What an amazing trip we had this Thanksgiving. Every year we spend Thanksgiving with the Schroyer family. For the past couple of years, we have tried to visit some city on the East Coast and check out the sites. One year, we went to NYC. Some of the photos for this trip are located at the bottom of my blog. The next year we went to Phillie and posed in front of the Rocky statue. Hee Hee.

Well 2007 brought us to Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. Mark, my brother-in-law, and wife live close by, so it was his turn for us to descend upon his city. The weather was warm and refreshing. The sun and the ocean were relaxing. We took many walks on the beach, played football, the kids fished (smelly!), and ate, ate, and ate again. I so miss the beach and all it has to offer. We left the door to the patio open at night so we could hear the waves crashing against sand. The salt air reminded me of bike rides on the boardwalk in Sunny California. There is a freedom in being by the ocean. Just taking in the beauty, majesty and having a healthy fear of it. Christopher swam almost everyday we were there. Even his PSP took a dive in the sand only to come up ruined. Oh well, the good and bad of technology.

Being around family was fun. We always have a good time laughing, telling stories and eating great food. My sister-in-law is from Columbia and makes the best rice and pasta. My brother-in-law is from Syria. Amazing food. Hummus, stews, ribs. He even cooked a fresh lamb for us one year with rice and all the trimmings.

Christopher loves to visit his cousins - Asaad, Fatima, Amber and Khalil. They ran around chasing each other the whole time. I'm glad he gets to spend time getting to know them. He and Fatima are on opposite ends of the spectrum politically. So they had a few charged conversations. I think it just fueled Christopher's desire to be an attorney one day.

Well, enjoy the sunset from Atlantic Beach, NC. We certainly did.