Full of Thanks

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Chuckie and I had a jam packed weekend of food, friends, food, family, and more food.

On Thanksgiving Eve, we went over to Faneuil Hall to check out the Christmas decorations and had dinner at the Bell in Hand. It was a fun way to kick off our long holiday weekend.

After dinner we made a stop at Toscanini's for some ice cream and then went home to skype our game night friends who were having a Thanksgiving Eve game night. Here is a picture of them skyping us. 

Hi, friends!

 Thursday morning we woke up early and watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and started working on making the stuffing.  I made a HUGE mess of our kitchen but both of the stuffings turned out great- though one could have used a little more chicken broth. But I thought it was a good first attempt.

Thursday afternoon, we went to Kate and Ryan's where we were meeting friends for Thanksgiving dinner. When we got there, Kate told us Ryan had just left to go to the ER after cutting his finger while peeling potatoes. He was back after a couple of hours and didn't have to get any stitches, so it turned out ok and added some excitement to our day.

Ana was brave and volunteered to cook the turkey for everyone! She even made a turkey itinerary! Here she is checking the temperature to see if he was done.  

 The turkey was delicious!

 Only about half of the food we had out.

 Our hosts, Kate and Ryan!

Ryan gave a great toast at dinner and brought up how we've only known each other for a very short time but here we are, celebrating Thanksgiving together. This is one of the really special things about the LGO program. You make instant friends, and as my aunt said this weekend, when you're living in a city without family, your friends become your family. :)

After we all digested our food and watched some football, we played some games. 

Adam just casually whistling, trying to get his team to guess a song. I love that he's still holding his coffee mug.

On Friday we rented a car and left early in the morning to drive to Agawam, MA to see my aunt and uncle. Agawam is just outside of Springfield, MA. We spent the day lounging around, watching football and basketball, and eating. It was exactly what we wanted to do.

Midway through the day, I got a call from my cousin Aaron AKA Brother I Never Had telling me that he and his girlfriend were engaged! He was planning to announce it to our whole family that afternoon during Thanksgiving dinner and wanted to tell me since I wasn't going to be there. I was soooooo excited but also sad I couldn't be home to celebrate with them in person. Aaron and I are only a few months apart in age and grew up very close. I really felt like one of my siblings was telling me they were engaged!

Aaron and Elizabeth have been together pretty much forever, so she is already a part of our family but now will be OFFICIALLY! I'm so happy for them!

Aren't they cute!?!?!?

On Saturday, we woke up early and drove to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield. It was awesome. I now know a ton of history of basketball and got to see a lot of jerseys, shoes and other artifacts from Hall of Famers.

Chuckie got to meet the cardboard version of his childhood idol.

 At the end of the museum they have a court with a lot of baskets where you can shoot hoops for as long as you want. They also have a special area for dunking practice. They had a 6 foot, 7 foot, 8 foot and 9 foot goal. Here I am dunking on a 7 foot goal.

Obviously jumping is not one of my strengths. I'm about 3 inches off the ground.

Chuck on the other hand... he's got hops.

After that it was back to my aunt and uncle's to watch more football and basketball until we left to make it home in time for the UofL vs. Duke basketball game. We had such a relaxing time in Agawam and it was great to visit with my aunt, uncle and cousin! It was also nice to be in a HOME. Our apartment is nice but it just doesn't feel like a home. It feels like an apartment.

Sunday, Chuckie did homework. I had plans to go to the mall, grocery and Walgreens, but instead I watched the Broncos game, three Christmas movies and made dinner. I think that was a good decision.

We missed our families back in Kentucky this weekend a ton but still had a great time in Massachusetts and really have SO much to be thankful for.