A nice change of pace for Thanksgiving

Cousins group portriat, originally uploaded by MCuthbert.

Do you know how difficult it is to get five kids to smile at once? It's easy -- so long as you don't have a camera pointed at them. Pull out a camera though, and suddenly they're determined to put on a sullen expression and a stiff pose. And no ammount of coaxing will get them to look in the right direction.

Since we wanted group pictures of the kids at Thanksgiving, Misty's solution was to stand behind me and act like a fool, hoping they would look her way and crack a smile. I don't know what she was doing back there, but it worked. We wound up with a few really good shots.

Our annual Thanksgiving meal in Cullman this year was great -- in large part because this is the first time I can remember when it was just family. The kids had fun playing together outside. They jumped in the leaves and pulled one another around in a wagon. The rest of us were able to relax and socialize.

Maybe the best part of all though, was that since my parents were in New England, we had no plans to go to Atlanta the next day. Not that I don't enjoy visiting them, but since we're staying in Alabama, we were able to take home leftovers!