Thanksgiving 2011

This year, Thanksgiving was the holiday we had to spend with my brother and his little family. So, we all decided to spend our holiday in Macon, GA with my dad's extended family. Mom flew up to help me with Ellie while I taught before the break and then we headed out (in HORRIBLE weather) down to Macon to meet up with Dad, Jonathan, Jennifer and Baby Langston for dinner. We ended up at a mexican place across from the hotel. We then headed back to the hotel and got settled for the night.

On Tuesday, we had a lazy morning at the hotel and then I took Ellie over to my Grandparent's old house with Dad and Jonathan. After touring the house, Ellie found a few prize possessions - my Mama's wig and the tea set we played with as kids. It was probably the last time I will ever go there. Afterwards, we met up at Fresh Air BBQ for lunch with everyone. This is a place that we have eaten at for many years. Ellie was happy to see Baby Langston! We went by one of the outdoor malls in the area and then returned to the hotels for nap times. We capped the day off with a not suprisingly amazing meal at S&S Cafeteria - family favorite! We used to eat there every time we came to visit Mama and Papa Hardwick and I'm pretty sure they went every week. Jonathan's room was the only one with a tub in it, so we ended up bathing the girls together in it and got some great "cousin" pictures!

On Thanksgiving day, we spent the morning hanging out in the hotel and playing together. I even got Ellie a short nap before heading over to Hugh & Bobbie Jo's house (Dad's 2nd cousin and our caterer from our wedding). The house was packed with extended family! One guest we were thrilled to see was Great Aunt Barbara (she was married to my Papa's brother and is Bobbie Jo's mom). She was like a 2nd grandmother to us. This was her first time meeting Langston and 2nd time seeing Ellie. Always great to see her. Our cousin, Ashley, was there with her husband and 2 boys, one of them being Ellie's age so she had a little friend to run around with. We got some great family pictures that day and some quality time with family we don't see very often. The food was AMAZING (of course) and we were so happy to have gone. Once we returned to the hotel, we spent time together in one of the rooms and had a great time visiting.

On Friday morning, we met up at Cracker Barrell for breakfast and then all got on the road to return home. Jonathan, Jennifer and Langston stopped by our house for a break from the drive so Baby Langston could stretch out and play some. What made me so happy from this trip was that Ellie really learned the names of my family. She doesn't see them very often so when we do get together, it's usually for bulk amounts of time. It was great just hearing her want to go see "Baby", "Yar", "DenDen", "Mimi" or "Pa" and just hang out around them. She is still asking about them! Overall, it was a great visit and a nice break from the normal week for me and my baby girl. Happy Thanksgiving!