Thanksgiving

Ah, they are finally gone! Haha, just kidding, family! For the first time, (well, for the first time since my family lived in Wyoming back in the 80's), it was just five of us for Thanksgiving this year. My parents and my brother came to our house in Bismarck (Justin makes the 5th, obviously, Andrea was at Kirk's parents' house). It was rather strange to be without grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins, but it was still a good Thanksgiving. And no one got sick from the food! Here are a few scenes from the day. . .


This is the hors d' oeuvres table I made for everyone to enjoy before we ate! I know, pretty lame, but whatev! And yes, those are cloth napkins with napkin rings! Hahaha! The thought of me using a cloth napkin is hilarious but we've never used them before so I thought it would be fun!

We ran out of room in the fridge! Good thing it was cool outside!

Justin hung lights on the house after we ate (see him on the roof?) However, that tree was done by me! I love it!

Allan loved everyone right away. He especially loved wrestling with their feet and pestering them.

Al took a liking to my brother right away. That doesn't really make him special, though, because Al likes everyone.

This is the only Thanksgiving decoration that I own besides generic Halloween/Fall pumpkin decorations. I bought it at a craft auction at my church at home last fall because I felt bad that no one was bidding on it. It's pretty tacky, but I find it endearing in its tackiness.

Oh, so tired. . .and yes, that is a camo patterned hunting rifle leaning next to him. What about it??


Anyway, it was a pretty good visit. We went to the movies last night. We saw "The Blind Side", which was sold out the first time we tried to go, so we bought advance tickets for the next showing. When we arrived a huge line was formed and everyone in it was waiting for "The Blind Side". I was not impressed by how rude some of the people in the line were when it was time to file into the theater. There were two grown women with their kids standing by me and my mom, and we heard them strategizing how to shove around everyone else to get in front and also encouraging their kids to do the same. Sure enough, they shoved between me and Cindy and I ended up far behind her while, meanwhile, a grown man was shoving around me on the other side. Grow up, a-holes! It's a movie! The movie was very good though, I love sports movies even though they are usually full of cliches, and this one was actually kind of different and pretty inspirational.


This morning, we did something rare. . . went shopping on Black Friday! I have only done this a few times. Once was when my family spent Thanksgiving in Milwaukee, WI, when I was a Freshman in college, where we mostly bought presents for ourselves. This year, we didn't go at 4 a.m. like so many do, but when we arrived at the mall around 9. It was still packed and crazy. It was kind of fun, but for a short time. Cindy and I also encountered some rude line cutters in Jo-Ann Fabrics. This woman had her own pile of cut fabric and merchandise and jumped into the line with someone who looked like her sister. However, she paid on her own in a seperate transaction, which to me means that she should have been in line in the proper order. Just because you know someone in the line doesn't mean you can enter it wherever you want! I guess blatant rudeness is the only way to navigate Thanksgiving weekend consumerism. Sigh. . .on the bright side, my mom bought me a sweet fake poinsettia plant for $5! So WORTH IT!!!

Anyway. . .Happy Thankgiving everyone!