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Thanksgiving recap
For Thanksgiving, Dustin and I went down to visit his family in North Florida. The last time we visited Lake City was over Labor Day, so this was the first visit since our engagement and of course everyone wanted to hear about it, see pictures, and see the ring.
He drove to Atlanta on Tuesday night and we left for Florida late Wednesday morning. The traffic was horrendous - we were in stop and go traffic for nearly two hours just south of Atlanta. Ugh. Once we got down to Macon, the drive went much better, and we ended up in Lake City after 6.5 hours (normally it takes 4.5 hours) of driving. I was quite relieved when we finally got to Granny's house and we could unpack and just get out of the truck for a bit. That night, we went out to dinner with Kevin and Kristen. It was so nice to see them and hang out again. I only wish we all lived closer to each other so we could hang out more often! Dustin officially asked Kevin to be his best man (awwww). Then we went home and talked to Granny for awhile before going to bed.
On Thursday, we woke up and went to Thanksgiving lunch at Aunt Sue's house to see his mother's side of the family. There was so much food! In my family gatherings, everyone is instructed what to bring, so all the dishes and food groups are covered. In Dustin's family, everyone makes what they wants, so you never know what you'll be eating until you get there. It's crazy, but cool, too. Anyhow, the food was delicious and there was much eating to be had. I stepped a way for a few minutes to call my family and wish them a happy Thanksgiving and request that a slice of peanut butter pie is saved for me. After lunch, we went back to Granny's and hung out there for awhile, sitting and talking with her. I worked on my senior paper for a bit before Dustin and I decided to go to WalMart to pick up some Christmas gifts before the Black Friday rush and see RENT! RENT was amazing. I was quite impressed. I wasn't too fond of the dream sequence part of Tango Maureen, the scene for "Take Me or Leave Me," and Roger's trip to Santa Fe reminded me too much of a 90's Michael Bolton music video. But other than those small things, the movie was incredible. I cried at a few parts, and despite the fact that I dragged Dustin to see it with me, he enjoyed it and actually cried a few times, too! If I had any doubt that we shouldn't get married, him crying over RENT sealed the deal. He's the one for me. ;-)
On Friday, we went to lunch with Dustin's father, Wayne, and his girlfriend, Molly. Dustin's sister, her boyfriend, and his cute five year old daughter came along, too. It was nice to see them again and get to talk to Wayne and Molly, even if I didn't have much to contribute to the conversation. It's a little difficult to join the conversation when they're catching up on how the town has changed, who's living where now, who's doing what, etc. But it was still very nice, and I hope we can get together with them next time we're in town! That afternoon, Dustin and I were planning on taking Granny to Gainesville to visit Aunt Sharon in the hospital (gallstone trouble), but Sharon was tired and wasn't in the mood for visitors, so alas, no trip to Gainesville. Instead, we met up with Kevin and Kristen again and ate dinner with them before they went back to Gainesville for the UF/FSU game on Saturday.
On Saturday, Dustin and I went to Lisa's wedding! On the long drive there, I worked on my senior paper a bit more, although it was hard to write a paper with a laptop on my lap and a book that Dustin was holding up so I could copy quotes out of it! The wedding was so pretty. The retirement community where the wedding was held was nice. The weather cooperated for her pictures, luckily. There were a bunch of older people there, presumably members of the retirement facility where Lisa works. Dustin saw a bunch of old friends from high school, although being the anti-social butterfly that he is, he didn't really go and talk to them. Anyhow, it was a lovely wedding, and I wish them many, many years of a happy marriage! After the wedding, Dustin and I went to his fraternal grandmother's house, to visit the rest of that side of the family. There were 10 of us gathered in the small den, but it was nice to see everyone. His grandmother seems to be doing much better than the last time we saw her. She had a stroke a while back (nearly a year ago, I think?) and since then, it's been hard for her to comprehend things occasionally. But when we were there, she immediately recognized me, said "Hi Elizabeth" and asked to see the ring (and then exclaimed "What a big diamond!" tee hee), and continued to be quite alert through our nearly one and a half hour visit. So that was nice. Afterwards, we went to Wayne's house 'cause I wanted to see the pig, Sarah, that they've had ever since Dustin was a freshman in high school. The pig is so freakin' huge! Apparently, she used to be sweet, but she's not so much anymore. I still want a pet pig, though. It'd be great! Then we went back to Granny's house and helped her decorate her Christmas tree and do other chores for her around the house.
On Sunday, we left early in hopes of beating the rush hour traffic back to Atlanta. While the drive back was shorter than the drive down, we still hit some traffic around Atlanta and Macon. But it wasn't so bad. We went to my house, hung out with my parents and talked to them about wedding stuff, and then went over to the farm to eat dinner with my family. Then we came back home, watched the Simpsons, and went to bed!
