Thanksgiving in San Diego

So anyway - Yeah, Thanksgiving in SoCal. Turkey Day was nice - we went to my SIL's house for the big feed - and I got an awesome new recipe for sweet potato fries - which I will post soon. Then we went to the beach! Okay, not exactly in swimsuits and towels, but still, it was a warm evening, and I've never been to the beach on Thanksgiving Day before. Matthew loved it, perhaps a little TOO much, as you can tell from the pictures - he spotted trouble and took off right towards it at a full sprint. Mark had just enough time to take the picture, secure the camera and go dashing after him!

So we stayed out there just under a week. The highlight of the trip was listening to Mark's niece, Chloe play music at the Dixieland Jazz Festival. Wow, she was amazing. We were awed at the talent just rolling out of this kid - 15 years old and enough charm, poise and personality to captivate hundreds of folks at this festival. Nice job, Chloe! We look forward to hearing you again someday soon!

And it was great seeing the three little cousins together - they don't see each other often, unfortunately, but even Matthew, for all his hesitancy about strangers, took one look at Chloe when we got out of the taxi from the airport, and took an instant liking to her even though he hadn't seen her since he was about 8 weeks old! This is the kid who got new shoes the day before we left for California, and wouldn't allow the poor saleslady within 10 feet of him; he cried piteously and I could barely get the shoes on him. But his cousin, no way - he liked her the instant he saw her - must be a bond there only they know about!

So yeah, now we're back. Trying to recover from various illnesses and at the same time, wondering when we're going to get all the stuff done for Christmas that needs to be done in the next, oh, 23 days or so. Yikes. On that happy note, maybe I should go clean something. Or maybe get some of my Fall pumpkin decorations put away - which makes me think - hmmmm, I'm awfully late on this - but then I think that it was a wonder I was even able to get them out in the first place, so I guess I have to try and not overlook small favors!