I Got Your Back, You Got Mine

This year for Thanksgiving, my grandparents, further known as Nana & Pop, rented some condos for the holiday at Canyon Lake, TX.  It’s located right in between San Marcos & New Braunfels, TX.   They showed up on Tuesday, the same day as my parents and Kirstie, Robert and I showed up Wednesday.  My Aunt Mary Beth and Uncle Steve and there kids showed up Wednesday afternoon through Wednesday evening.  Even Jake’s girlfriend Jennifer showed up for a day & night.  Only my sister Kate was missing.  But, I reckon she had a pretty good reason… her very intelligent, good-looking boyfriend is at Harvard and she went to visit him too.  Considering she see’s him probably only twice a semester, I figure she has every right to go and see him.  But we sure did miss her over the week.

So… let’s just give a run down of all the people on this “little” family vacation.

Laura & Wayne = Nana & Pop

Steve & Mary Beth = Aunt & Uncle (Steve is son of Nana & Pop, brother to Mom)

Terry & Debbie = Mom & Dad (Debbie is the daughter of Nana & Pop, sister to Steve)

Jessica & Robert = Jess is daughter of Debbie & Terry, married to Robert

Katie, Kirstie = daughters of Debbie & Terry  (Kate couldn’t come)

Dena, Jake, Ann, Julia, Jane = kids of Steve & Mary Beth

Jennifer = Jake’s girlfriend

Scout = Mom & Dad’s Shih Tzue

Aggie = Steve & Mary Beth’s dog (some kind of Scottish Terrier I think)

Weldon & Rayma Jean = Mema & Pepa (Dad’s parents)

Vicki & Mark = Aunt & Uncle (Vicki is daughter of Pepa, brother to Dad)

On Wednesday, we unloaded all of our gear.  As you can imagine, three families can bring quite the amount of food.  My uncle & aunt had the Turkey and all the fixins’ with them, Rob and I brought some chips, and Nana and Pop brought the Ham and several other fixins’.  And everyone brought some, if not multiple, amounts of dessert.  Not too mention all our stuff.  I, myself, brought all the coupons and several magazines.  Had to prepare for all the big sales on Black Friday after all.  My fellow cousins also brought the Wii, and Rob and I brought our remotes too.

We all got settled in and let into the Wii.  I’d have to say my cousins were a bit more well versed at the Wii then the rest of us.  However, Rob definitely enjoyed the Wii.  I’m not a huge player, so he loved having Jane to play with.  Even though, Julia was pretty intense at Wii Tennis and really got into character.  I myself was not too good at anything.  I tended to come in last at Mario Kart and when trying to dodge in the shoes & other random flying objects on the Wii Fit, I was quite the disaster.  Unfortunately, the Wii board didn’t recognize when I was ducking.  Oh well.  I’m sure it was entertaining for everyone else to watch. 

Wii Gamers

We cooked tamales, chili, and had chips for lunch & dinner on Wednesday.  Rob had never had tamales before.  Not to worry, I let him know you have to take the husk part off.  But maybe we shouldn’t have told him because that would have been very funny.  But they were sure good.  It’s not often that we eat tamales and chili. 

On Thursday, everyone was decked out in their Aggie gear in preparation of the Texas A&M game and got busy cooking our big Thanksgiving meal.  Uncle Steve prepared an awesome turkey and everyone else pitched in to get all the sides together.  We had so much food it was kind of amazing.

Steve working on the turkey

This was also the day that it went from like 85 to about 35.  It was SOO freaking cold.  I only brought one long-sleeved item.  Thank goodness for family, or else I’d have probably frozen to death.  I did not pack according to the weather.

Pop and I set the table and he was sure to let me know that A) I missed three plates all together, B) Some didn’t have forks and then C) Some didn’t have knives.  So, I’m not the best table setter.  But, Pop kept me in-line.  Nana said Grace before we all ate and it was quite moving.  Nana can also say a good prayer.  The right things always to come to mind and she sounds so peaceful and blessed. 

Waiting in line for food.  Kids got first dibs this year.

Family enjoying their Thanksgiving meal.

This kind of sums up Thanksgiving Day. hehe.

After we finished eating we, depending on who you were, A) played the Wii some more B) rummaged through the Black Friday ads, C) watched the Dallas Cowboys game, or D) took a nap.  I personally rummaged through the Black Friday ads and then took a nap.  On a very small chair.  But, I managed to fall asleep.  I even woke up during half time and caught the best part of the game.  Of course, until the end.  The Cowboys couldn’t hold on.  I had such high hopes for them, but they just couldn’t pull it out.

The Cowboy game ended just in time for the Texas vs. Texas A&M game.  Seeing how as my ENTIRE family is A&M except for me and my two sisters this is a really big game.  Pop ran the concessions-- pop corn and Oreo’s for a dollar.  J We ate chips, guacamole, bean dip and leftovers.  The game was intense, lots of whooping, booing, and screaming.  But never fear, the Ags whooped up on the Longhorns and became a solid 9 and 3 team. 

Watching the A&M game.

Those that couldn't fit in the first picture.

That pretty much wrapped up our Thanksgiving Day.  It was a great day.  We were all together and had fun catching up with everyone.

Mom, Dad, and Kirstie got up at 3 AM to head out to Target and Wal-Mart.  I was supposed to be with them, but I just couldn’t do it.  I woke up and said,  Uhh…. Nope.  Not to mention, Rob says “Oh Love Bug, do we have to???”  How can you say no to that??  But anyways, I got a text from Mom at 5:45 AM with the word “FAIL.”  Meaning, they did not get what they set out to get.  Not too surprising, as what they wanted was  TV that was advertised on the front page of the ad which only EVERY AMERICAN also saw and wanted.  So, it just wasn’t meant to be.  They came back and slept and Rob and I, as well as everyone else, continued sleeping. 

