Thanksgiving pictures are loaded!!

There was no picture of our entire family! Crazy. However click on the link under pictures to see them all!

WARNING -- I am putting the events of the entire weekend in this 1 post. One post. You heard, one post right? Meaning... VERY LONG! Enjoy the read!!

I had a great (GREAT) weekend with my family. They all drove down and made it to my house around 9:30pm (I think) on Tuesday night. Of course, we had to watch the finale of 'Dancing with The Stars', although we all knew that Brooke would totally win!

We then caught up for a while before Mom and I planned out the next day! The guys were on vacation... no planning for them!!

Wednesday was the day of errands. To start the day I fueled everyone up with some really yummy Pumpkin Waffles!! We topped them with cranberry sauce, real maple syrup, whipped topping. Can't get better than that right! While I prepared breakfast, Dad and Dan pulled out my Christmas tree and they found out how easy it is to set up (I heart my Christmas tree)!!

Errand running started out by getting some necessities for my vehicle (thanks to my great auto mechanics -- Dad, Dan and Marcus -- my car wouldn't run without you guys!!).

Then we went to Lindberg so we could go to, are you ready for this... my shoe guy, Linens and Things, AT&T store, Target, Home Depot, Tin Drum, Starbucks, and Sallys. Whew, it was a lot (and we had additional errands to run after this).

My shoe guy had two pairs of my favorite shoes (fyi, all my shoes are my favorite) and I had to pick them up. Then we went to the AT&T store. I am a current AT&T customer (say what you will, I actually like their service) and we added Dan and my Mom under my service. That was the cheapest way to get them each a phone they both need. We spent quite a lot of time in the store picking out exactly what service we would need, the phones they would get (they each got the same phone - however Dan's was black and Mom's was dark purple which we thought was really pretty), and getting them on the plan. For the rest of the weekend we spent a lot of time figuring out their phones, getting numbers stored, adding ring tones. And calling each other to hear the ring tones! We are so easily amused!

Next, off to Linens and Things cause they are going out of business and we wanted to check out their sales. We only found a window cleaner/scraper/thingie for my shower, the rest of the deals were not great. Off to Target we headed (which is located directly under Linens and Things) to get a few odds and ends. By this time the guys wanted to eat. We had options but I talked them into trying something new (Thai) so we went to Tin Drum, located right next to the AT&T store (literally). I heart Thai food -- this is more an Asian Fusion restaurant that I have reviewed previously in my blog -- and I thought it would be something that would have something for everyone. As far as I know everyone was happy with their choices. For dessert, we headed to Starbucks for some coffee!

Next was Home Depot for a few things to fix up the place I am living -- nothing major, however a few things that the Dad-eye saw that could be easily fixed so he did that. I am so thankful for his and Dan's fix-it abilities!! There is nothing that they can't fix with a little bit of glue and some duct tape (emphasis on the 'ct -- almost have to spit it -- like duCTTTTT tape).

We then headed across the street to Sally's to get some hair dye for my Mom (we put it on the next day and it looks AMAZING on her!!)!!

We were all getting tired, like tired of doing work on vacation, however we had to get food and drinks (cause I really keep neither of much in my apartment) so off to Publix we went. But, on the way we decided to stop at the gun store. I have been wanting to get a gun to practice shooting with. My Dad took me to the range a few times when I was younger and it was fun so I want to be able to do it again. And, it wouldn't hurt to carry one and be able to use it if ever necessary. The store was super fun and I found a gun that I like, however I am now shopping around to see if I can find it any cheaper.

Finally, we made it to Publix and got the groceries. This was the first of many stops to Publix. We found many things that we needed to restock on, we forgot, or that somehow got added to our list during the week.

After all the errands we relaxed for a few minutes at my house before my Dad and Dan made dinner. Warning - when my family is around I give them a free pass to make whatever they want. So, that means I wasn't quite vegan this weekend. I know, I know... tisk, tisk. However, their cooking is just too good to do otherwise.

Victor hadn't had venison in a long, long time so Dad brought some venison down from Michigan so they made steaks and Mom made baked potatoes and we had something for vegetables. Sorry, don't remember. For dessert, I made Pecan Pie. It was so good that later in the weekend I made another one for another dinner. Victor came over for dinner and after dinner we played Wizards. Fun little card game.

Thursday -- HAPPY THANKSGIVING -- started out with Mom and I watching the parade, me decorating my Christmas tree (I love this little tradition that I have started) while Dad and Dan made us breakfast. Mid-day Mom wanted to go for a walk. It was a beautiful day so we went around the block and enjoyed the weather.

