Thanksgiving!

This is gonna be a long post; you might want to go get a cup of coffee before you start reading. And we weren't great about taking photos this week, so the pictures are a little random!

I've been in computer withdrawal for a week. I don't know why people insist on putting passwords on their wireless networks (oh, except to keep people like me from stealing their bandwidth while traveling). Anyway, I'm posting now!

We had a great Thanksgiving! We took a road trip to Nashville and had a ball. We experienced lots of Southern hospitality along the way! And we bought gas for $1.58 a gallon, which was awesome (I have a genetic abnormality which requires me to read gas prices aloud while traveling. It's hereditary and there is no cure).

Friday night we spent in Little Rock with J's cousin, Jennifer & her husband Reagan and their kids, and Jennifer's parents, who were in town for the kids' birthday party (more on that in a minute). At dinner his cousin Jeff, his wife Erin and their kiddos joined us, which was an unexpected bonus since they were headed to Missouri for Thanksgiving. We ate dinner at a cultural phenomenon called Larry's. If Cici's Pizza served really good food, it would be Larry's. It was PACKED. They have a game room for the kids to play in and the grownups talked and ate tasty pizza (no, Finn did not play skee-ball).

We spent the night with Jennifer & Reagan and the next day, we went to their children's birthday party. Avery and Conner have the same birthday three years apart, so they had a big cupcake party, which was totally cute.

I'm not sure if you can see their darling birthday outfits in the photos, but they were adorable. We all ate cupcakes and talked while the kids played. They also had a pinata (shaped like a cupcake, of course) where you pull strings instead of whacking it with a bat. I think that is a better idea than allowing children to flail about, blindfolded, with a Louisville Slugger. So the kiddos got all hopped up on sugar before noon, and then we got on the road.

About an hour away from Nashville on Saturday night, I decided that I was smarter than the atlas, and so we took a "shortcut" that dumped us out in the middle of pitch-black no-where. But, thank to my mad navigating skills, we made it to Nancy's house in less time than it would had taken had we followed the original directions. Take that, Google Maps.

We had big fun with Grandma Nancy! Here's Finn smiling at her: We went to church on Sunday and she showed Finn off to evvvvvvveryone. That night, J's cousin Jason, his wife Amy and their two kiddos came over and we had dinner together, which was great. Their kids are cutie-pies— sorry I didn't get any photos!

Monday, Gram kept Finn while we went on a date, which was a GREAT idea! We ate at Red Lobster (I'm not sure why we picked that, but I was having a cheddar biscuit moment, and it was good) and saw Quantum of Solace, which was pretty good, but not as good as Casino Royale.

Then on Tuesday we did a little shopping and Finn got about two dozen new pairs of socks. I know what you are thinking...will the excitement never cease? Then we went to dinner with Nancy's friends David and Marsha and their son, and his girlfriend. I wasn't sure how we would get along with a Lipscomb college freshman, now that we are so old and, you know, liberal, but his answer to my standard "get-to-know-you" question ("so what are you reading?") was Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, one of J's and my FAVORITE novels. It was one of those pleasant moments where you realize, thankfully, that you are about to have an evening of good conversation with a minimum of awkward pauses. The food was good too.

Wednesday we cooked some, and went to a bookstore where I bought some ridiculous Jane Austen fanfiction (which I love), and then we hosted Jason & Amy and Kurt & Brenda (J's uncle & aunt) over for dinner at Nancy's house. Finn screamed his head off for an hour or so, which added a festive note to the evening.

Thursday was The Big Day, so we got up and got ourselves and the food ready, and DANG IT I forgot to turn on the parade, and instead watched someone on food network talk about how to cook a turkey. What was I thinking? I love the parade. Anyway, we made it over to Kurt and Brenda's around noon, where we were joined by basically all of the family I mentioned above plus more. We ate, talked, etc for hours until the guys finally devolved into eight-year-olds and devised one of their famous pointless competitions. Holidays past have brought us the "Stations of the Cross Basketball Tourney" and "Hotwheels Extravaganza". This year was "Lord of the (Wedding) Rings", which involved spinning their wedding bands on a glass topped table for fame and glory.

Friday morning we ate breakfast with Nancy and then got on the road. We took a shortcut recommended by Jason, which was faster than my shortcut and, I think, prettier. The leaves were really nice, and I did needlepoint, which is a perfect roadtrip activity. After stopping to get gas at a filling station I will always remember as "World's Dirtiest Bathroom, featuring the cast of Deliverance", we made it to the halfway point.

We spent the night in Little Rock at Jennifer and Reagan's house (there's more of that Southern hospitality!) A comfy bed and blueberry muffins— what more do you need? We got up Saturday morning at dark thirty and hit the road. We stopped in Texarkana to feed Finn and grab a cup of coffee, and made it home in record time. After being gone eight days, it was a sight for sore eyes.

It's always interesting to go to a place where they serve fried green tomatoes or chicken and dumplings (usually spelled "dumplin's") with no trace of irony. I also saw, on the side of the highway, a shack with a hand-painted sign offering "drive thru biscuits made to order". I wondered how long it took to get the biscuits. I wondered who made them, and whether they stayed out in the shack by the road or if you had to honk so they would come out of the house. I wondered how much they charged and whether they made enough money to bother.

Finn was a real trooper. He is a GREAT traveler. He slept the entire time we were in the car. He is the sweetest, best baby ever (in my totally unbiased opinion).Here's my view of Finn on the trip:


So we had a good Thanksgiving. We loved seeing so much of our family, and showing off our little one. And we were glad to be home, when we got here. Hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving too!