Thanksgiving fun times!

This year my sister invited us to spend Thanksgiving with her and her husband and daughter at their home in Ohio. We accepted and made the 9 hour trip up and back. It’s the first time I’d ever gone to a relative’s for a holiday, and it was loads of fun to see them again! I have not seen my sister and her family enough over the years.

On the way up, we stopped by Mt. Airy, North Carolina, to have lunch with my mother and say hi to my dog Kitty. I forgot to take pictures of either, but I did remember to take a picture of this Fiat 500. I was not expecting to see one so soon, let alone on the streets of Mt. Airy!

A Fiat 500 in Mt Airy, NC!

We got to my sister’s the night before Thanksgiving. An emergency at Joe’s workplace held us up, so we didn’t get to leave as early as we wanted, so we got in late. But it was ok! I bought Final Fantasy III for the Nintendo DS the night before so I would have something to occupy myself with on the way up. It’s my first Final Fantasy game, and I’m loving it!

Here’s the photo album version of Thanksgiving!

My sister, overseeing the Thanksgiving table.

My niece and her friend from school light up the kitchen with their adorableness.

Our Thanksgiving booty--I mean bounty! Courtesy of my sister.

My husband dries the dishes.

The next day we all went to Columbus for some shopping. Well, almost all of us. My sister’s husband hurt his back bicycling and had to stay behind with his feet up in bed. He missed all the trekking and fitting room flitting of the miles upon miles of shopping in downtown Columbus, poor guy </sarcasm> The trip started with… chocolate!

Chocoholique was the first chocolate store we stopped in on in Columbus, Ohio

Often the tastiest desserts are not the prettiest--and vice versa.

I was able to find many basics, like black shirts and a sweater and even a discounted striped jumper! It’s important to have ladies to shop with, and I confess that I’d been letting my wardrobe go fallow without any shopping companions in the south.

I wish Raleigh had shopping like this. I feel like most of the boutiques in Raleigh/Chapel Hill carry only clothing for the slightest of females. Makes shopping a pain for me. It’s not my style, my cut, my color, or my fit. And there’s no one to shop with either! Naturally I’ve been reduced to a pile of work clothes I order online. But thanks to the valiant efforts of my sister and niece and the steadfast patience of my husband (who nobly functioned as a communal purse and coat repository outside many a fitting room), this situation has been amended in the nick of time.

The day ended with a stop at Jeni’s Ice Cream‘s. I was disappointed that they did not have enough dry ice to last the ice cream until our trip home. I consoled myself with four different scoops of ice cream.

We left on Saturday morning without breakfast so we could beat the darkness home. It was so nice to see my family again! Joe and I both had a great time. You know it’s been a good trip when you aren’t ready to say goodbye!

My husband and I leaving on Saturday morning. My hair is cleverly concealed beneath this knock off Russian trappers' hat :)