Thanksgiving, THANKS!

Where do I begin?? I feel like there have been so many activities packed into the last few days.....
On Thursday, Thanksgiving, Rob, Tubbs, Keenan, and I all headed back down to Brainerd to pick up Rob's snowmobile and celebrate Thanksgiving with our families. We were on the road by 6:15. The first hour is always the toughest. We ALL had to ride in Rob truck until we could pick up my honda civic. It's an interesting ride with Tubbs, a mini Irish Wolfhound, and Keenan, a bobcat, Rob and I all crammed into the cab of a Chevy Silverado. Not and extended cab, just a cab. Once we picked up the car, we were REALLY on the move. We got into Brainerd just after noon and headed over to Rob's grandpa's house for Thanksgiving festivities. It was great to see everyone, and the food was fantastic. The whole family had a laundry list of question about the dogs, the weather, the running, the poop. They wanted to hear about it all. And we gladly told them all we could. It made for some exciting Thanksgiving table conversation!!

After a Rob's grandpa's, I headed over to my Auntie Steph's house. I was more than excited to see her. She is not only family, but a best friend, and I've been terribly lonesome for her. When I arrived the kitchen smelled amazing. I assisted in making the "ants on a log", while she did the heavy duty work. I almost peaked in on the turkey, but didn't want to let the heat out (you'll see while this is funny in a few sentences). Aunt Steph and I gabbed away while the rest of the food finished cooking. My Uncle Ronnie was watching the traditional Thanksgiving football extravaganza, only to be interrupted for meal time. Thanksgiving is Uncle Ronnie's favorite holiday. Not Christmas, his birthday, or wedding anniversary. It's Thanksgiving. Strictly for the food. I'm sure he's thankful for many things too, but it's a food issue first and foremost. Uncle Ronnie comes up stairs and says "let's get a look at this". He lifts the lid on the roaster and says "well, this thing isn't even on, did you forget to turn this thing on?". Now as part of this holiday being his favorite, Uncle Ronnie is ALWAYS in charge of the turkey. We all look over to find that he isn't joking. That sitting there in the roaster is a pale, raw, cold, sad, turkey. I've never seen such a face on Uncle Ronnie. So after a little bit of finger pointing, we all take it with a little humor, and turn the roaster on. Just think, we could of been an hour ahead of all this had I lifted the damn roaster lid. My cousin Alex (21 years old), is so distraught, he heads to his room to sleep off the anger/disappointment. Aunt Steph, my cousin Natalie (18 years old), and I pack all of the rest of the DONE dinner items away, where they can be kept until the turkey is actually cooked. Uncle Ronnie heads back downstairs to numb his Thanksgiving pain with a little more football. Aunt Steph and I can't stop laughing! Natalie then asks what we should do to pass the time, because all the rest of dinner is already done. We decide to head to a movie. While the boys sleep off, and zone out the raw turkey, we seized the evening and had a ball. After the movie, on the way home, we laughed until we couldn't breath. We complained about the men we love, and laughed some more. Arriving back to the house, the timing was perfect. The turkey was done, all the rest of the dinner had survived the holding period, and it was time to eat. Dinner was delicious!!! The conversation, and laughing was even better. Needless to say, Thanksgiving was saved. And it will be one of my most memorable ones. Just a reminder, I'd rather have that raw, cold, sad looking turkey, than no turkey at all.

After dinner we all had a web cam date with my brother, mom, and dad back in Colorado. Being in civilization, there was no delay on the web cam, and it made for a great time! All five of us in Minnesota making jokes and laughing with the other three in Colorado. It topped off a perfect day. I was exhausted from traveling and being on the move all day, so I headed back to Rob's mom's house. He and his whole family had been taking care of my dear Tubbs McGee and Keenan Junebug all day. Rob's sister and her boyfriend were visiting as well, up from the cities. So it was a full house! 6 humans, 4 dogs, and 1 bobcat.

The next morning Rob and I braved the Black Friday crowds in order to run some errands. Picking up the snowmobile was on the list. We had called Brainerd Sports and Marine last Wednesday to confirm it would be ready, they said yes. We made sure to tell them we would be driving almost 6 (FREAKING) hours to pick it up. We called first thing Friday morning to see when we could get it, and IT WASN'T DONE! And they had no reason why not, no explanation. And Rob was really left with no option other than leaving it there to get fixed. So Brainerd Sports and Marine, you are lame! You run a shotty operation where customer service means nothing! You monopolize the Brainerd community and it's disgusting! You may be the only ones who work on certain sleds, but it won't be long before people would prefer to drive hours away to get work done. Where they might have the chance to be treated with a little respect and general courtesy. Jerks! Moving on..... after that fiasco, we finished the day with a Starbucks and headed home. I dropped Rob off at his mom's house, took our laundry to the laundromat, and met my Aunt Steph for coffee (I know, I may have an addiction). We did some laughing and visiting, a little shopping and it was time to go again. I said good bye to her and headed back for cards with Rob's family. It was a mellow night, much needed.

This morning we had a huge breakfast with all of Rob's family. Rayanne, Steve, Raylinda, Josh, Randon, Grandma Jan and Dan, and Rob and I. It was a great way to end our quick visit. We hit the road home by 11. We made only a few quick stops, and were back at the dog camp by 6pm. It was just in time for night dog chores. It has been a long couple of days, and I know I'm ready for bed!!

So THANKS to everyone, Rob's family, and mine for this weekend!!! I miss you all already!! especially you, Auntie! Love you!