Stuffed

This past Thanksgiving we continued our tradition of renting a house in the mountains of Kentucky and  joining our favorite family members from up north. Lake Cumberland turned into our home for three days as we filled the cupboards with yummy food, took advantage of the fire pit for s'mores and the hot tub for relaxing mornings/evenings, and watched endless hours of football on a tiny television. We were without internet but I would say it was for the better, as we were all forced to put down our smart phones and interact with each other instead.

On Thanksgiving day, we, as a family, drove an hour away to participate in a small-town 5K nestled around the University of the Cumberlands. When I say small, I mean small. The race had a total of 290 participants and the 1st place winner of each age group went home with a homemade pie made from scratch. In 2010, we managed to bring home at least four pies, so the pressure was on! With the race getting bigger and bigger each year, the chances of bringing home a pie are getting pretty slim. I managed to get through the hilly course with a time of 27:07 landing me second in my age group. So close! Although I was proud of my time, I was no longer guaranteed for the precious pie we had been looking forward to for months. After the majority of the crowd left, my cousin and I asked the Mayer (yes, the Mayor attends every year and is the one in charge of giving out the pies) of the town if we could still take home a pie. He said as long as there were pies on the table, we could help ourselves! We picked out three desserts and happily headed home!

Although I was exhausted from the race, I managed to help prepare the feast for the first time in my Thanksgiving history. I'm not gonna lie, I was a little terrified that the food wouldn't turn out well but to my surprise, it was the best tasting everything had ever tasted! I was very proud of myself, along with my Sister, Aunt, Mom and Michael for coming together and pulling off a great dinner in an afternoon's time!

Black Friday arrived but since we were in the Boonies, there was no sense in driving into town and trying to get a good deal on clothes and gifts. Instead, we headed towards the State Park and did a one mile hike to see the Natural Arch. It was a pretty site and well worth the trek through all the leaves and hills.

The night ended with s'mores and a game of Cranium that had us laughing until midnight. We awoke the next morning with a long trip ahead, sad to leave family but looking forward to next year! Until then, Kentucky!