So, my Thanksgiving post is a little late. If you ask me Thanksgiving and Christmas come way too close together. There should be a law against scheduling holidays within 30 days of each other.

This was my second Thanksgiving in California, and my mom’s brother (Uncle Lee and his family) happen to live in Santa Monica, just east of Los Angeles. My Uncle invited Jason and I for the holiday and we were very happy to go.

The night before I had arrived home very late from being out of town at a training. So I rushed to the grocery store to pick up some ingredients for a low-cal pumpkin pie. It was my first time attempting to bake one by myself. I used to watch my mother bake the pies, do the stuffing, prepare the turkey and beg her to give me a break. But she would always tell me someday I would appreciate it. Well, she was right. It turned out perfect, I didn’t burn it anyway from what I could tell.

So after our experiences with traffic last year when it took us 3 1/2 hours to get to Santa Monica from San Diego, we thought we would be safe by leaving much earlier in the day. We were out the door by noon, and on our way. Only 20 minutes into the trip this is what the roads looked like:

We continued to have traffic like this for the next half hour or so, until it finally let up. We didn’t hit traffic again till we got on the 405, near the 10. I have never seen traffic like this in my life.
1) I have never traveled anywhere for Thanksgiving besides the last two years in Cali. Every other year has always been an Ashworth/Rossignol Thanksgiving in Maryland at my house.
2) I have never seen so many people on the roads at once like I have in California. They are the craziest drivers I have ever seen in my life.

We finally arrived around our projected time…well 30 minutes off. It took us 3 1/2 hours still. Usually the drive will take about two hours. But enough about that.

I was really happy to see my Uncle Lee, Aunt Cynthia and little Cousins Sofia and Emma. We met my Aunt Cynthia at their place and parked. Soon after Uncle Lee came back from the store and dinner was almost ready. Their place looked amazing all decorated for the holidays and the table set with place settings that the girls helped with.

Dinner was wonderful. It was nice to sit and talk, have great food and great conversation. I really enjoyed everything, the turkey and the stuffing were awesome! We had the pie I made afterward. From what I gather everyone enjoyed it. It was really easy to make! This shot was definitely worth the trip I must say:

After desert we relaxed for a while and tried to digest all the good food! I chatted with my uncle for awhile and the girls as well. They have this beautiful piano that my uncle bought for the girls to play. Emma and Anika are the big piano players right now. I played a little piano with Emma before we left.

Here’s a picture of my cute little cousins and Jason and I from Thankgiving night:

After that Jason and I had a long drive back so we left around 9pm. It was a long drive back home. I could barely stay awake. So I made Jason talk to me. We finally got home around 11pm that night. I had a great time with my Uncle and his family. They have really been so amazing while I have been out here, so supportive and being there for me. Almost like my home away from home. I hope I can come back here very soon after March because I will miss it here way too much, and will miss my family in California as well.

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Fast forward… It is now Dec 5, and I can’t believe it. Time to get ready for Christmas!!

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