A quick aside to start- can I just say how much I have enjoyed reading your comments on the big THANK YOU giveaway (ends tonight, so still time to enter)?! Though I asked you comment with a gift you would love to receive this year, many of you have commented with what you enjoy about this blog and it has made my heart explode! I can’t believe some of you have been reading so long. Thank you so much for your kindness and support. I’ve read every single comment!
The girls and I got back home yesterday after over a week of being away. Wow, what a whirlwind! Though I’m usually itching to get home after a few days, I’ll admit I really enjoyed the entirety of our getaway. We were able to see a ridiculous number of family members, which I always look forward to.
Thanksgiving itself was just incredible. It featured our traditional hayride at the Christmas tree farm (above) and the most delicious southern Thanksgiving spread that I look forward to every year.
But most important of all, it featured the people I love most and included a super exciting announcement from my bro and sil that we’ll be soon adding a new baby to this picture:
Squee!! I’ll be getting a new niece or nephew come June! YAY KRIS AND CARA!
Out at the farm (our name for my Nannie’s house in Georgia) land stretches on and on. It’s beautiful. We shot skeet, let the dogs run free and had plenty of natural obstacle courses to climb on.
I devoured bowls of my Nannie’s vegetable beef soup.
Hailey sorted through boxes of my old childhood books.
And I found my old high school cheerleading uniform in my Nannie’s attic. I couldn’t resist.
Like wearing a bridal veil, it took me a while to finally go take it off. For a brief moment I felt 15 again!
I soaked up the sweet touches of my Nannie’s farmhouse.
And sipped wine while trying to catch up with family that I don’t see nearly as often as I’d like.
We’re a fun bunch.
Friday morning we gave big hugs and headed into Atlanta to stay and David’s bro’s house. Man, I love staying there. Between their 4 awesome kids and Mema and Grandpa, Hailey and Kaitlyn were entertained from the moment we arrived, leaving me free to…
Haha.
While I’m totally serious about Hilary’s incredible bloody Marys, we also went on walks to the playground, shot baskets for the first time in years and played many a board game with the kiddos. I love a joyful, busy house and theirs is one of my favorites.
A Georgia win versus Tech made for a nice addition to the weekend, but as we hit the road late Sunday morning, I heard the news that Coach Mark Richt is stepping down/being fired from his role as head coach at Georgia.
I know the majority of you reading probably couldn’t care less, but as a member of the Dawgnation I can attest that this is a big deal. Personally, I always have been and always will be a huge Mark Richt supporter. He is a great coach, but beyond that he is an amazing, influential man with a heart of gold that touched the lives of thousands of people through his role. I, for one, will really miss him being the leader of our team.
And goodness knows we’ll never have a better looking coach. Such a stud.
Well, how is that for an odd wrap up for my Thanksgiving post? Ha!
Back to business around here today. Don’t forget to enter the giveaway– it ends tonight!
What was the best part of your weekend or holiday?
Any other dawg fans singing the blues over Coach Richt’s exit with me?
Morgan @ Morgan Manages Mommyhood says
Oh man, family time is the best! Looks like you had an amazing time, and so did the girls!
sherry says
Always look forward to reading your posts, seeing your pictures, and sharing your life!
Mark Richt cared for his players and taught them more than just the game of football. I would have liked to have given him at least one more year to see what he could do with the highly ranked recruiting class that he was assembling. Coach Richt will be an assett where ever he goes and what ever he does. You can’t keep a good man down!
John J. Stathas says
“Best part” – easy. Family time with your, and Kris’, family and extended family.
Parita @ myinnershakti says
Being able to spend time with my parents and sister this past week was definitely the highlight. It’s rare that it’s ever just the 4 of us, so I really appreciated that!
Glad y’all had a great holiday too. And so sad about Coach Richt! I had a feeling it was coming but still…
Kate says
Your Thanksgiving weekend looks so fun! And the food…! I think I only recognize half what is on your plate, but I’m sure I would dig in just as you did. 😉
The best part of our weekend: we booked a flight to Japan for a big vacation next year- yeah!
brynn says
LOVE your cheer uniform! Too cute. I would have worn it all day. Ha!
Joni says
I’m a Gamecock but I must say I have always been a fan of Mark Richt! He’s a classy coach. My husband joked about him coming to take the South Carolina job now, and I said I’d gladly support it… especially since he’s so easy on the eyes haha! So glad you said that, I’ve always thought he was good looking!
Sarah S says
We are very sad in our family about Coach Richt! He is such a great coach and mentor to those players, I don’t think they will find anyone else who inspires like he does.
It was a bit of a sad way to end the Thanksgiving break but at least the Dawgs won!
Cassie says
Family time is the best.
Alyssa @ renaissancerunnergirl says
It’s so lovely that you all return to the family “homestead” each year. I hope my parents hold on to our big Connecticut house simply for those New England family holidays!
Ashlee says
Being a part of the SEC family (Alabama and Ole Miss), I’ve always followed the other teams’ coaches. I have loved Mark Richt and thought so highly of him. I can’t believe he got fired.
Heather says
Sounds like a wonderful Thanksgiving! My favorite part was seeing family and decorating the house. We also got a lot cleaned and rearranged and that always makes me feel good. Ha ha.
Angel says
His press conference today was the epitome of class. We might be able to find a coach that will win us a national championship, but we will never find another coach with that level of class.
Brittany says
Agreed! He is all class and the press conference gave me chills! He is too consistent of a coach to be let go and I think the recruits he had lined up for next year really could have formed a national championship team! Not to mention we were cheated out of the 08 championship and came so close to it in 2012!
Julia @ Lord Still Loves Me says
Congratulations to your brother and his wife on their newest to come addition to their family. 🙂 How exciting and I love that they chose Thanksgiving to announce it! That vegetable beef soup looks remarkable… any chance your Nannie will let you share that on the blog? I’ve been looking for a soup recipe to make myself. I think it is something i should have in my recipe repertoire.
YOUR CHEERLEADING UNIFORM. You’re awesome. I am going to keep mine just so I can do this too.
Grandma Honey says
Was that vegetable beef soup as good as it looks? Any chance you will want to include the recipe on a blog post soon? 🙂
Brittany Dixon says
It really was incredible but there is no recipe. She saves scraps and then turns whatever is her fridge into soup. Somehow it always turns out to be so delicious!
Brittany says
We call my grandmothers house the farm too!… Which is also in Georgia! Neat ;).
I saw the soup on your Instagram and have been craving it since!!! And that speaks volumes because I’m prego and all beef sounds horrible at the moment!
I am definitely singing the blues over Richt leaving! I was actually at the tech game and was so surprised to see him leave after a 9-3 season! You are so right he is such an amazing person and his character speaks wonders! I think they really made a bad decision here and he will be missed! I have been glued to all this talk about it today and I am so wishing that he could stay!
Hilary says
That sounds like such a great and exciting time with family… Especially the addition to the family! I really loved my boyfriends welcoming family and spending time with them since I don’t get to see them often anymore!
Sara says
South Carolina fan here… I have always been a big fan of Mark Richt & was so surprised to hear they were letting him go. It’s a crazy time to be a college football fan, particularly in the SEC East apparently!, that’s for sure.
Your Thanksgiving weekend looked amazing! The best part of mine was lots of time to lounge around & enjoy time with my husband & dogs.