This Thanksgiving we headed to Dubuque to spend time with Jim's family. We took off Wednesday evening with all of our stuff (and dog) in tow. The drive went well, we stopped in Williamsburg at the outlet mall to pick up a few things. I did get my first pair of maternity pants, I don't need them quite yet but figured I better pick them up to have for when I do. We finished our drive and spent the rest of the evening chatting and settling down.
Before we left there were some squirrels on our front porch...eating our pumpkin!
Thursday:Thursday we SLEPT IN!!! How nice! When we woke we got ready to head to Jim's Dad's house to spend Thanksgiving day with him, his wife, her family, and us. The day was great. Their house looked great with it's Thanksgiving decorations, the table was beautiful, and the meal was absolutely delicious! I was so stuffed that I refused dessert...I had no where to put it! We spent the afternoon in a food coma, visiting, looking through the ads, and making a Friday morning game plan. We managed to finish the evening with pizza and headed back to Joy's to hit the hay...including Odie.
Friday: Friday started early for us. We had decided that if we found some things we wanted in the early morning ads we would go ahead and head out for them to save a little money. We wanted something from Shopko for my Dad so Jim and Barb headed there. There was something at Sears I wanted for my Mom and a couple of things I wanted for Jim so I headed there. Both stores opened at 5am so we got up at 4:35, brushed our teeth, put on shoes, and pretty much went how we were.
I got to Sears a few minutes before 5 and walked up to the door and they were already open. Unfortunately for me, they decided to open at 4am since some other stores at the mall were opening then. I was disappointed because had I known, I might have come earlier. They still had what I wanted for my Mom, but none of the things I wanted for Jim. They were willing to order one online but when I got up there to order it it was sold out online as well. I decided to head out after that.
I saw Target across the street and they had something I had considered getting for Jim so I decided to head over there. When I pulled in it was 5:08 and there was still a line out front. I headed up to the door and the line wasn't moving. An employee was handing out maps to the store and so I asked why we weren't going in. He said they didn't open until 6. Well, I didn't have anything better to do so I figured I would wait it out. I was near to the front and knew if I went back to Joy's I wouldn't be able to get to sleep right away anyways, so in line I sat.
About 5 minutes until 6 this mob starts gathering in the parking lot in front of the doors. All of us in line were pretty amused by them because there were so many people and they were acting just crazy. There were two target employees out there telling them they needed to go to the line and wait but they remained where they were. When the doors opened people started filing in and the mob charged the door. They practically trampled the Target employees and started ramming those of us in line. Then, of course, everyone behind us starts running to get in and beat them and it just got insane. I was honestly quite scared. When someone pushed me my cell phone fell out of my pocket and I had to bend over to get it...that was absolutely terrifying. By this point I just wanted out of line but I couldn't get out. You couldn't even move, people were just pushing and shoving and running. You just went where the mob went and that was through the door.
Even when you got in people were crazed. Running, yelling, screaming, practically trampling eachother. I walked back to the electronics department and they had broken the cases holding some things trying to get at them. There was broken plastic and glass stuff on the floor. Why Target put the games and game systems in their cases is beyond me. Needless to say I was more than happy to get out of there.
Friday afternoon we had Thanksgiving with Jim's Mom's side of the family. Quite a few people were able to come which was great. Myself, Jim, Barb and Joy were there of course. His Aunt Glee, Uncle Ron, cousin Beth, and her son Jackson were also able to make it. And a surprise to most of us, his Uncle Mark and Aunt Sandie came in from Cedar Falls. I have only met them one other time, and that was at our wedding, so I was excited to get to see them again. Everyone had a great time. There was plenty of food, lots of desserts, visitng, chatting, and just hanging out. We all spent some time playing a game that Sandie brought and it was a great way to end the day. Everyone took off about 6 or 6:30. It was a very nice afternoon.
Saturday:
Saturday was spent helping Jim's Mom get her Christmas tree set up and decorated. Her tree is absolutely gigantic and she doesn't even put the bottom layer on. I am not sure if anything could fit underneath if she did. We were very low key until late afternoon when everything was done.
Here is Jim as they are part way done with the tree, and a picture of us two being goofy, unshowered, and VERY relaxed.
Saturday evening Jim's Mom treated us to dinner at her favorite Dubuque eatery. It was an Italian restaurant called Mario's. It was a very charming place, lots of character. The food was good as well. Jim ordered the panzerotti which his Mom just loves. I couldn't believe how absolutely huge this thing is. It is a large pastry filled with cheese and toppings then fried and served with their homemade sauce on top. It is calzone like, but probably more unhealthy.After getting back to Joys we packed up the car and the dog and decided to head back home. We hit some snow on the way back and that mixed with fog and heavy traffic headlights made it a bit hard to see. Jim was driving and was very cautious. I was still surprised at the excellent time we made heading back. The weekend away was great but I was thankful to be back home.
This Thanksgiving was a time to be truly thankful for all we have been blessed with this past year. Our growing family, our friends, our pets and our lives in general are great and we have been very blessed. I hope you and yours enjoyed the holiday as well.
The party was a big hit. We gave my Dad a dollar dance (long story) and danced and had fun until we were all far too tired. The night was a success!
The first trimester had its fair share of ups and downs. We are very happy we have finally passed into a somewhat safer zone. There were definately scary moments so continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
As I think back over this past year we have truly had some wonderful times. Just being married in itself is a fantastic feeling. Married love is different than any other kind of love...there is absolutely no end to it...you wake up everyday with a comfort of knowing what is. 
The Cubs game was a good time although we were both exhausted from our night of barely any sleep and the long drive, but by the 4th or 5th inning we were having fun. The Cubs, although doing fantastic this year, lost that day. We hung out after the game, walked around the area, and then headed back to the hotel to relax.
