Thanksgiving!!!!

John and I had the BEST time this past week! We were finally able to drive home on Wednesday. However, before our drive John had to work Wednesday morning and I had to take Carter to the vet. He had continued to chew on his tail and it was looking really bad- he needed medicine. I also took him running to help wear him out for the long ride. Anyway, the vet looked him over and said that it looked like a bug or something had just bitten him and it turned into a "hot spot" for him. Meaning he wanted to keep messing with it and doctoring it himself, but really he was making it worse and licking and biting it raw. They gave us some steroids for him to take and they were to help relieve the itching so he would leave his tail alone. They also said he was a little chunky and needed to lose 5 more lbs. haha. CHUBBY PUPPY! :D I actually dont think he looks overweight at all, but apparently you are supposed to be able to count his ribs by looking at him. He's almost there. He weighed in at 69lbs. So it looks like he will only end up being a 65lb pup after all. I like his size though, it's perfect- not too big or too small :D

Anyway, John left work a little early (his boss said he could) and we make the 12 hour hike to Raleigh! We were really surprised traffic wasnt worse than it was. Really, it was only heavy near Jacksonville (it also happened to be 5pm)and other than that it was smooth sailing! When we got near Savannah we stopped at one of our favorite restaurants, The Smokin' Pig. YUMMY southern food! :D We got in around midnight, which was REALLY good timing! We said our hellos and then headed to bed.

It was really nice to be able to sleep in! 10am is now sleeping in. LOL. Even though it was Thanksgiving, I asked Julie if she wanted to go running because I had to exercise the dog anyway. She agreed and we went out into the neighborhood and ran :D IT WAS SO HARD! I am SO not used to running up and down hills! and the wind was SO cold. Julie was a lot faster than me, but I did it! In fact, she had me for the first 2 1/2 miles but I decided I wanted to keep going so I made her go with me. haha I'm not bragging, but I cranked out 4 miles!!!! WHO AM I?! Once I got used to the hills and air, it was MUCH easier running there than down here in Miami. Too much humidity here. Needless to say, I ate my share and more of desserts to celebrate my awesome run!
Of course I didnt take many pictures, but here is the beautiful neighborhood we went running in :D
When we got back from our run I showered and then it was time for Thanksgiving lunch! YUMMY. Dad Martin spent a LONG time in the kitchen and there was a TON of delicious food. He really outdid himself :D My tummy was much appreciative! After lunch, it was nap time! haha :D We watched some football and I took an amazing nap. After all that running and eating, it was much needed. John took a short one, but then he went to fix our car window with his dad's help. I forgot to mention that the entire 12 our drive our driver side window was broken. It wont shut all the way, so the wind was SO loud. John's amazing though and he fixed it! :D After that and playing with the dog some, we ate some leftovers and then played some games with his family. Wits and Wagers is an amazing game if you have never played!! Since Mom Martin and a guest they have staying with them had to work early the next morning, we all went to bed kind of early. It was much needed though. John and I were just still exhausted from everything.

The next day we got up and helped John's dad out with a video he is making for the church. He is making a promotional video for the Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace class. Which I HIGHLY recommend ALL of you to take. Then we headed over to my mom's house to spend the day with my family. John and I were both nervous about it because they have 2 cats and we are allergic, but the night we drove into town we stopped by and dropped off an air purifier. It's supposed to help with allergies. IT WORKED! That and some Claritin. lol. I didnt get sniffly or sick at all! John got a little stuffy, but for spending the day there it was great! I cooked with my mom and then spent time with my mom, sister, brother and John. After lunch/dinner we played Wits and Wagers with them too :D We had a lot of fun!

After spending time with them, we had a few errands to run and ended up getting to see some of our friends. We had a lot of fun with that too and boy do I miss being home. We went to bed as soon as we got back and were up and ready to tailgate at 6:30am! Yikes, that's early. haha. We got to the tailgate lot about 7:30ish and enjoyed the rest of the morning tailgating with all our friends. We had a HUGE tailgate going and it was SO incredibly nice to spend time with our friends like that and catch up :D

Here are the girls at the tailgate :D
and my ADORABLE godson!!!! He was SO good the entire day. He almost makes me ready to have babies, but I know mine wont be as good as him. haha
A baby looks weird on my hip...
About Noon, we headed into the game! I WAS SO EXCITED! :D
Then we were all of the sudden down 14-41. :( I lost all my excitement. HOWEVER, my brother and sister came to the game! It was my sister's first NC State football game ever!! We had SO much fun!
YAY SIBLINGS!
THEN out of nowhere- we started coming back!! AND WE WON!!!!!!!! This win means we get to go to a bowl game! YAY! :D I was VERY proud of my pack and it turned in to a great first game for my sister!!

After the game we waited for everyone to get back to the parking lot and we said some goodbyes and made dinner plans. John and I headed off to Brad's to take a short nap and get ready for dinner. I took about an hour nap and it was time to go. I told John I didnt feel good and then proceeded to throw up for the next 4 hours. :( Needless to say I didnt go to dinner. haha. I'm pretty sure I got food poisoning. There is no other explanation for that kind of sickness. I was dry heaving. I have never thrown up like that in my life. My body was making me throw up and there was nothing there! I was crying and I just didnt know what to do. I'll spare you the rest of the details...But it was seriously one of the worst pains I've ever experienced. :( Sad way to end a trip.

The next morning I was still queasy but had stopped throwing up-I mean there was nothing else left in my body to go! John and I had sorta slept in and then it was time to hit the road. I was scared to eat, but ended up drinking some Gatorade Mom Martin got for me and a biscuit. Later I had some Brunswick stew- it also hurt my stomach. It's so good, but I shouldnt have eaten so much of it on my tummy in that state- it just hurt. Anyway, traffic was TERRIBLE! We left at 11:30am and didnt get home until 3am. Traffic was stopped on 95 in many places, so we tried to go around when we could. At one point, we got off of 95 onto 17 and got a speeding ticket immediately. :( The speed had dropped from 55 to 45 like immediately and as soon as it did we got pulled for going 58 in a 45 :( It was a total speed trap- there were 6 other cops swarming around that place pulling people over. Frustrating, but not the end of the world. I told John that if he averaged a ticket every 9 years (that was the last time he had one) he was doing pretty good. haha After that we stayed on 95 regardless of traffic.

Since traffic was so bad and we had been in the car for what felt like forever, we stopped in Savannah for dinner. We thought after dinner, the traffic would lighten up some. For some reason John and I both LOVE Savannah. Neither of us had been there before though. haha. Well, it lived up to our expectations! We stopped and ate at Moon River. It seemed to be a bit fancy, so we threw on some stuff from our suitcases and went in. The food was AMAZING and we had such a good time. It was a very fun spontaneous date during a very long car ride home. haha ;D I love my husband. He knows how to make everything fun. :D

Anyway, like I said we got home at 3am. I decided to take the next day off but poor John had to be at work at 5 :( He has been SO tired all week because of it. Poor guy. So beyond in love with him for all that he does. <3

Despite the food poisoning and ticket- John and I had one of the best trips home. It was very quick, but SO worth the drive there and back. Every time we go back it gets harder to come back to Miami. I love Raleigh. I love my family. And I love my friends. I know we will end up back there sooner rather than later :D