Our Thanksgiving break started off hectic—is there any other way? For me, it started off on a chilly morning running the hills of Wakefield (North Raleigh). I was running the Skinny Turkey half marathon. It was my third half marathon of November after running the City of Oaks and the Outer Banks.

The race started at 7:30 am and it was a 30 minute drive from the house to Wakefield High School, where the race started and finished. I was awake early, around 6:00 am, leaving the house by 6:45 am. I decided to run in long sleeves because it was below 40° and a bit breezy. The course was hilly but manageable. I was expecting a decent time and was happy with the 1 hour 44 minute and 14 second finish.

The Skinny Turkey was in it’s second year and gathered over 700 runners for the half marathon. I finished 74th overall and 56th in the men’s division. I finished 11th in the 30-34 age group. Not bad for a Thanksgiving day run.

I arrived back at the house around 10:00 am to some slight chaos. Merri Beth was dealing with both kids and one of the dogs decided it was warmer in the house and used the bathroom, literally, right before I walked in the house. Sigh. We managed to get everything cleaned up, MB finished the mac and cheese dish she was cooking for Thanksgiving lunch, and we were out the door shortly after 11:00 am.

We were off to Grandma’s house near Clarkton, NC. It was about a two-hour drive for us. Once we arrived, we were greeted by a bunch of family. The Atkinson family was fully represented. Jim and Beth Blackwell were there along with Jenni and Buddy Currie and Jamie, Robbin, and Ethan. Uncle Johnny, John, and Kevin Atkinson were down from Virginia. Uncle Bruce, Karen, Nikki, and Nikki’s boyfriend Eric, were also there. It was a full house with lots of good food.

We hung out for a while, enjoying the family updates, the food, the dessert, and everyone getting to meet Caitlyn for the first time. Especially Grandma. On the way home, we enjoyed the holiday lights in the country sides of NC as we drove home where we kicked off our own Margarita Thanksgiving while we watched some football to cap off the day.

Black Friday

No early morning shopping for us. Zander went to the farm with Jim and Beth and we slept in. My day was spent in the yard. Collecting leaves and getting the yard ready for winter. It really wasn’t that exciting, but there was a lot of yard work to be done.

Meanwhile, MB spent most of the day inside doing some laundry, cleaning, and taking care of Caitlyn. They came outside to help in the garden and picked the last of the peppers growing before the first hard freeze of the season tomorrow. Later on in the afternoon, we headed out for some late day shopping. We went to Lowe’s and I got a new chainsaw. We weren’t looking for huge deals, just being realistic. After we got home, we started a fire out back, cooked some pizza, and enjoyed some wine. It was a perfect evening to spend outside with a warm fire.

Game day

We slept in again, kind of. I was up and in the garden, removing pepper plants and packing up the tomato/pepper cages. Then I was off for a five mile run. By the time I returned, MB had a batch of game-day chili going, corn bread muffins, and we were packing up the Jeep for today’s NC State tailgate.

We headed out to Carter Finley Stadium for Senior Day and NC State’s final home game of the season. Jim and Beth Blackwell brought Zander back from the farm, Jenni and Buddy brought MB’s cousin John and Buddy’s brother Jed to the game. We had an awesome tailgate. Steamed oysters, Beth’s gumbo, and a good time at our pre-game tailgate.

The Wolfpack put on a good show, beating Boston College 27-10. It got pretty cold during the second half, but we survived. There was an awesome post tailgate with the family. More oysters, MB’s chili, and staying warm. There wasn’t a lot of traffic once we packed things up and it was a good end to our football season.

Sunday

It was a lazy Sunday to round off our four-day weekend. A big cold front came through last night and the temperature’s dropped into the high twenties. Ca-burr. Our day was mostly spent watching football, putting up the Christmas tree, and vegging out. Luckily, we scored the New York Giants game for Sunday Night Football. The Giants dominated the Green Bay Packers, so it was a good game to watch.

We definitely enjoyed our Thanksgiving weekend. We’re thankful for so many things, but most of all, we’re thankful for our family and the time we spend together.