A time for Thanksgiving

I did it! I'm all caught up on the 2017 blog. Did I leave some things out? Sure I did, but limited time, limited facts, limited mistakes.

We are getting much better at packing for long trips but the actual driving part is about the same. We left on Wednesday to get to Dallas just in time for an afternoon at 6flags. It was a chilly day and the fast rides made it even chillier but the kids had a great time. I thought I might snag a Christmas card photo, but no such luck.

We got done in time to grab some pizza to go and take a quick swim in the hotel pool. The pool was green and extra salty which I remember seeing at the last Summer Olympics. I kept telling the kids, "It's okay, it just looks funny. They only delayed the diving competition because they couldn't see the bottom." I'm not sure that is actually true, perhaps the Olympic competition was delayed because it's not healthy to have green water.

On Thanksgiving, we headed further South to meet up with the McDannel clan in Waco. Matalley was looking forward to the Green Bean Casserole and Millie was excited to see Mac'n cheese. Grayson happened to step in a fire ant pile as we were exiting the car so he wasn't very excited to sit still and be reminded of all his itches. (Poor G is still scratching at those bites). Lola wore a dress my Great Grandmother made for my Mom when my Mom was in 1st grade. I love the pattern and that Lola was so excited to wear it.

We spent the afternoon playing Dutch Bliss, putting puzzles together and eating. Unfortunately the pool at the second hotel was an outdoor pool so we bypassed swimming but enjoyed a Hallmark movie and multiple trips to the van to bring up stuff we'd forgotten.

On Friday, we drove to Groesbeck to see Mimi and enjoyed some good conversation before heading North to Dallas. We ate at a yummy Mexican restaurant named Matt's that had a kid at every table even though there wasn't any kids entertainment. It was the oddest thing to see so many families but also refreshing and a relief to watch other parents chorale itty bitties. We got to stay at Aunt Jackie's new home which was very nice and had a play room. Bedtime was the most difficult of the trip Friday night and I lost my patience several times. Millie kept asking me, "are you mad Mommy?"

We helped prepare a second Thanksgiving meal with the McDannel clan which was also delicious and then headed over to see Santa. Millie was just in awe of the man and kept touching his beard. Grayson said he would take a picture but would not sit on his lap. We attended a story time with Santa earlier and Millie was so taken by Santa and followed every word. It really is magical to watch kids interact with Mr. Claus.

With that, we grabbed a couple of black Friday deals and headed home to Amarillo. We rolled into our garage a little after midnight and claimed it a successful trip. I can't say that I wasn't totally exhausted but I loved having Sunday to relax and put up our Christmas decorations. Whether we are ready for the Christmas season or not, it's on it's way and I'm so grateful we have it to look forward to!