Since it is the day after Thanksgiving, the Christmas season can officially begin (even though in many cases it began the day after Halloween). :-) Tonight Miss Eliza, Sarah, Joel, and I got to go over to the cute town of Pendleton to attend the Christmas tree lighting ceremony there on the town square behind Farmer's Hall. It was so much fun, and Eliza loved getting bundled up and looking at her reflection in the giant Christmas tree ornaments. It was exactly what you would imagine a small town Christmas gathering to be like--there was music, hot apple cider, and hugs and greetings all around. After the Christmas season kick-off, Sarah and Joel took me to their favorite restaurant: Just More Barbecue, which is only open on Fridays and Saturdays--very exclusive! It was a great place--very Southern. The food there was delicious, the people were very nice, and they had a fun blue grass band playing there in the restaurant. Now I can see why they like that place so much. We were all a little sad tonight though because we had to say goodbye to Mom, Dad, and Rich at the airport this afternoon. Here are some fun pictures that we took at Sarah and Joel's earlier today before they flew back to Utah. That is the one downside of going to school in Illinois--it's too far away from the family! I don't know how I'll say goodbye to little Miss Eliza tomorrow!! She is one of the four sweetest babies ever born (the other three are Camden, Riley, and Sidney)! It has been so much fun to spend the week having nothing but fun with the baby. Her hair is adorable, and her big, wide smile is the cutest thing ever. I'm glad we at least have pictures, e-mail, and phones so that we don't seem so far away from everyone--even if we are far away.
Today after we took Mom, Dad, and Rich to the airport, Sar, Joel, Eliza, and I went on an adventure to the Museum and Library of the Confederacy, hidden in a little neighborhood in Greenville. It was so cool! It was this funny little house that had been turned into a museum. Our favorite things to see were the boots of the tallest Confederate soldier, who, for a time, had the record as the tallest man on earth. He was born in Greenville, SC, so he is especially famous in South Carolina. He was seven feet, seven-and-a-half inches tall! His feet were humongous!! The Sons of Confederate Veterans working at the museum were very nice, and one of the men was telling me about some of his ancestors from Paris, Illinois, which is just up the road from Charleston. He said he's going to send me copies of some of his ancestor's letters, which will be very cool. After the museum, we went to this funny store full of Confederate stuff, and I couldn't help but get the flag of the Mississippi Republic! Did you even know that there was such a thing? I hadn't ever seen one of the flags for sale before, so I couldn't resist :-) When Mississippi seceded in 1861 (it was the second state to do so--after South Carolina), they formed the Mississippi Republic and adopted a new flag featuring a magnolia tree--very cool. I won't be flying it from any flagpoles in Illinois (the Land of Lincoln), but it's kind of fun to have. Well, it has certainly been a fun week with the family here in the South, and I'm kind of afraid to head back to cold Illinois, but I'm also looking forward to seeing Greg and the crazy HA classmates again. It's going to be a crazy couple of weeks between now and when the semester ends, but I've gotten some good rest this week and am ready (sort of) to hit the ground running again.
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