Thanksgiving Break

Thanksgiving break was sooo wonderful! My employer's wife was having a scheduled delivery of thier baby on the monday so we had the whole week off for Thanksgiving which gave Gabe and I the opportunity to go visit Gabe's family for the holiday. We have not seen them since we were married and didn't get to spend much time with them at that time so it was nice to have a whole week with them.
We flew out from SFO to Minneapolis and then on to D.C. on the Saturday before Thanksgiving and arrived late in West Virginia after a drive back from the airport. Gabe's parents were there at the airport ready for us and we were very glad to see them. They took us to Red Robin for dinner which was soo goooood! Sunday morning, I was just about dead tired. I started falling back to sleep the moment I got up to get ready for church, so I slept most of the rest of that day. Paula and Martin, Gabe's sister and brother in law, and their children, came over for Sunday dinner to Gab'es parents house and it was great seeing them again. Lizzy, their youngest who we had not met yet because she was born earlier this year, is soo adorable. I managed to not make her cry at all when I held her. She is soo cute. Gabe's oldest brother was not able to come with his wifem but hopefully we'll get to spend time with them next year. Gabe's youngest brother is still at home and Gabe's younger sister Christie lives near by. It was great seeing them and spending time with them as well,... when I wasn't taking a nap. :P
Monday and Tuesday morning were chill and relaxing. Gabe and I did a little shopping and I took lots of naps. It was great to sleep in a little more than what I normally get to do at home with both Gabe and I having full time jobs.
Tuesday afternoon, we all went to the airport to pick up Gabe's other brother Nick, who just returned from his mission in Boise, ID. I had never met Nick before so it was exciting for me to meet someone else in Gabe's family that I had heard so much about. Gabe's sister Ana is another that I had not met and she traveled up to Gabe's parents house on Wednesday morning with her four children. All the nephews and two nieces are all soo cute and I had so much fun seeing them have fun playing together. The house was definitly full of the sounds of children. There was never a dull moment. lol
Gabe and I went with Gabe's mom to a farm where we bought Raw Milk. It was great going to the actual farm and seeing the cows where the milk comes from. They aren't cramped into stalls next to other cows all day and all night, eating corn and grains (which is the milk you get at the store that has to be pasterized and homogenized because those conditions). These are the healthy cows that roam free from disease and bacteria on a farm where they eat grass. Like they were meant to. It was great and the milk tasted great also!
Thanksgiving was wonderful! We had Turkey, mashed potatoes, funeral potatoes, Gnocchi, rice, rolls, and so much more. Ice cream, pies, cake. So much good food.
We were sad to go. I definitly didn't want to leave the comfort of Gabe's parents house and the time off from work, but when you have a job, thats what you do. We flew home on Friday night and got home to SFO at 11:40pm and my parents were waiting for us there, ready to take us home. It feels great being home and actually being back to work.
I can't wait for Christmas now. Most of my family will be here at my parents home here in Concord. This will be Gabe's first Christmas with my family. When we went shopping in West Virginia, we had gone to a store called Aldi which owns Trader Joes, and is an internationl company i think. Mostly found in Europe and since my brother and my dad went to Germany/Austria on their missions and they had Aldi there, we got some things that were German goodies to bring home for Christmas. Maybe Celia will read this part and be even more excited for Christmas... We bought a huge ol' bag of Salt Water Taffy from S.F. :) who's excited now!?