When we last left our heroes, they had just arrived in Nashville from a perilous journey across the wilds of Georgia…. Actually that was one of the least perilous journeys we’ve had. Our motto is “Any trip where the car doesn’t break down and nobody ends up in the ER is a good trip”.
We woke up on Thanksgiving morning and had a little time to kill, so I took a few pictures around our hotel. The decor was pretty eclectic. It reminded me of the hotel we stayed at in L.A. this summer, only with a Nashville twist.
A very non-Nashville thing was the Menu of Spiritual Texts which was pretty hilarious.
The elevator had red cow hide. I think that was what it was… it was furry.
The lobby had a really nifty dress made of crayons!
And here’s the outside.
We went to Starbucks for breakfast. While we were there, Jason called his parents to wish his parents Happy Thanksgiving and I called my Dad. It was pretty funny because Dad settled in for a nice long chat like usual, thinking we were still in FL, and it was so hard for me not to say “Stop talking! I’m right down the street and I want to SEE you!” But I managed to keep from spilling the secret… just a little longer…
We left Starbucks and drove to Dad and Jeannie’s. My sister had her bedroom windows wide open and her cat saw us. We were afraid the jig was up, so we hustled to the door, hoping nobody would notice our car in the driveway. We knocked at the door and I could hear Jeannie ask Dad to get the door. (We had planned that ahead of time).
He opened the door and his jaw dropped! I will never forget the look on his face. It was so hard to keep the secret, but totally worth it! He gave me the biggest hug and it was the best feeling to be able to hug my Dad again.
My sister heard the commotion in the living room and came out to investigate. I didn’t see her, but I heard this kind of strangled squeaking noise and there she was, hugging me too. Then she rushed into her room, She proceeded to nearly give her boyfriend a heart attack by crying and saying “I need a hug… my sister….” So of course he’s thinking something terrible has happened. Then she said “is here…”. Poor Ryan!
It was so fantastic to see everyone, but we still had one more person to surprise. My mom was on her way and we had to figure out what to do. She recently had a pacemaker put in, so we didn’t want to shock her into a heart attack, but there was no really gentle way to do it. We reviewed which of us knew CPR and hoped for the best. Jason went to go move the car and when we heard her ride pull up Dad went out to meet her (and catch her if she fell off the porch from the shock). I hid behind the door and Jason got out the camera…
She came in and saw Jason first. He got the best picture of her with her mouth wide open when she realized we were there. I won’t put it up here, because I know she’d kill me. But I do have it for future bribery purposes. 🙂 Of course she cried. And no heart attacks so that was pretty nice.
Surprising my family for Thanksgiving was the best! And I totally got the reactions I wanted. I think in the back of my head was the worry that they would all go “You? What are you doing here?”. Luckily that didn’t happen and everybody seemed really happy to see us.
After all the excitement died down, we got down to the business of cooking and visiting.
We didn’t get many pictures of Jeannie unfortunately. She was busting her butt cooking!
Mom made a bacon and cheese roll up thingy.
Jamie, Ryan, and one of their fur babies.
Jason, Jamie, and I went for a walk so I could join in the Mile A Day Challenge. Yes, my sister wears sandals in the winter. She also insisted on wearing flip-flops to my wedding… in December.
Then it was Grub Time! I think this was Jason’s plate.
We had turkey and dressing, ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, pork and beans, broccoli casserole, potato salad, deviled eggs, Hawaiian rolls, bacon and cheese rolls, and I’m not sure what else. I’m sure I’m forgetting something. For dessert we had Jeannie’s famous Dirt Cake, fudge pie left over from Jamie’s birthday the day before, and I think one more pie, but it’s slipping my mind. It was sooo tasty! Jeannie did a fantastic job.
Mom sent her iPhone around the table and we all took pictures. Some were less flattering than others (lots of unintentional up-the-nose shots), but here are a few.
This pic is a perfect illustration of how I am the slowest eater on the face of the earth. Notice how everyone else’s plate is empty or nearly so. Mine is almost untouched. This is no reflection on the tastiness of the food, I’m always the last to finish. And how we all put our elbows on the table apparently. And my Dad isn’t praying, he’s about to fall asleep at the table 😛 He wasn’t feeling well and ended up going to bed shortly afterwards.
So that was our Thanksgiving. Sorry for the super long post, but I want to get everything written down before I forget it. It’s only a week later and I’m already forgetting some of the details. It was such a wonderful day and I’m so glad I got to spend it with some of the people I love best in the world ❤
hclappy scraps 