We all got ready for the day and then played some Schafkopf and took pictures on the roof before heading to Marcus's parent's house for dinner. There was a great group of people there (Marcus's daughter, parents, sister, sister's husband, their child, friend Wendy, and my family). Marcus's Mom made the dinner and it was ridiculous. It was sooooooooo good! Like my Dad would say... don't put HER food on top of your head! Cause your tongue would knock your brains out to get to it! After dinner and dessert we stayed up talking for a long time. It was sooo much fun!

BLACK Friday. My mom and I decided it would be a good idea to go shopping. We started out around 8:30am by getting stamps for me (did you know that the post office was open on black Friday? Who knew) and then going next door to Ulta. My mom liked my shampoo so we got her some for home. Then we headed to Phipps to say hi to my friend/small group companion Christina. Next was Target and then a sporting goods store to pick up a few things. Crazy that NONE of them were busy. Not even a little bit. You wouldn't have known it was black Friday! Next we headed to Lenox Mall and started out with brunch at Panera Bread. Then we shopped a few stores. We didn't find anything that really interested either of us until we made our final stop at Express. There I found a few good pieces of clothes! Mom got them for me for Christmas. I can't wait to get them on Christmas day!! Mom called Dad and Dan a few times to see if they would want to come out to the mall to join us... amazingly they did not! Can you believe it??

After the mall we stopped by Publix to get a couple necessities for dinner. That night Dad cooked a huge ham dinner with cheesy potatoes, salad, etc. It was sooooo yummy! VJ and Marcus came over for dinner and we had a blast! After dinner we played Wizards again until Marcus and VJ decided to go out. Then the family played Schafkopf again.

Saturday I made another batch of Pumpkin Waffles for breakfast. Dad and Dan put up lights around my window and snowflakes on my window! Its soooo pretty!! Then my cousin Jenny came up from her house (she lives south of Atlanta) and we all headed out to run a couple of errands before going to a shooting range north of town. The range had an hour wait so we went to the bar in the same complex for lunch. On the TV's they were playing the UGA/GA Tech football game and there was one really drunk, really obnoxious fan of GA Tech... so we all became UGA fans for that game! LOL!! Once there was a space open, Jenny and I did some shooting with Dad's help (Jenny had her own gun - an automatic - and we rented a revolver for me). I had a blast!! We tried to find western store, however once we finally found it, it was more of a Mexican store. So, we went home and ate dinner... always a TON of food when my family is around!! After dinner Jen went home cause she had a long drive. We then played some more Schafkopf.

Sunday morning I had to go to work. And my parents had to leave to drive home. So, at 8am they dropped my brother off at Buckhead Church. I hurried in the AM to get all my work done. Dan and I then went to the 9am service and it spoke so relevantly to both of our lives. We spent a lot of the day chatting about how much it does relate!! After the 9am service, Dan talked to Jerry (one of my super cool co-workers) about his recent journey to see his family out west. They have a ton in common!! While they chatted I made sure that there were no fires to put out. Once the next service started and I made sure everything was going well, Dan and I headed to brunch at The Flying Biscuit. The restaurant is right by the church and we both love breakfast!! Yumm-o!

I had been wanting to get some cowboy boots and Horse Town is right by Jenny's house so we took a drive down to it and I found some amazing boots!! On the drive down and back we hit some pretty bad traffic. It would have been horrible had I been in the car by myself, however with Dan in the car we talked the entire way! It has been so long since we have been able to talk that we filled the entire time with conversation. I was so glad to be able to catch up!! After Horse Town we went down the street to an outlet. Jenny got some cute clothes to wear to a Christmas party with her husband.

At home, Dan and I chatted a bit more, ate some dinner, and he got packed up to go back home the next morning.

On Monday, we got Dan to the airport. We got him thru check-in... but not without incident. The bag that he had was too big and he had to pay extra. Then we took his second checked item... his big rifle... to the correct place to check that in. Then onto get thru security. I had never seen the security line that long!! It was crazy!! But, Sunday's weather caused so many delays and missed flights that there were many people there on Monday to try to get on those flights. Because it was so long, Dan had to go straight to the line.

When it was time to say goodbye I had to say it quickly cause I was starting to get emotional. By the time I got back to my car I had tears streaming down my face. Luckily when I had to pay I was able to be cheerful with the lady at the booth. However by the time I got onto 285 (aka the perimeter) I was bawling... and I needed to call my Mom to let her know that Dan was going thru security. Once again, luckily I was able to calm down when I was around people but for the next 2 days, anytime I was by myself I broke down and cried, a lot. I am such a family girl and it can be so sad to have to leave my family!

I had such a great weekend with my family!! I hope your Thanksgiving was as good as mine!