Ahhh, the post holiday depression settles in.

I love Thanksgiving weekend. I think I love it more than Christmas.

I love that my kids are home, my hubby is home, and no piano lessons for 3 days.

It's a beautiful thing.

This year we decided to break out on our own for the first time in the almost 14 years we've been married. We would have done it sooner, but the problem was that I hate to cook and I hate most Thanksgiving foods. Hence, going to the fam or the fam-in-laws made much more sense than eating pb &j at home and calling it a holiday.

But this year we decided to take that bull by the horn and venture out on our own.

All the way to the Grand America Thanksgiving buffet in Salt Lake.

I won't tell you how much it cost. You might die. I almost did.

But it was worth every penny because (A) I didn't have to cook and so (B) I didn't have to touch raw meat and (C) the kids got to eat whatever they wanted and as much as they wanted until they were so full their little tummies almost burst. (Which we warned them before hand that they MUST eat until they wanted to die to validate the $$$$ that was being spent). Their plates were filled with the traditional Thanksgiving foods, but also included waffles, crepes, personalized omlets, salads, cheese, chocolate covered strawberries, parfaits, cream puffs shaped like turkeys, candy, oh I could go on and on. If you've never been to a buffet at The Grand you must go at least once before you die. They do the same spread on Easter and Mother'd Day but as those are Sunday holidays we've never been.

It was amazing.

Some might say that's not a "real" Thanksgiving, but all I say say in reply is that the kids didn't fight once, they ate eveything in sight, and they'll always remember the year we went to the Grand for Thanksgiving. I'm not sure what we'll do next year. Maybe we'll hit the buffet again, but we're leaning towards going out of town. Who knows. All I know is that I want it to be special and different, kind of like us.