It was such a nice trip. I really wish I had had more opportunities to work on my senior paper, but it seemed every time I tried to sit down and write more on it, Granny would want to talk and I'd get sidetracked and talk to her for awhile, instead. I wish there was some way to spend Thanksgiving with both his family and my family, because there were some points where I just missed being with my dysfunctional family. Although his dysfunctional family made me feel right at home. :-)
He drove to Atlanta on Tuesday night and we left for Florida late Wednesday morning. The traffic was horrendous - we were in stop and go traffic for nearly two hours just south of Atlanta. Ugh. Once we got down to Macon, the drive went much better, and we ended up in Lake City after 6.5 hours (normally it takes 4.5 hours) of driving. I was quite relieved when we finally got to Granny's house and we could unpack and just get out of the truck for a bit. That night, we went out to dinner with Kevin and Kristen. It was so nice to see them and hang out again. I only wish we all lived closer to each other so we could hang out more often! Dustin officially asked Kevin to be his best man (awwww). Then we went home and talked to Granny for awhile before going to bed.
On Thursday, we woke up and went to Thanksgiving lunch at Aunt Sue's house to see his mother's side of the family. There was so much food! In my family gatherings, everyone is instructed what to bring, so all the dishes and food groups are covered. In Dustin's family, everyone makes what they wants, so you never know what you'll be eating until you get there. It's crazy, but cool, too. Anyhow, the food was delicious and there was much eating to be had. I stepped a way for a few minutes to call my family and wish them a happy Thanksgiving and request that a slice of peanut butter pie is saved for me. After lunch, we went back to Granny's and hung out there for awhile, sitting and talking with her. I worked on my senior paper for a bit before Dustin and I decided to go to WalMart to pick up some Christmas gifts before the Black Friday rush and see RENT! RENT was amazing. I was quite impressed. I wasn't too fond of the dream sequence part of Tango Maureen, the scene for "Take Me or Leave Me," and Roger's trip to Santa Fe reminded me too much of a 90's Michael Bolton music video. But other than those small things, the movie was incredible. I cried at a few parts, and despite the fact that I dragged Dustin to see it with me, he enjoyed it and actually cried a few times, too! If I had any doubt that we shouldn't get married, him crying over RENT sealed the deal. He's the one for me. ;-)
On Friday, we went to lunch with Dustin's father, Wayne, and his girlfriend, Molly. Dustin's sister, her boyfriend, and his cute five year old daughter came along, too. It was nice to see them again and get to talk to Wayne and Molly, even if I didn't have much to contribute to the conversation. It's a little difficult to join the conversation when they're catching up on how the town has changed, who's living where now, who's doing what, etc. But it was still very nice, and I hope we can get together with them next time we're in town! That afternoon, Dustin and I were planning on taking Granny to Gainesville to visit Aunt Sharon in the hospital (gallstone trouble), but Sharon was tired and wasn't in the mood for visitors, so alas, no trip to Gainesville. Instead, we met up with Kevin and Kristen again and ate dinner with them before they went back to Gainesville for the UF/FSU game on Saturday.
On Saturday, Dustin and I went to Lisa's wedding! On the long drive there, I worked on my senior paper a bit more, although it was hard to write a paper with a laptop on my lap and a book that Dustin was holding up so I could copy quotes out of it! The wedding was so pretty. The retirement community where the wedding was held was nice. The weather cooperated for her pictures, luckily. There were a bunch of older people there, presumably members of the retirement facility where Lisa works. Dustin saw a bunch of old friends from high school, although being the anti-social butterfly that he is, he didn't really go and talk to them. Anyhow, it was a lovely wedding, and I wish them many, many years of a happy marriage! After the wedding, Dustin and I went to his fraternal grandmother's house, to visit the rest of that side of the family. There were 10 of us gathered in the small den, but it was nice to see everyone. His grandmother seems to be doing much better than the last time we saw her. She had a stroke a while back (nearly a year ago, I think?) and since then, it's been hard for her to comprehend things occasionally. But when we were there, she immediately recognized me, said "Hi Elizabeth" and asked to see the ring (and then exclaimed "What a big diamond!" tee hee), and continued to be quite alert through our nearly one and a half hour visit. So that was nice. Afterwards, we went to Wayne's house 'cause I wanted to see the pig, Sarah, that they've had ever since Dustin was a freshman in high school. The pig is so freakin' huge! Apparently, she used to be sweet, but she's not so much anymore. I still want a pet pig, though. It'd be great! Then we went back to Granny's house and helped her decorate her Christmas tree and do other chores for her around the house.
On Sunday, we left early in hopes of beating the rush hour traffic back to Atlanta. While the drive back was shorter than the drive down, we still hit some traffic around Atlanta and Macon. But it wasn't so bad. We went to my house, hung out with my parents and talked to them about wedding stuff, and then went over to the farm to eat dinner with my family. Then we came back home, watched the Simpsons, and went to bed!
It was such a nice trip. I really wish I had had more opportunities to work on my senior paper, but it seemed every time I tried to sit down and write more on it, Granny would want to talk and I'd get sidetracked and talk to her for awhile, instead. I wish there was some way to spend Thanksgiving with both his family and my family, because there were some points where I just missed being with my dysfunctional family. Although his dysfunctional family made me feel right at home. :-)