I'm Thankful for Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is one of my very favorite holidays...great food and lots of it, plus happy family all together. But before we got out of town, Parker had a super week with darling Thanksgiving projects and costumes. We are very thankful for a great preschool. On Wednesday, we traveled 6 hours to San Diego where we stayed at my parent's condo but spent all of our time at Mimi and Papa's house. Our kids were dying to see their cousins and we were so happy to be with all of the Romneys again, especially to see Baby Lexi for the first time.
The Thanksgiving meal was tasty, rich and smooth. Each woman brought their favorite recipe and we cooked all morning while the boys got crazy muddy in a flag football game. The effort was worth it because everything turned our just heavenly. The only bummer? The dishwasher at the Romney's house was broken, so it's a good thing the Romney boys know how to wash dishes. Later that night the girls headed out to see Twilight (disappointment) while the boys loaded up the kids for a Madagascar 2 run.

The chefs: Cassy, Baby Lexi, Kelly, Jenni, Marci, me

Even the kids liked the food!

We actually got Parker to eat more than 3 bites.

Best Buddies!

You would think my kids would know by now how to smile and pose for pictures.

A little better, and my hubby sure looks hot in this one!

My cute, cute boys all said they were thankful for mom.

Friday was a lazy day where we all stayed as sedentary as possible so we didn't burn off any Thanksgiving calories. We spend most of the day watching the men watch football, watching the kids chase each other and grazing on leftovers, though we did fit in an enjoyable walk and hike through San Diegito Park where the little ones were in heaven crossing bridges and looking out from towers. We ended the night with a trip to Golden Spoon, because heaven knows we needed to eat again!
Saturday we vowed to get out of the house. But before we did, Jace gave us another classic memory. When his cousin Olivia told him her mom's name was spelled J-E-N-N-I, Jace said, "No, it has to end in either an E or a Y, becaue English words don't end in I." He's taking school pretty seriously these days.
After we settled the disagreement, we headed to Moonlight beach. It's our favorite because it's not too crowded, there is a fun park to play at, bathrooms, plenty of open sand and fire pits. When we got there, our crazy kids headed straight for the water. NUTS! They warmed up in the sand by using boogie boards as sleds down a sand mountain. Then we roasted S'mores, and played a vicious kickball game. Everyone came home exhausted, but happy. That night the adults made a run for it and chowed on dinner at Sammy's and cought a flick. We love being with each other as adults. It's so much fun.

Parker was so proud of himself.

James on his "surfboard."

My kind of sledding.

Sunday came much too quickly. We packed up in the morning and headed off to church, with a short stop at Mimi and Papa's for a quick picture of all the kids in the outifts they had gotten them in Isreal. After church we came home for a lighting fast lunch of my now famous White Bean Chicken Chili (I'll post the recipe below). And off we went with lots of hugs and Jace in tears because he didn't want to leave his cousins. No worries, we'll see them again very soon.

On the way home, Jace gave us another laugh. He fell asleep for the first 2 hours, so at 10 pm he still wasn't tired. He wanted to watch another movie, but I wanted him to try and lay down. He told me, "Actually, I have AZEMA, it's kind of like asthma, but it means that I have a hard time going to sleep, so I need to watch another movie. Yeah, that's what the doctor said, that I have AZEMA. James sometims has it too when he's in Parkie's bed and won't go to sleep." He kills us.

White Bean Chicken Chili:

I like to use a rotisserie chicken. One pulled clean is enough for a triple batch (the Southwest or Barbecue flavored gives it an exra pop). Just one batch is pretty small. I also use more cilantro than it calls for and sometimes more cumin and garlic and a pinch of salt.

1 T oil
1 ½ lbs. of cooked, shredded chicken
¼ c. chopped onion
1 c chicken broth
1 can chopped green chilies
1 can white beans undrained
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp cumin
¼ bunch fresh cilantro (chopped)
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes (I don’t usually use these.)

Heat oil and cook onions until translucent, add chicken. Stir in broth, chilies and spices and let simmer 15 minutes. Stir in beans, simmer 5 minutes. Top with cheese, avocados and chips. Makes 4 cups.