Thankful

As I sit here reminiscent on the activities of our Thanksgiving holiday, I am both thankful and distracted. Thankful, of course, because I realize the blessings of time spent catching up with family and friends in the great state of Texas. Distracted because Rio insists on bringing all of his new toys to me, one at a time, and placing them in my lap, pawing at the keyboard until I throw them. Maybe I can crank out this update while he's chasing his Dora the Explorer ball, compliments of Aunt Kirby's mad gaming skills (more on that later).

We began our trip to Texas on Wednesday afternoon, and Cody couldn't have been more excited. He finally got the truck that he has been waiting for, and I think it's safe to say that he is in love. I don't feel too neglected at this point, besides the fact that he won't give me permission to get behind the wheel. Apparently I'm not a good driver or something... pshh. I suppose for now I'll just enjoy my shotgun seat and be the best navigator this side of the Rio Grande. Now back to Thanksgiving. So we arrived in San Antonio in the wee hours of Thursday morning, and my awesome family waited up to greet us. After a few hours of rest, Mom and I prepped the 21 pound turkey, and may I just say that we did a fantastic job. Even my picky husband said that this was the best turkey he's ever consumed, and that is quite the compliment in my book. Note: champagne makes the turkey extra juicy. Who knew?  Between the turkey, sides, and desserts, we had more than enough tasty food to go around, and by the end of the night we were all ready to slip into a food coma. Perhaps sleep would have been more fulfilling than the Aggies' football performance, but I digress. I know better than to make the mistake of reliving that experience again. (I had one angry father and husband that night.)

 Sister and me (Rio wasn't feeling the photo shoot at this point)

 Rio and Aunt Kirby

 My little family... it's pretty hard to see Rio at night, huh?

 A little dark, but had to get a pic of Dad and his girls!

 Grandma, Grandad and a few of their grandkids. These two are the best!

 Ready to cheer on our Aggies

Mom & me

Black Friday brought a day of marathon shopping for Mom, Kirby, Grandma and me. We found several good deals, though we certainly chose sleep over sales and didn't start until slightly before noon. I tried to get everyone to wear their red velour track suits and high heel pumps, but apparently no one had trained quite as much as the Target 2-day sale lady did. (Did I mention that I'm slightly obsessed with those commercials?) After I shopped til I dropped, Cody and I met up with our good friends Duncan and Ashley for some wine, followed by a trip to Wild West for some dancing. It was a day jam-packed with all of my favorite things and some of my favorite people.

On Saturday we traveled to San Angelo to visit with my dad's side of the family. We feasted on HEB brisket (my favorite) and observed an ongoing Brown family Thanksgiving tradition when all of the girls feasted our eyes on that dreamy werewolf and vampire. That's right, the holiday wouldn't have been complete without a screening of the new Twilight movie, Breaking Dawn, and no, I'm not ashamed. Perhaps the highlight of the weekend though was the trip to Mr. Gatti's the next day. We have my fun-loving husband to thank for that one! We joined my aunts, uncles, and cousins and got in touch with our inner children as we stuffed our faces with pizza and competed to see who could win the most tickets, just like the old days. My selfless sister used her mountain of tickets to purchase the most wonderful Dora the Explorer ball for her puppy nephew, and Rio won't go anywhere without it. Some say we're ridiculous for spending the afternoon playing arcade games, but I say we're just that fun. :) Either way, we wouldn't trade the bonding time with our family for anything. It was the perfect end to a perfect long weekend. Did I mention that I schooled my Uncle Steve in basketball? I even have the sore arms to prove it... don't judge.

 All the girls before Breaking Dawn (I felt the "vampire" eyes we all have were somewhat appropriate...)

 Let the games begin! 

Bethany being a great sport while Uncle Steve shows off his earnings

 Cousin Bethany and me

 All of the "adults" 

 Getting in touch with his inner child with some bumper car action

 She makes that bumper car look fabulous.

Game on!!

Today brought the return of the work week routine, but I couldn't be more excited for the arrival of the holiday season. It was such a treat to blare Christmas music on the drive to the office this morning, and I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of the weekend so that I can deck our halls and make it official. Did I mention that in just 2 more days my birthday month begins? It's the most wonderful time of the year! Thanks for letting me have my birthday princess moment, and for sharing our Thanksgiving with us.We'll return for another exciting update soon, but in the meantime I highly suggest that you immerse yourself in the musical styling of the N*SYNC Christmas CD. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!