Rob and I got up and found Mema & Pepa, Dad’s parents, were here for a visit.  We finished getting ready loaded up in the Suburban to continue a little shopping.  We stopped off at Dick’s Sporting Goods.  They had some deals on North Face.  I bought a new jacket for myself.  P.S.  Never go shopping for a coat when you are cold.  Stores must love it when tourists come in and its unseasonably cold because you will just buy anything.  So, that’s what I did.  I was cold and I bought a jacket.  It does look quite snazzy however.

We made our way over the famous San Marcos outlets and pretty much turned ourselves right around.  I had never really seen anything so amazing.  It was a sea of cars.  Little did we know they had been open since MIDNIGHT.  So, any chance we wanted was pretty much over from step one.  We stopped in at James Avery where mom bought Kirstie and I a Christmas present.  Then we left.

On our way back to the condo, we got a call from Steve to meet them somewhere and take some family photos.  But first, we stopped off at Whataburgher.  My dad has this intense fascination with Whataburger.  It’s crazy.  There were 7 of us in the Suburban and we decided to do the drive-thru.  But before I blame this crazy idea on my dad, it really was Kirstie’s idea.  “Yeah, Dad, drive through!”  That was a HUGE mistake.  And let me tell you HUGE.  THIRTY MINUTES later we got our food.  However, once we got them to repeat it back to us correctly, the food did come out right.  It was just getting it all down that was hard.  I can still see the lady behind us, “WTF, who is this guy?  Who in the heck orders food like this?  Why is this taking so long?”  As she calls her husband and says, “Sorry, dear, I’m behind this idiot moron in the drive-thru lane.”  It was kind of funny.  But we got everything down.

We headed to this location Steve & Mary Beth found to take family photo’s.  I look relatively terrible, I wasn’t really prepared to take photos.  But it’s cool.  It all worked out.  Steve & Mary Beth found this really cool place right down on the Guadalupe River and we took a ton of photos.  Even got in a big group shot.  I was in charge of setting the timer on the camera.  I think the group shot turned out pretty well considering I had only 10 seconds to run over and hop in and “look natural.”

The Atzenhoffers were quite photogenic.

Not quite as good looking as the first bunch, but I'll take it.  ;-)

We headed back to the condo where, depending on who you were, A) watched the Alabama, Auburn game, B) watched Shrek, or C) took a nap.  I personally watched the Alabama/Auburn game.  What a great game!!  I still can’t believe Auburn pulled it out.

Both Jake and Dena had to leave that day, so we all said our good-byes to them.

After that, all the ladies + Rob decided to play putt putt.  Keep in mind it was approximately 40 degrees outside.  Dad took Scout and Steve came later and kept us company around the course.  I think the only person to get a whole in one was Jane.  Of course, that was her mulligan shot, but a hole-in-one is still a hole-in-one in my book.  Scout absolutely loved the putt putt.  She wanted to chase after each ball.  She even picked up Julia’s ball and was able to drop it in the hole!!!  It was so hilarious.  We wrapped up our 18 holes and it was dark out.

Scout was MVP!

After we finished Putt Putt

Steve, Mary Beth and their kids headed somewhere for hamburgers and the rest of us heated up the ham.  I love ham.  Then, we watched Toy Story 3 and later called in a night.

The next day, the Hesseltine’s all got up early to be at the outlet mall by 9.  Steve cooked us breakfast and we said good-bye to everyone.  Rob and I loaded up in our car and mom, dad, Kirk, and Scout loaded up in the other.  We headed out to the outlet mall where we shopped for 3 ½ hours.  We didn’t even do a full quarter of the outlet mall.  That place is so huge!!  It’s awesome though.  We got in a full bit of shopping and then… I’ll let you guess… we went back to Whataburger.  The same Whataburger as last time.  Except, this time we went inside.  Then, we headed to my Aunt Vicki and Uncle Mark’s house in San Antonio where there were kind enough to host us for the night.

Once we got there, we chit chatted for a bit and then CALLED THOSE HOGS!  Just kidding, but we did watch the Arkansas/LSU game.  It was a GREAT game to watch, though the beginning of the game had me a bit worried.  But, we pulled it out.  Then, me, Rob, mom, dad, and Kirstie went and saw Jeff Dunham at the AT&T center in San Antonio.  It was very funny.  Robert and Dad laughed so hard.  Don’t get me wrong, it was very funny, but the guys definitely laughed harder.

Then we headed back to Aunt Vicki’s and where we went to bed.  My parents left at 4 or 5 AM on Sunday and Robert and I headed out of SA around 11:30.  Before we headed out, my aunt and uncle were kind enough to take us for some breakfast tacos at the Taco Garage.  Apparently this used to be an old car shop turned food place.  The lights were all made up of random car parts… hoses, mufflers, etc.  It was very cool and very good and filling.  I could only eat one taco!!!

And now we are back at our place.  All my Christmas stuff is out and set up.  The tree, garland, nativity scene, Christmas plates, décor, etc is here.  You name it, I got it up.  After reflecting on our week, I ultimately decided that family is the best thing you can have.  People will fall in out of our lives, but family will always be there.  I always love getting caught up with everyone hear about what they are doing.  God Bless my family… I sure do love them.

Group shot of everyone!

Family  =  I Got Your Back, You Got Mine.