Weekend Update| November 28, 2011

The old red barn.

How can 4.5 days off fly by like a normal weekend? Life's not fair. We had such a great time in Pennsylvania. We went up to go visit my grandparents on my dad's side and for the first time I got to bring John along. It was the first time he really got to meet any of my family on that side and I had a great time showing him around the place!

My family lives in a small town in Pennsylvania (population 441). They own a large plot of land where they farm Christmas trees, and they have been there so long (generations!) that the road they live on is named after my grandmother's maiden name

I have much more to tell you about my family's farm and a few stories from our family line, but today all we need to worry about is food! What a delicious meal. As you can see, our table was full to the brim! We had all kinds of goodies and it is literally all I ate while I was up there. For two days I ate nothing but Thanksgiving leftovers. I was fat and I was happy. :)


 


I guess one of the more unusual dishes is pictured here. I don't know how many of you have noodles on your table at Thanksgiving, but we do! They buy some kind of homemade noodles there local and when they cook up they are so soft and doughy. They've been serving it on Turkey day as long as I can remember and it's one of those special things I look forward to.

The food wasn't the highlight of my trip though, the people were! I hadn't seen that side of my family in about 10 years! It was so awesome to hang out with my Aunt Dawn and her husband Jim (who I met for the first time!) and with my two cousins, Chris and Brandon. The last time we spent time together I was 15, and we were all just kids. It's so different (and awesome) to spend time as adults, and really talk. I wish I had a few more days to soak it all in....

My Aunt Dawn and I.

I can't wait for our next trip up there. Not only was Thanksgiving a memorable experience, but taking John around the farm and telling stories of my family and our past was more than I could ever ask for. Like I said, I'll be sharing some of that with you this week, as soon as I pretty up those pictures!

Here's a teaser photo- me and one of the Christmas trees on the farm. Yup, I'm a tree-hugger alright!

Question of the Day:

So, what was the best part of YOUR thanksgiving?

Don't forget! If you haven't emailed me your favorite road trip tunes do so now! Totally Awesome Tunes Tuesday is coming tomorrow. :) Email me at culture_connoisseur@yahoo.com!