A lazy SoCal Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving yesterday, albeit a bit non-traditional. My family lives in Florida, and Mark’s parents were visiting his brother and family in Seattle, so we found ourselves with no plans or obligations. And because it has been a stressful, overscheduled month for us, we were excited to just do nothing. We decided to hit the beach in the morning, because it’s really the only thing to do when it’s this hot in November. Trussing surboards > trussing turkey. The kids have been really enthusiastic about learning to surf, and they spent most of their time in the water, trying to catch waves. Karis is my little sand monster. She was making snow-angels in the sand and covered head-to-toe by the time we left. It was a relaxing day that was a great reminder of how grateful I am for my family and where I live. For dinner, we decided to go out to eat at a restaurant Mark and I frequent for date nights. It was a bit of a risk taking a group of children there, but I’m happy to report my kids rose to the occasion. At least behaviorally. (Their culinary tastes are still questionable.) The kids picked their own outfits and I love what they chose – the girls in vintage dresses. (The one Karis is wearing was sewn by my mom when I was a child.) We let the kids order “Shirley Temples” – a drink I thought was SO FANCY when I was a kid. We had a toast and then went around the table talking about things we are thankful for. My foodie Jafta was so excited about the grown-up menu that we let him order from it. He had oysters on the half shell followed by Osso Buco. The rest of the kids mostly filled up on dinner rolls and then cried because the turkey had mushrooms. It was a great day, and best of all, I didn’t cook or clean at all. How was your thanksgiving? And have you ever gone out to dinner? We’ve done it a few times and I really enjoy it, but I think some of my family member think it’s a bit sacrilegious.