I can't believe how long I've been gone!
Sorry I've been missing.
Did you have a nice Thanksgiving???
We did. Although, ours included a TON of traveling.
Well, probably not a ton. But we did clock a significant amount of miles.
On Saturday (no, not tomorrow or last Saturday...the one before Thanksgiving...yes, that's how long it's been since I've been on here) we drove to my dad's house in Alabama. That was a good 12 hour drive.
We got into town and were starving so we had some yummy Mellow Mushroom pizza. If you have never tried Mellow Mushroom, you don't know what you are missing! They have the BEST wheat pizza crust I've ever tasted!
Anyway. On Sunday when we woke up, my stepmom, stepgrandma and I made a grocery list for Thanksgiving. Since we were headed to Kentucky mid-week we got the groceries early so Friday we could whip together our meal. After we got the list situated and all got ready we went grocery shopping. It wasn't too bad at that time. We got all our stuff for a delicious meal. That night, we went for a yummy sushi dinner. Is it wrong that the best sushi roll I've ever had was made in Dothan, AL??
Monday was a nice down day where we just sat around. I did go for a run that morning but that was the only day I did run. We had too much going on. We packed that night.
Tuesday morning we got up, got ready and jumped in our BAV (otherwise known as Big Ass Van) to head to Kentucky for my stepbro's graduation from Basic.
Here's the BAV my dad rented for our trip. We had 7 people traveling and needed room for our luggage as well. We all fit quite nicely actually.
The Hubble definitely looked right at home in the BAV. Although, I think he's pretty used to riding in these things by now.
Little Butt was pretty excited as well.
So we drove 8 hours to Ft. Knox on Tuesday. We got in around dinner time but didn't end up settling in and getting dinner until around 8pm.
We all turned in pretty early because the next morning we had to be at the gymnasium for the graduation by 0730.
The graduation was awesome (I'd never been to one before) and my stepbro looked so proud to be wearing that uniform. He had all his own Army tales and 'horror stories.' It was so cute to see all these young men so excited about signing up and serving their country.
The Hubble wore his uniform to the graduation as a sign of respect and tradition. He was moved to witness such a momentous time for these young men as well. This dude loves what he does and it shows.
And I love it when he wears that uniform. The red suspenders. That's what it's all about baby. Sexy!
We ended up signing out my stepbro and a friend of his for the day. We found food then went to the mall. The guys were just so happy to be anywhere other than post that they were excited to walk through a mall.
I did end up finding a coat there though!
I love it and am very excited that after 11 years I finally found the perfect coat!
On Thursday we were able to get into a restaurant that was having a "by reservation only" Thanksgiving buffet. The food was amazing and the service was incredible. I'm so glad we were able to eat there. It was delicious.
While my stepbro visited with his father and my stepmom, The Hubble, Little Butt and I spent a lot of time in our hotel room. We wanted to give them time to visit as a family.
So Little Butt played a lot.
And The Hubble and I read a lot.
I was able to read a couple books during this trip so that was a big plus!
Friday morning we got up and got on the road by 0600. We drove the 8 hours back to my dad's house and made it there a little after lunch time.
We quickly got to work making our own little Thanksgiving dinner for us...only a day late.
I made a pumpkin cheesecake.
My stepmom and stepgrandma tried to kill themselves to make stuffed jalapenos. (The Hubble threw these on the grill and they were SO much better than oven baked)
The Hubble even helped!
And then my dad carried around Little Butt in a bag. I don't know. I try not to explain these things.
The meal turned out delicious.
We ate our weight in food and watched Love Actually. I've never really gotten that movie.
The next day was spent doing laundry, packing and reading. Just so we could get up on Sunday and make the 12 hour drive back home.
I have to say though. The ultimate icing on the cake for me this trip (besides seeing my dad, stepmom and stepgrandma and being able to attend my stepbro's graduation) was the amazing gift my stepmom gave me.
That's right!!! I am now the proud owner of a nook!
My stepmom got this nook several months ago and had never used it. She didn't see herself using it anytime soon and she knew I would put it to good use. So...she gave it to me! I was so shocked and excited. I felt as though I couldn't accept it but secretly wanted to grab it and run for the hills in case she changed her mind! But she insisted and it now lives with me. I'm super excited about it.
Hopefully this post will help me get back into the swing of things. At least until it's time to take the 3 week road trip through Texas starting on the 18th of this month.
Phew!
If you made it to the end of this you are amazing and I want to be your best friend.
Now...to make it through my Google Reader. I'm sorry to say I may not read it. When I logged in the other day it was closer to 800 than 700 and it's probably gotten worse. Anything new with you??
