I'm thankful for...

I'm back from a jam-packed fabulous weekend! It was full of my favorites: family, friends, food and fun! How about that. My holiday started on Wednesday afternoon as David and I drove to Ocala. Luckily this year we were able to enjoy both family's Thanksgiving festivities as the Micas were in Gainesville for the big game. It made me so happy. It's quite the transition of planning holidays with significant others after you've had the same traditions for the past 24 years. I told David he would have to work with me on this...and that's one of the many reasons why he is so wonderful. Wednesday in Ocala brought a delicious dinner at Latinos followed by a visit with high school friends at a new downtown establishment.

On Thursday, we watched the parade and the dog show and then made our way to Thanksgiving dinner round 1. We all gathered at Aunt Holly's for one of my most favorite meals of the entire year. Uncle Neil smoked a turkey as usual and I was right with him sampling as he carved the bird. A few observations from Ocala Thanksgiving 2009:

1. As the cousins get older, the food spread gets larger.
2. We officially lost the "kid's table" in the kitchen this year. It seems as though for the past few years it has slowly been taken over by our grandparents who sit there upon first arrival and then never get up! This is not fair and I do not like change :) So...we moved the kid's table into the living room and called it a deal.
3. The casseroles have now taken on a new form... a more simple presentation if you will. What once was squash casserole became sauteed squash and so on. This change is for the best!
4. I missed having sister and family there...such is growing up.
5. I missed having Heather Lane at home and calling me entirely too early Thanksgiving morning to see if I was awake for the parade. Obviously, the answer was always...No.




And then David and I were off to round 2! Slightly stuffed, we arrived in Gainesville to eat with his family and close family friends the VanHises. Throughout the football season I have gotten to know the VanHises fairly well. Uncle John is David's God-father. The two sets of parents met in college and have been forever friends as well as their children. We had a wonderful time and it was so nice to feel welcome at another family's holiday tradition.

A very exciting event also happened on Thanksgiving. Twins Adalynn and Mollie were born late Thursday afternoon!!! Congratulations to Geoff, Kasey and family. What a blessing and yet another reason to be thankful. If you're interested Kasey's showers were featured here and here.

I knew this post would turn into a novel...

Friday morning we were back in Ocala and by Friday afternoon we were back in Gainesville. Are you tired of driving yet!? All of this back and forth was for good reason and we were both thankful we could spend time with each of our families. The first annual Mica vs. VanHise kickball tournament commenced at 3:00pm Friday afternoon. Go Team Mica! We might have lacked in the ability category but we won with our team look and accessories! As it turned out our ploys to distract them did good but not good enough. I even took an unplanned tumble on my run to first base. I ate it face first and still managed to get up and make it to first base safely, grass stains and all, only due to the fact that when I fell the ball {meant to out me} flew over my pancaked sprawled body. It provided a good laugh and a slight distraction in our favor. But I'm still a little sore...

kickball uniforms

game face on

personalized team mica water bottles

team shot take 1

team shot take 2

later that night after a victory dinner (well, we thought we should've won!) the siblings roped off the tailgate for the big game the next day

Saturday= Game day!! We had the best day and tailgated all day long. I got to visit with Libby during half-time and she brought me up to speed on her wedding day plans. Our seats were high for this game but were great because you can see everything develop. It's been a memorable season for the gators and I've enjoyed watching and celebrating every single win with David. To see the thousands of camera flashes around the stadium at the gator's last home game was breathtaking.

me and david

with kristy and maclain

david and friends

with david's sisters...allison and julianne

Meanwhile back in Tallahassee:

marcus, holly, and sk enjoyed the turkey trot thursday morn

sweet sk with her re-re and papa...please notice her adorable green peacoat {that matches aunt sister's} and her pink uggs :)

sally kate on thanksgiving...she wants to see aunt sister! actually, I just wanted everyone to see her adorable shirt made by lane!

sunday brought rest and unpacking back in tallahassee. we made this delicious margherita {pre-oven pic} pizza and I started the Christmas decor...a perfect end to a fabulous weekend!