Ever since then, people have opened their homes to me, which seriously made my whole college experience even better. In fact, that was when James & I took our first road trip together and met each other's families. I didn't even think we were that serious, but about a week later, the first "l word" was exchanged. :) Anyway, I always felt bad because everyone was so kind that they wanted no help with the dinner! So I always felt like such a mooch.
THAT saga is why this year, I was SO excited to get assignments. James & I were in charge of the deviled eggs and the sweet potatoes! Now, my grandma has always made the BEST candied yams, and I wanted to make sure that special item stayed in our (James & my) family traditions. I basically made him totally responisble for the eggs since a) I do NOT like them, and b) that means I have never made them ever in my life. I had no idea what they even really were! Just that I hate the smell, the texture, and the breath on people afterwards.
So we did those in the morning and then went over to his parents' house. They have a big family dinner, complete with friends, so we had quite a few people there-my kind of dinner.
One thing I love about James's mom & sisters are they are big time decorators. They deck out their houses (especially his mom) for every holiday and I love it! This was no exception of course, and they had made the table look SO cute! Plus there were assigned seats, which in my world, are very fancy.
Also, their meal is quite different than my family's. We are very traditional: turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, rolls, green bean casserole, Grandma's sweet potatoes, and not too much else. But his family is a whole different story! There was seven layer salad, corn casserole, real cranberries, and deviled eggs...and of course, traditional foods made it up there too. And I was so pleasantly surprised! I tried to try everything (except for the salad...I just couldn't) and it was all very tasty! So of course, by the end of it, I could hardly walk. But I still had room for the yummy dark chocolates that were filled with caramel. I mean, who would pass that up!?
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| He did so great. So proud of my little chef, who had never made them before either! |
The other cool part was that one of the sweet ladies there loved my potatoes so much, she took all of them home with her!! The potatoes weren't done until everyone had already finished eating, so I was scared no one would want them or try them. But when she raved about them, I bubbled up inside. I was so so happy. No one else really got the chance to try them for those reasons though, so I can't wait until the next time I can whip them up! High five Grandma K!
After dinner, we were all trying to digest before dessert and talked about Black Friday. Now, of course, we all thought it was terrible that people had to work on Thanksgiving and that the sales have just been starting earlier and earlier. What is the point of even calling it Black Friday anymore?! However, we figured that if we went late enough, like late, than maybe those people would forgive us. We didn't have the intention of buying anything, but we just wanted to look and see what some of our favorite stores had "in store" for us.....punny.
To stall (and keep up with their tradition) we went over to Tyler's dad's and had a little bonfire out back. We were there for quite a while. There was quite a group and I liked listening to everyone's stories about growing up together. James & his friends have all basically been friends since they were little. I always wanted that and it's always funny to hear how different my life was compared to James's teenage years. I couldn't drive until I was 19 (I was forever deny that in public) and he was getting out of speeding tickets. They'd go camping & fishing, and I spent my nights at other people's houses. It's cute to hear about James, pre-Ashley. Anyway, Tammy was nice enough to bring us hot, fresh, homemade chocolate chip cookies. And dang did I stock up on those. I mean, if we were going to do anything aftwewards, I had to be prepared! Those were gone in like 5 minutes. James had at least 9 (they're his favorite when they are Tammy's and they are hot!) So after the last log had burned out, we decided it was time to head out.
Little did we know how crazy Black Thursday has gotten. Yikes. People were literally wrapped around stores. Maybe that seems logical to people with kids, but as I was watching them, I just thought, "No way. How can people stand in line for hours & hours starting at 11pm?!" But maybe I'll understand when I'm older.
We checked out a couple places with Zac & Ana, but James & I didn't actually buy anything ourselves. So we went home & I called my parents & talked to my dad for a while. It was so heartwarming to hear about everything going on across the country in Arizona. THANK YOU to modern technology, because for the first time in YEARS, I was able to be passed around and say hi to my cousins that I hadn't seen in years. It actually did bring tears to my eyes that I could still be with my family on Thanksgiving.
James actually did wake up this morning and do a little shopping. I'm excited to see what happens when he gets back! 5am was hopefully worth it for my little sweetheart!
And of course, I had my little James, who makes every single day just the best day ever. I'm so excited to spend every holiday with him for the rest of my life. I can't even begin to number my blessings because I know I'd lose track. They are countless. I am so grateful for everything we have. I live in a fairy tale. Here's to hoping your holiday was just as special and full of gabbing, gobbling, and gratitude! Happy Thanksgiving!!
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| It was late. Please excuse the tired, forced smiles. :) |
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