Various events and holidays =D

---

Many things have happened to me in the space of about a month, so here’s a blog dedicated to those particular things.

So it was time to experience my first Thanksgiving with the Becks.
The day itself was considerably lazy, the American spirit was high and facebook was filled with thankful statuses.
Our plan for the day was to go and eat ourselves into a coma at the Uelman house (long time friends of Will and his family) and subsequently sleep it off the next day.
There was so much food to choose from; a HUGE turkey, green bean casserole, sweet potatos (candied yams) 2 types of stuffing and all the pumpkin and apple pie we could ask for.
I couldn’t finish an entire plate, as I had not been properly “trained” over the years, but Will started his second plate and soon became subject to what we all referred too as the “meat sweats”: sweating caused by too much meat, or just too much food in general. We all eventually got them, and soon became one with the couch.
The Uleman’s big floppy dog Hampton (who was only about a year old) was on the constant lookout for shoes, bags, cameras, books or anything else he could get his teeth into and nom the hell out of, so we moved anything that was not attached to the ground up to a higher level.
The night ended with watching the rest of the football game and eating dessert (which wasn’t easily done) and then head home to relax.


Not long after, it was time for Daddy and Carolyn to arrive!! After many texts and phone calls back and forth, Dad had finally arrived in Tampa late Friday night after a long few days of flights and business meetings. Having not seen either of them for about 5 months, it was so lovely to see someone from home, someone that was a familiar face. Apart from the slight problem of the hire car not being booked properly, the drive to the hotel was fine and the hotel room was amazing. After about an hour of chatting we left Dad and Carolyn for the night to recover from their jetlag at their hotel called the Sandpearl Resort. Such a beautiful hotel, lovely staff and wonderful food.
I spent the first day relaxinging around the hotel with Dad and Carolyn, walking along the beach and taking photos. We had a lovely lunch on the beach and then met up for dinner with Will later on in the evening.
Come Monday, we decided it was time to explore a little, and although Will was at home studying for exams, we all set out on an adventure to find the “mall” and buy a nav man to get around. Since I’ve only lived here for 5 months, I still didn’t quite know how to get to the mall, so it was an interesting experience to say the least. We found everything okay, with Dad dropping me off back at the Beck’s house and meeting/re meeting adam and maeghan. Over the last couple of days, I took them to the local park up the street and we spotted all types of animals around: squirrels, otters, alligators, turtles, pelicans and other various birds. They both thoroughly enjoyed Steak and Shake (which they should!) and were amazed by the different lifestyle over here.
On their very last day, we went to Busch Gardens. I had never been there during the day with Will, so it was a perfect excuse to go and enjoy the rides and animals. We saw giraffes, zebras, lions, tigers, kangaroos (yes I know) AND wallabies haha. And orang-utans, elephants, alligators and birds.
But of course, after the animals it was time to get on Shiekra! Dad and Carolyn were hesitant at first, but both got on it and rode it like champs! I was so proud. Both were astounded by the drop, seeing as you don’t quite understand how severe the drop is until you’re at the top of the ride, and can’t do ANYTHING to get off it except ride it on. Hahahahaha.
Once we got off, all slightly dizzy and wind-blown, we got a look at the photo that gets taken just as you reach the bottom; Carolyn with a look of pure terror on her face, Dad shocked by the drop, and of course me and will who knew when to expect the camera and grillin’ hard! :D
We finished the day by going out for dinner with Dad and Carolyn at this lovely Island restaurant on the water that had amazing food.
Thursday was the day to say goodbye to them both, and it was hard to say goodbye again but it would be less than a month until I saw them again, so not to worry.

It was time for the happiest time of the year! Christmas was nearing and all the lights were on houses and the weather was cold :D The shops were unbearable and it was nearing the big day, and we still had Christmas shopping to do!
I had finished most of it, but I still needed one or two things from the mall and seeing as I can’t drive, Will had to struggle through carparks to find a spot. It was genuinely crazy.
So once the Christmas shopping was done and everything wrapped, all we had to do was wait!
On Christmas eve we’d planned to have the Uelman’s over for Christmas dinner and drinks. They arrived at around 7 and the snacks started. The appetisers are always such a bad idea, because it fills me up too quickly and I can’t eat the delicious main meal that is waiting! Somehow I managed to try a bit of everything (honey baked ham, potato salad, green bean casserole, a few types of stuffing and other various goodies!) and lets not forget the chocolate mousse and pie that we had for dessert.
OH, Adam decided that he would be stupid enough to drink ham infested water should I give him $5, and I guess I was stupid enough to accept that wager and lose my money… although it was great watching him actually drink ham-ey water hahahahaha.
Once the meat sweats had set in, it was time to sit back and relax, and watch the classic “A Christmas Story” until it was time to go home. Altogether a very lovely night as an excuse to eat, and eat, and EAT. Come Christmas day we had nothing but leftovers and a terrible appetite due to the amount of eating in the past few weeks. But it was time to open presents! Which is totally okay with me! I was spoiled by Frances and Bill, having received gifts that I didn’t expect, and Mr. Squishable from Will :D The day was relatively lazy, Will and I decided to go and hang out with Trevor for a couple of hours and order chinese on Christmas day, the best idea we had all day!

It was off to Louisiana the next day, so an early night sleep was in order for a long few days of nothing but driving.

---