"thankful" is an understatement :)

yes, i'm a little bit behind on the Thanksgiving band-wagon...

but i still wanted to blog about my trip up to sacramento for Thanksgiving.

it was a 9-hour drive that should've taken only 6.  i sat in my car from 1pm-10pm.  my head was throbbing when i arrived and my body twitched with exhaustion.  i thought these signs were going to be the foretelling of a weekend to come.  but alas...they were not. :)

there was sleeping in.  walking leaf-covered trails in the rain with my mom and little sister.  stumbling upon a nest of deer and several turkeys.  breathing in the fresh sacramento air.  

there was seeing breaking dawn part 1 with my little sister in theaters.

then, there was food!  and lots of it: turkey and potatoes and yams and pie and coffee.  followed by endless tournaments of pictionary and apples to apples with the cousins...all accompanied by hysterical laughter that literally shook my grandparent's house.

there was an adventure with the best friend.  warm starbucks cups shaking in my car cupholder while we wound our way up and around the hills we know all too well.  there was lunch and a 3-hour talk over fries and icy cokes about God and friendships and loves and our dreams.  i found immense peace there...over those fries and cokes.  

there was a downtown breakfast of crepes and coffee with an old friend. :) then, putting on santa hats with the family to pull down the Everyday decorations and replace them with  little snowmen and red and white sparkly things that always breathe of things like "peace on earth" and "goodwill toward men."  and this, of course, was accompanied by singing and the reverberation of voices yelling "turn it up!" as we rocked out to our favorite Christmas CD's.

there was a long talk with mama--similar to the ones we always have, never ceasing to be deep and real and close to my heart.

there was the BEST church service i have ever been to in my life--one that rocked my foundation and brought peace to my core.

but you know what my favorite favorite favorite part of all of it was?  the second night at my grandparent's.  when i slipped away from the epic--and very loud--apples to apples tournament to sit with my grandpa in the next room over...in the quiet of the family room, to watch Ratatouille with him.  he pointed out different things in the movie once in awhile and took the time to explain the story to each new person that entered the room.  it was sweet, it was quiet, it was precious.  that, i think, was my most cherished part of Thanksgiving weekend. :)

i also didn't take one picture on my camera the entire 3 days i was home.  and i'm perfectly okay with that because it means i wasn't viewing life behind a lens, but rather, i was living it.

my sister, however, did take some pictures of our rainy Thanksgiving day woods adventure.  so here they are. :)

if you couldn't already tell from my my header, i just adore feet pictures. :)

white shoes: mama; converse: me; boots: my seester, amberly

can you spot a friend?

and another?

i think this is the one of the only pictures i took during our day there.  isn't that the sweetest face you ever did see?

{all the other photos are courtesy of my little sister, amberly shannon.  isn't she phenomenal?}