Thanksgiving 2014

Hey everyone!  Anyone else find it really, really hard to get up and at it this morning?  I sure did!  After having a 5-day holiday weekend, my 5:40 alarm was NOT my friend!

Speaking of the holiday weekend, I hope all of my US friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I know I sure did, so I wanted to share that with you today.

Unfortunately, Joe and I spent Thanksgiving apart this year.  This was the first major holiday since his grandfather passed away in April, and he felt he needed to be with his grandmother and mom.  I completely understood, but I know I missed being around him for the holiday, and my family did, too!

Wednesday

I traveled up to Virginia on Wednesday.  The day was spent traveling, but once we arrived at my grandparents house, we spent time visiting.  My grandmother made grilled cheese sandwiches and homemade vegetable soup, which was the perfect welcome to the cooler weather.

Thursday-Thanksgiving Day

As planned, I began my day with a run!  What was great was that Papa (my grandfather) came with me!  He is an avid runner, and it was really special to get to run with him.  My mom took a picture of us before our run, and I should have gotten her to take one on my camera.  Instead, I took a picture of the picture off of her camera!

While doing so, I snapped a picture of Eric as he set up a game of dominoes.  Hey there, little bro!

This year was a little different as we added a new member to the family: Eric's wife Sara!  It was nice to have her join us for the holiday, but it also made me miss Joe even more.

After playing some dominoes, it was time for Thanksgiving lunch with my dad's side of the family!  We went over to my grandmother's house and enjoyed yummy food and fellowship with my aunts, uncle, and cousins on that side.  Fun time!

Once we eat and let our food settle a little, we go to a local park and play a game of football!  This year, the tradition continued, despite wind and wet field conditions.  We always put the older siblings on one side (myself, my cousin John, my dad, and my aunt Karen) against the younger siblings (my brother, my cousin Michael, my uncle Perry, and my aunt Susan).

The game was a lot of fun and ended in a tie this year.  Neither defense could stop the other team!

Next up, it was time to do Thanksgiving dinner with my mom's parents.  Yes, we do have two Thanksgiving meals in the same day.  We enjoyed more yummy food, and the tradition over there is to all go around and share what we are thankful for.  My grandmother told us this year to think of something unique other than the usual family, friends, food, etc.  It was a fun little challenge, but very good!

That night, we played games and watched some of the football games on TV.  Overall, a very nice Thanksgiving day!

Friday
Papa (my grandfather) made us our usual breakfast of pancakes before we went over to spend more time with my dad's side of the family.  We played games (a big tradition with our family) before my aunt, uncle, and cousins headed back to NC.  Sara also had to head home then, so we said goodbye to everyone.

Then, it was time to head to Blacksburg for the Virginia Tech vs. UVA football game!  My parents, brother, and I all rode together up the mountain in preparation for the Friday night game.  We got to see a beautiful sunset once we got there.

It was FREEZING during the game, but luckily we all brought enough clothes to keep us warm (I alone could have dressed 5 different people with everything I was wearing!).  My phone died before the game, so I didn't get to take any pictures.  Good thing, though because I didn't want to take off the gloves!

We all got to sit together, which was very fun.  The game was exciting, and most of all, the Hokies won!!  So great to beat UVA for the 11th straight year :)

Saturday
Since we got back around 2:30 am from the game, Saturday morning was a slow, lazy morning.  Once we all got up, we played some games with both sides of the family before it was time to head to the airport for my flight.  It was really great to spend a few days with my family, and I was sad when I left!

However, I did have something to look forward to: my last half marathon of the year, the Space Coast Half Marathon!  The race was held in Cocoa Beach near Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center, so I drove straight there after landing in Orlando.

I got my packet (a friend had to pick it up for me since I missed the expo), got a pasta dinner from Olive Garden, and watched football while prepping for the race!

Sunday
I must have been really excited for the race, because I could not sleep!  I was awake from midnight until 2am!  Luckily, I was able to get a little more sleep before my 3:40 alarm went off.  I jumped right up, got dressed, ate a quick breakfast, then grabbed the bus to the race.

I will do a full recap of the race later, but I will tell you that I really enjoyed the race, got a pregnant PR, and earned a sweet medal!

I also had some friends there and met up with them at the finish.  Lots of fun to see them and enjoy the post-race festivities with some people!

I had to get moving, though, to check out of my hotel and get home.  I had someone waiting for me when I walked up to the door, and he was very happy when I gave him a can of wet food!  We always give that to him after we've been gone.

The afternoon was spent napping before it was time to help with youth group.  Joe and Tequila got home before I left, so I was able to spend some time with them for a little bit.  Afterward, we had cuddle time on the couch while watching some Dexter and Sunday Night Football.

All in all, it was a great long weekend!  Now I think you can see why it was so hard to get up this morning :)

Question for you: What did you do this weekend?  What's a family tradition of yours at Thanksgiving?