thanksgiving and back. (aka....super long post)

our time in atlanta was filled with eating, games, black friday shopping, Xbox, football, online shopping & wine.


my niece morgan.
she let talby and annie play with all of her american girl dolls....they were in heaven.


 
 





















the name game.
everyone writes a name (or in our case a word or funny sounding name) and you go around the room 
trying to guess who wrote what name.
it's fun.
the kids think it's pretty funny to hear their crazy name said over and over.


we also played apples to apples.
very fun.
maybe because i won.
i had the advantage of knowing the kind of things my kids would pick better than the other grown ups....
but i still won.  :) 

my nephew Hunter gave me five minutes to take some senior pictures of him.

seriously....five minutes.
i cannot believe he is a senior.

and after two full days we packed up and left for home.
our trunk was full of christmas gifts and two bags of hand-me-down clothes (yay!!)


our first stop on the way home was still in atlanta.
Cameli's Gourmet Pizza Joint.      (they are on facebook too....)
we have wanted to come here for years!  
we know the owners.



the pizza was so good.
i loved it.
craig loved it.
my kids tried calzones and fell in love.

these are the Cameli women.
their husbands are the Pizza chefs...and i got no photo of them...i am a dork.

this picture is weird.
these are my sister's college roommates....my sister should be where i am and i should be taking the picture.
but i love these girls too.
i grew up with amy (blond) and her family.
and i LOVED hanging with sara (brunette) when i would go visit my sister in college.
i wish you could have been there lorel.
thank you for sharing your friends with me.




enzo is sean's new buddy.
they exchanged addresses on napkins.
i think they are a great match....just from the half hour that i watched them together.

there was a jute box with any song imaginable and the kids played "CRAZY FROG!"  
oh my goodness.

thank you thank you thank you cameli's pizza joint!

back on the road.





old school arby's....





we found a Days Inn to crash for the night after 8 hours of driving.
we used the pull out sofa bed AND made a "special bed" on the floor for annie AND both queen beds.
they swam for 30 minutes and then we slept like babies.


in the elevator to the car.


could be the best invention ever....GENIUS....i love redbox so very much.








feet touching my head...all the time.




and more feet.

i think i have mentioned before that i get car sick?
like ALL the time.
i have my entire life....so many memories of being nauseous in cars...and throwing up.
yuck.
dramamene helps.
and i can sleep a little more than i used to be able to.

we made it home.
very tired.
craig drove the entire 30+ hours.
rockstar.

i am glad the traveling is over with for awhile.
but honestly driving is way WAY better than dragging five kids through an airport on a holiday.

and we are glad we went.

the end. 

Comments

[Heather @ Cookie Mondays]

That pizza looks sooooo good right now!
We also played Apples to Apples on Thanksgiving. It was so much fun, and we played so long that I literally fell asleep sitting up with cards in hand.
:)
That looked like such a grea trip!
And yay for Dramamine!

[Gemma]

Hi Meg!

Great post :) Craig is def a rockstar for driving all that way. Hope you are having a great December so far!

Gemma x

[Shannon Davis]

It was great having you all come here for Thanksgiving. It was very special to be able to have some quality family time together. The basement is perfect for times when we have extra kids who love Xbox, Wii and Rock Band -- oh and American Girl dolls!! Thanks for taking Hunter's pix - they turned out great! See you at Christmas :)

[Grace]

So glad you had a great visit away from home!

Husbands who can drive long stretches at a time are sent by God. :)

[donna]

omg Meg. i can't believe you have a sign of Broken Arrow - I can't wait to show my husband. We lived very near Broken Arrow when we first got married 21 years ago - my oldest daughter who is almost 20 was born there!!! It's a long way from Detroit!!!

[karen]

that is the only way to cook a turkey
I have my grandparents "turkey cooker" that we used for years
They always put it in the laundry room on the dryer so we had plenty of room to prepare all of the other food
Thanks for sharing your Thanksgiving

[Lindsay]

I hear ya on the car sickness. awful. My family always drove - every summer vacation, no matter where we went, drove. But I loved it. Even through all the fighting :) Thanks for sharing all of this!

[christy]

That is one big slice of pizza!

Thanks for sharing your Thanksgiving. Spending time with family is priceless!

