Adam and I both brought our cameras along for our holiday trip, but we forgot to take pictures! Eek! Luckily, in the next post, I'll share pictures that my fantastic sister-in-law took of the whole Copeland clan and of Adam, me, and Oliver. :)
Anyway, we had initially decided to stay at home for Thanksgiving, but my parents decided to come to Nashville to visit my aunt and, since Florence (Adam's hometown) is only 2.5 hours from Nash-vegas, we realized we could see both sets of families and have a bunch of fun. It was a LOT of driving, but I'm ever-so-glad that we went "down south" for Thanksgiving. It's so wonderful to spend time with both of our families! And I feel so lucky to have such cheerful and welcoming in-laws. :) I hope Adam feels the same way about my wacky family! ;)
So, on Tuesday, Adam, Oliver, and I piled in the car....and off we went! Adam drove for the majority of time so that I could grade and also because it was pouring rain around Knoxville. We detoured to The Apple Barn (south of Knoxville), so that we could pick up some Thanksgiving and Christmas gifts, but we reached Nashville in good time. We unpacked a bit, let Oliver stretch his legs (and be re-introduced to his cousin Harvey), and then went to a sub place for dinner with Aunt Carol and my cousin Kevin. Afterward, Adam and I went to Luke (Adam's brother) and Laura (our beautiful sister-in-law)'s place. They have a gorgeous home, and I know that Adam craved Laura's super-huge Mac screen just as much as I adored their balcony. Sad for Adam, Laura actually needs a reason for her Mac--she's a photographer and graphics designer--so, until Adam comes up with a compelling reason, he'll have to survive with his Mac, my Mac, and our iPod. :) We played CatchPhrase (Laura and I lost to a rigged game, we're sure) and just chatted and caught up. A fun ending--with ONE MAJOR PROBLEM: Luke and Laura love sushi, and they talked it up so much that I've been on a sushi-craving bender! Ate it two nights ago, and I'm eating it as I type this post. Uh-oh!
On Wednesday, Adam and I went shopping. We had decided to get each other watches for Christmas (we might get them engraved...), and we both found watches we loved at Fossil. (My current watch is from there and has lasted for 12 years, so I'm a fan of Fossil. :) In the afternoon, I was supposed to help my aunt make pies, but I took a nap instead. Alas. But maybe it was for the best, because Aunt Carol's pies looked and tasted fabulous, and I might have messed it up. ;) My other cousins, Martin and Matt, arrived straight from Notre Dame, so we had a delicious jumbalya to celebrate their safe journey. My parents got in around 10:30pm (they had to work all day and then drove 7 hours), so after a bit of catching-up, they crashed.
Thanksgiving was fabulous. Football-watching, massive amounts of food, game-playing, Christmas Vacation-watching....it was relaxed and wonderful. :) I even managed to get in a little bit of grading! I was very thankful to be surrounded by family and love and happiness. :)
On Friday, Adam, Oliver, and I packed up and left (much to Oliver's sadness--he hates traveling). It was a short 2.5-h jaunt down to Florence, and it had to be quick because the Alabama-Auburn game was coming on at 1:30pm. We were already in our Bama gear, of course, and when we got to Adam's parents' home, Thanksgiving lunch was all ready to go. All of Adam's siblings, their spouses, and 2 sets of their cousins and cousins' children ate a veritable feast--and Adam's parents did a heck of a job serving everyone. Then. Oh, it happened. The Alabama-Auburn game. We were so amazing early, but the rest of the game happened. I have to say, though, I really dislike Cam Newton and I'm sorry if that's mean. Regardless of the NCAA violation allegations, he just seems to be in it for the glory, fame, and money. I suppose that's an understandable attribute, but I just like sweet, humble Mark Ingram more. Oh well--congrats to the War Eagles; they did play the better game. I just wish it wasn't so. Next year, next year.
Post-game on Friday, we played games, ate left-overs, etc. On Saturday, we had a bit of a photoshoot! Adam and I want to send out photo Christmas cards this year with some pictures of our wedding. However, we don't have any wedding photos with Oliver (since he wasn't there--sob, sob), so we (and by "we" I mean "I") decided to have a Copeland (Virginia-based) family picture taken. We asked Laura if she could lend her expertise, and she agreed! Yay! The pictures look FANTASTIC! I love, love, LOVE them! Post-our photo shoot, the whole Copeland clan went to Univ of North Alabama campus to have a family photo taken. It was a lot of fun; they're such a good-looking family, I feel like a bit of an odd duck. :) Some of those pics will shortly be up too! After that, we played more games and watched Home Alone 2; it was so relaxing and fun (and I graded even more!).
On Sunday, Adam, Oliver, and I drove home. Sigh. It wasn't too bad until we hit Virginia, where traffic slowed us considerably. We arrived home about 3 hours later than expected and picked up a pizza on our way off the interstate. We came home, consumed pizza, and crashed--both of us had to work bright-n-early in the morning.
I, for one, can't wait for more family time (and free time) over Christmas break. However, the semester is wrapping up, we have to put up our decorations and make cookies and send out Christmas cards, so I have a lot to keep me occupied and/or happy! Happy holidays indeed!!
And, now, back to more sushi.
