Thanksgiving was really fun, and it was nice to have a full week off of school. Since I don't have classes on Mondays or Wednesdays this quarter, I was able to leave school the tuesday before Thanksgiving and didn't have to go back until the monday after. Of course, I still had to make the train trek...
BUT, I made all the connections fairly quickly both home and back, so it worked out well!
I went Christmas shopping on Wednesday and when I came home Ben and Laura were there for the holiday! They brought my cute new niece (more on her in a minute) and their very cute dog Rufus! I didn't get any pictures of Rufus, so they will have to come back soon.
Hippie was very disappointed that he didn't get to pose with Rufus. He was even willing considering that Rufus really likes stuffed animals. **Sigh** Hippie is all about chasing the thrill...
On Thursday it was Thanksgiving! My normal tradition is to get up in time to watch the Macy's Parade. My favorite part is the beginning where they show the Broadway shows. My mom likes the Rockettes. She wishes that they would be in the parade right before Santa comes in, like they were when she was little, but they are still her favorite part. This year, they did a horrible job of filming the famous kick line. The camera shot they had was from the side on the ground, so you couldn't get the "full effect," and the camera was going crazy, so it was hard to see. A little disappointing when you only get to see it once a year. :(
Usually, Thanksgiving is kind of a big deal. Not near the spectacle of our Christmas traditions, but in the running, I think. We have a lot of family, so our house is usually pretty full. This year I would say Thanksgiving was rather quiet. I usually go to two Thanksgivings - one with my dad and one with my mom. It means you have to pick food choices wisely, or you will soon find yourself in a turkey coma with a busted gut!
My first Thanksgiving feast was at my Aunt Becky's house. There was only 9 people in attendance. We didn't even need to extend the table! This was the first year we had the meal at Aunt Becky's house. It was very nice, and everything looked, smelled and tasted wonderful! My biggest regret was that I was too full to try any of the desserts that were out, and I forgot to take a doggie bag! My Aunt Becky is a fabulous baker, so I will just have to wait to see what she makes for Christmas sampling. :)
Here is a picture of everyone at Thanksgiving dinner #1:
From left to right: Grandpa Gene (my Uncle Curt's dad), Carrie, Pama (who is kindly showing her hairdo from behind. Apparently she was so proud of the back of her head that day that she decided to pose backward for my picture...), Aunt Becky, Uncle Curt, Tarah, Me (ugh), JoAnne, and my dad. I don't think you can see him, but Stewart the dog was under the table waiting for his own feast...
After Thanksgiving #1, I headed out to Thanksgiving #2. I have no pictures for that one. But it was also surprisingly small. Only 12 people! The food, again was great. The cool thing about having 2 dinners is that they each have different things to try, so you have a plethera of yummy choices. (Yeah, I used plethera, and yes, I thought of El Guapo while I used it.)
So, Thanksgiving was a great day that made my stomach sing, Ahhhh!
Well, maybe gurgle... Gahhh!
Friday was stay inside and work on school work day. That was fine because I try to stay away from people on the day after Thanksgiving. No thank you, I am not interested in joining the crazy throng of Black Friday Christmas shoppers! I am willing to pay a couple dollars more and not deal with parking lots and lines than have my holidays ruined by grouchy people, thank you very much!
Saturday I did venture out and run a few errands. I took Laura and Haley to visit my grandma, so she could see the baby before Laura and Ben went home. They seemed to really like one another! Laura got some cute pictures, but I forgot my camera, so you will just have to visualize what the meeting was like...
We also got our Christmas tree! This year we have a lovely tree named Norma. Yes, our Christmas trees have names. Perhaps you should ask your tree what it's name is. I mean, it sits in your house for several weeks, shouldn't you guys be on a first name basis?
Sunday was church, and packing to come back to school. I left monday morning at about 11, and was back in my dorm room by 3:45ish. That was my adventure!
Now to my newest cute niece!
This is HALEY!!
Hippie just couldn't stay away! It's been a long time since we had a really little one at the house. Since they didn't leave to go home until a week after Thanksgiving, I got to use the excuse that I wasn't going to be around as long as everyone else, so I could get the most holding time. One night she fell asleep in my arms, and I got to hold her for 5 hours! Yeah, it's a girl thing, I think...
Here's another cute picture of Haley and Hippie. I think the flash on my camera kept freaking her out. No smile this round of pictures, but if they come back in the summer she will be almost a year old, and I bet I will get smiley pictures then! Still she looks cute lounging around like she is. Both Hippie and Haley look like they are too good to look directly at the camera.
Here is a picture of Haley and Hippie bonding. They have to get that connection when Haley is young! She's not going to be around very often, and next fall Ben and Laura are moving to Des Moines for medical school. On the down side, they will be far away, and we won't get to see them very often. On the plus side, if I have some money by then, I can go visit. I have never been to Ioway!
So, that's my Thanksgiving adventure! It kind of meshes into my Christmas break, with a one week hiccup for finals, but more on that in a later post... :)