[Janelle]

Lovely. You've inspired me to start some road trips with my 4 kiddos...now I just have to get my husband on board :)

[Nikki]

That is the biggest slice of pizza... I've never seen a slice that big before!
Happy belated Thanksgiving... so nice that you got to spend it with family.
I get a little car sick to :(
Eli was on the morning show today, I've added a link on my blog if you want to hae a look.
x

[pam]

WOW...what a slice of pizza. That loaded car was CRAZY. My mom switched to ginger for motion sickness...she swears by it over Dramamine...at least for her. Long trip...but I'm sure so many memories. I LOVE Apples to Apples. And your husband is a rockstar...that's a lot of driving.

[Jodi]

I must try that pizza place next time in Atlanta... that slice of pizza could feed me for 3 days!! :o)

I give you kudos for that long road trip... I used to dread the trip from Atlanta to home... can't imagine going as far you guys did!!

[shelly]

Wow! Super trip!!!

I love it when our boys get to hang with cousins! (Well, they're usually down the line cousins, but its fun to watch them all play!)

We drove 25 hrs last month to go to New Mexico---time flew going down, but went backwards coming back home :/ I would have freaked if feetsies were near my head the whole time! Especially my kids'--talk about car sick-gag!

You guys are awesome! What memories for your kiddos!

[heidi @ wonder woman wannabe]

wow - my crew is nowhere near readay for a trip of that magnitude (though redbox would sure help!) looks like you had fun though - isn't it always the greatest coming home?

[Holly]

Looks like good times! We are going to try a road trip with all of ours soon.....im scared,lol!

[Jessica]

You didn't take the girls to the American Girl store in Atlanta!? ;)

[carols]

Awwww, those road trips and hotels and swimming pools and family togetherness are some of my FAVORITE family times. Pics are great. My husband likes to drive too, and we did the Chicago to Atlanta trip last summer and it was great (do Lookout Mountain next time...Chatanooga, TN, totally worth it and amazing pictures). My pc crashed, but the upside is 3 days of Meg posts! Enjoy December.

[kasey]

and i would much rather fly.
we flew to cali...no lines...no pat downs...no feet on my head;-)
easy.
Sounds like you had a blast though.

[katey]

There are always feet on me. (not just in the car) What is up with that???

[Becky @ Farmgirl Paints]

That pizza was enormous! You look like you are having so much fun...hee hee;)

[Elizabeth]

You all went through my town in Oklahoma! I pass that BA/Tulsa sign every other day-fun! Aren't road trips the best? I always learn so much about my kids when we're stuck in the car together for long periods of time. Family bonding at it's best!

[Georgia]

PIZZA!!!!! thats what i call a pizza slice, You have made me so excited - im going to las vegas next year and huge pizza sliices is top of my list!

YUummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[mandy madison]

I love this post! reminds me of my childhood traveling with my 5 borthers in a HUGE van. We named her Big Bertha and she smelled like farts and McDonald's...sorry for that bad imagine I just put in your head. So many memories!

[AshleyAnn]

Well you know that road sign in Oklahoma makes me a bit sad....but I doubt your whole family would want to stop by my house to chat and drink coffee!

[Maria]

So happy you posted your road trip...we are prepping for our longest yet...from Louisiana to AZ...eek.

I'm going to have to test out Dramamine before we go...otherwise I may go nuts without being able to read/iphone/whatever.

loved all the fun stops!

[Kate]

I agree with you and would rather drive our family of seven anywhere. Even though it's crazy and I can't stand public bathrooms and the kids will bicker over dumb stuff in the back seat. Your pictures really capture the why-would-you-ever-do-that question. Why? Because it's crazy fun!

[april]

This WAS a serious road trip!!! Love the pics...can you send a piece of that pizza to california?? yes please!!! :)

[Katherine @ Grass Stains]

I'm from Atlanta but have never heard of that pizza place! I'll have to try it next time I'm there. Looks like a WONDERFUL trip, one that had the makings of lifelong memories. So much fun! Merry Christmas to all the Duerksens!

[Michelle Whitlow]

Looks like you guys had a great time!!! This year was the first time we've traveled for Thanksgiving. I feel like I'm SO behind on Christmas stuff now!!! I'm definitely gonna have to try that pizza place. We live about an hour and a half from Atlanta and I always like to take the kids up there at least once during the holiday season. We have such a small mall down here so it's nice to get a taste of the 'city life' a little bit :)

[Lindsey]

That's one huge piece of pizza!

Your nephew is very photogenic, he should have given you more than five minutes! But I'm sure you did great with the time you had because you're and awesome photographer.

And Apples to Apples is so much fun, isn't it?

[ashley jensen]

Hiya! First time posting a message so hello there, I check your blog every day! I went to school with Ashley Campbell and found your blog thru hers! Love that sign of BA and Tulsa (I know exactly where it's at) you took since I grew up in BA (and still live close by in Owasso)!

