food baby

so I'm thinking everyone is under the impression that I have babies on the brain.

this would make for baby post #3 right?

Wrong.

This is my Thanksgiving update!

And oh boy...

there is too, too much to say.

There always is when we venture down to Rockville.

This year I celebrated my first Thanksgiving with Mr. Parker

and experienced my first Thanksgiving away from home.

I missed my family dearly.

They're the loves of my life.

But luckily, I never feel far from home when I'm with the DeMilles

because they've somehow become the loves of my life too.

I've always found it startling how much you can grow to love someone in such a short time.

I usually reference this idea when I'm babbling on about my Parker

and I somehow forget that this is exactly how I feel about my family-in-law.

So tonight, I'm going to ditch the "in-law."

Because they're family.

Simple as that.

This Thanksgiving I had the chance to see for myself why there's such hub-bub about Rockville holidays.

Mix a fun family,

with fantastic food,

football fanatics,

feisty gamers,

and the freedom to run and ride and relish in the good 'ol outdoors,

and you have ROCKVILLE.

Parker's piece of heaven on earth.

When Parker and I create worlds someday, we'll recreate Rockville. Guaranteed.

Like I said...I have too much to say.

So I'll keep it simple.

Tristan and Kristy are THE most gracious hosts I've ever met.

No one goes home from a DeMille gathering without feeling absolutely, positively spoiled by these two.

Whether you're looking to

feel loved,

forget your worries,

make memories,

or taste the very sweetest of sugar cookies,

you'll find it all here.

The Bodilys, Rowes, & Baxters are a RIOT!

Oh my does this group know how to have fun!

If you're a Bodily, you're an entertainer.

No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

They'll make you laugh.

They'll make you cry

They'll even make you pee a little

(though no one but a Bodily would ever openly admit this).

They'll make you feel like you're the most important person in the room;

like you're part of their posse;

like you're the only one they came see!

And they'll make you wish you lived closer so you could see them all the time.

The Langstons make the party.

Their love of life is infectious;

their competitive spirit contagious;

their ability to "say-it-like-it-is" a most sought after disease.

They know what it's like to just "chill"

and are one of the few couples who make me feel like it's okay to unwind and enjoy the moment.

Plus I love their boys.

Mike & Parker are the best biking instructors I know.

If people say you can't teach talent,

they're wrong.

Because these two transformed this abysmal rider

into a mountain-biking animal.

They taught me what it means to be tuff;

to be fearless;

and how it feels when you fight your way to the summit

and relish in that rush of adrenaline as you fly back down.

(granted, my summits were more like big boulders.

gotta start somewhere, right?)

And Kaits is the best sister-in-law a girl could ask for.

She plays makeover even when she doesn't really want to.

She "fixes" anything and everything in the family that needs to be fixed.

(she's a master with the bro-mance)

And she's incredibly brave to follow her heart and do what she knows is right,

even if it's not exactly what she'd originally envisioned herself doing.

So excited for you Kaitlin!

I could go on and on about my family.

And my Thanksgiving.

But sadly my vacation's over.

It's time to face the harsh realities of life as a student.

Essays, research papers, capstone projects, and the like.

But before I jump into that,

let's have just one last laugh.

Because that's really all we do in Rockville anyway

:)

Our Thanksgiving 2010 Quote Wall

From the "Coke is Evil" Campaign

David & Jacob: "What if Coke was beer?"

Paul: "What if butterflies were dinosaurs?"

Ethan: "Mixing Coke with Diet Coke is like mixing beer with alcohol!"

Paul: "To think anyone would ever put alcohol with beer!"

Tyler: "What's in it?"

Paul: "Water & cancer."

From the Ticket to Ride Table

Kristy: (when Paul places his trains in the middle of two tracks)

"I'm beginning to think you're bi-tracktual!"

Karen: (trying to relay the story) "Parker, did you hear your mom talking about the bisexual railroad?"

Amber: "Whoa! Mom! Way off base."

Karen: "What???"

Amber:(leading her away from the table) "When you start a story you don't know how to tell, it's best to just walk away."

5 minutes later

Karen: "Oh! Bi-tracktual! I meant bi-tracktual."

(Her realization is met by blank stares. It's impossible to understand the meaning of a made up word like 'bi-tracktual' out of context.)

(from someone in the living room)

"Gosh is smells in here!"

Kristy: "Ok...who made the fluffer?"

(when Tristan, the least competitive train conductor, blocks Kristy's route)

Kristy: "Tristan! Did you do that on purpose?"

Tristan: (smiling as he arranges his trains) "I sure did!"

From the Phase 10 Fest

Amber: "Gosh! I am just a gluten for punishment."

Paul: "And I eat glutton-free food!"

Calling Houston "Hudson."

Got me every time...

On the Great Costco Excursion

Kristy: "Amber, get your bi-tracktual husband. We're going shopping!"

Kristy: "Let's make sure to get the one ones!"

Amber: "Yes. I'll walk right up and ask, 'Sir, can you point me in the direction of the one ones?' We'll be in and out in no time!"

(discussing the advantages to buying feminine products in bulk)

Paul: "And you can use it as a travel pillow!"

During the Sheet-Changing Spectacular

(As Houston fails, for the third time, to properly secure the fitted sheet.)

Chelsey: "There's our Sterling Scholar!"

(as I gather my things to head out on our "girls'" trip to St. George)

("girls'" is in quote because Paul accompanied us)

Parker: "What are you going get?"

Chelsey: "I'm not sure just yet. We'll see what I find!"

Parker: "I can already tell this is a bad idea. It's like going to the grocery store hungry."

Right at the start of the Rivalry Game

(the boys are bashing Paul for routing for the Utes)

Chelsey: "But boys, what's the deal? Your dad likes Utes too."

David: "Yeah, our dad's an idiot."

(This sounds so incredibly cruel, but you'd find it hilarious if you knew how much these boys idolize their dad. They just bleed blue...)

Tyler: "Chelsey and Parker sittin' in a tree. K-I-S-S-Y-AND-G.

First comes love, then comes a baby in a baby carriage."

Chelsey: "Ty, you forgot marriage!"

Tyler: "Oh no! You can't have a baby without marriage!"

Later...

Tyler: "Then they kissed a lot and had a baby!"

(and then he returns to the chorus. "Chelsey & Parker sittin' in a tree...")

During Makeover Madness

Kaitlin: "So when exactly did I get picked to be the dummy?"

Lara: "When you decided to not put any makeup on this morning."

Chelsey: "Just go back to your angry birds...we'll be done long before you're bored of it."

Random Quotes from Amber's Blog

(Tristan pops up and begins helping Amber fluff Paul's curls)

Tristan: "I've always wanted to know what curly hair felt like!"

Mike: "It's so nice to be out in the country. It's great to just get away from it all."

Jake: "Yeah! We don't even watch TV...mostly because it's not in HD and it's fuzzy."

(David's evaluation of Paul on our last morning)

David: "Amber, Paul is really funny, but he sleeps in too late and has weird hair. Any every time you say something to make him feel silly, he says something to make you feel more silly."

As Amber blogged..."well said David!"

Special thanks to Amber for all these fabulous photos too!

This post would have been a boring wall of words without her.

Oh what would Rockville be without our quote wall?

Thanks again everyone for every. thing.

I had the happiest of Happy Thanksgivings!