat around while the kids played and we started to download funny videos on the laptops and watched them for a bit (christmas lights, white boy cadet, a twist on BSB).

Later that night Nate, Betsy, Toby and Aspen and I went to the IMAX to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It was a pretty good movie, but it would be hard to take a 700+ page book and make a 2.5 hour movie out of it. If you've seen the others and have read the books, you'll like it, but I thought the book was better.

Yesterday we woke up, picked at leftovers, watched some TV and a movie (Sahara), and chatted some more.

Normally I get up and partake in the American tradition of 'Black Friday' and shop til I can't shop no more... but not this year. Around 8:30 AM, Betsy and I went to Wal*Mart to grab some of the $6 pants for Aaron and the 6-CD Garth Brooks Collection ($25) for Mindy. It looks like we're taking the pants back. We got 7 Regular and it looks like Aaron needs 7 Slim. Oh well. It was worth a shot.

Besty and her clan headed home around 5 PM (after I whipped up a pot of my chili) and we spent the evening with the kids playing Mario Party 7 (It's been awhile since we've done that) and then it was time for bed and I got the Christmas totes out for Min and she started putting up the decorations and wrapping the lights on the tree.

Now it feels like the holidays are in full swing and in two weeks (when the semester is over) I can relax a bit and prep for Spring... and believe me when I say that its going to be a busy year next year.