[Ingrid Blanchette]

looks like so much fun! great pics...thanks for sharing.

[elizabeth highsmith]

cameli's is the best!! there huge slices are delicious and affordable!!

[Laura Lynn]

You shoulda stopped at our house....free bathroom, snacks, and conversation!!!!! We live so close to the BA/Tulsa sign.

[evan]

i love apples to apples too!!! fun game :) first time i ever played i won: the adjective i won on was "manly" and my card was "Demi Moore"... hahaha!! i'll never forget that!!

[Bethany {3SonsPlus1}]

You are so funny! Glad you had a great time...yeah, I know, minus the feet, ha!

[Courtney Walsh]

You are still making me feel better about our decision to drive rather than fly. Especially since I'm not into letting strange women feel me up or take scans of my girl parts.

love this. looks like a blast! :)

[Valerie @ Chateau A La Mode]

Road trips rock. Looks like much fun!

[chasity]

tell your daughter that i LOVE her ring.

so cool.

[sara's art house]

Great pictures. Apples to Apples is the best!

[Teri]

My youngest two fight over who gets to sleep on the floor when we stay at a hotel.

I get car sick too, even when driving. Dramamine knocks me out, so I take a benadryl every couple of hours it helps with nausea. And the oodles of cold carbonated drinks. Thankfully, only one of mine gets car sick.

It looks like you had the bestest time. I am super jealous!

[Tracy Fisher]

Fabulous! I love your personal stories. I have been trying to figure out if I should (or should not) put personal stories on my website/blog... then I said to myself, "hey, why not?"... really... who cares! So many opinions in this world. haha
Anyway, you are "real" and I love reading about your adventures.
-Tracy (www.tfisherart.com)

[Kat]

Looks like a fun trip. (well except for the car sickness and the feet on your head part, lol.)
I love that you guys play games with your family. We must do more of that as our kids get older.
That pizza is huge and delicious looking.
OMG my kids have recently discovered Crazy frog on a cd someone gave us and they LOVE to dance around to it in the loungeroom, lol. so you are not alone!

[colleen]

I see you came through my beautiful state of alabama. I just have one thing to say (in response to that hat in one of the pictures) -WAR EAGLE!!! Glad you had such sweet family time. Even if Alabama did lose!

[Giyen]

Meg,
You really do have such a lovely smile!

PS. Think about you all the time. Hope to get to see you again soon. Kansas or bust!

[mel]

wow! what a fun filled thanksgiving! I used to love road trips when I was growing up. They were some of my favorite vacations! that pizza place looks AMAZING. I love pizza...i could eat it every day!

[Lori]

Good LORD! I take back what I said in the last (most recent post). I bow down to you and your level of patience. lol Just kidding. Looks like a fantastic Thanksgiving and well worth the drive.

[Laurie]

We are serious road trippers too and I also get majorly motion-sick. My "secret" is transderm v patches (scopalmine ?) I can read with these things on - no sleepiness, just a dry mouth. It's made a world of difference in our travels! Hope it helps...

[katherine]

oh my word... loved this post! I read a lot, but hardly comment. :) My eyes teared up at the Alabama State sign... my home state! I was there for Thanksgiving... and then the Broken Arrow/Tulsa sign... my hometown now! I'm sure I drove the same highways as you with my own 3 little monkeys this Turkey break. Love love LOVE reading your blog. You're so fun!

[Wendy @ Living Creatively]

Great, great, great pictures... and you are so close!! I live in NW Arkansas.

We love Apples to Apples, too. One of my favorite family games!

[Stephanie]

Okay, I cut you some slack when you came to Atlanta a few weeks ago to Coke, but COME ON...Twice in a month and you think you need to spend it with family and not all your Atlanta bloggers!!! No, I'm glad you had a great Thanksgiving, but you're going to have to get yoself back here to take pictures of us...can I get an amen out there ladies!!! I fell in love with your photography a couple of years ago and I was so sad to discover you were in Kansas, boo hoo. I found a great gal locally, who is "just a mom who likes to take pictures" too, but I would still love a session with you. Perhaps, you can sweet talk your hubby into an Easter trip back east!!! You can sign me up for your first session! Love ya

[Laura J]

Awww, I'm so jealous you were THAT close to Broken Arrow and Tulsa. DH and I are from there (and miss it terribly), but the military has taken us elsewhere.

I hope you all had fun on your trip! :)

[Cherry]

Well put, sir, well put. I'll ceartinly make note of that.