I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday! We had such a great time - here's a quick recap of what we did! On Wednesday, we met some of our family from Adam's side at the Gaylord Texan hotel in Grapevine. G.G. and Grackle (Adam's grandparents), Uncle Collin and his girlfriend Amy, and Tootsie (Adam's mom) all joined us for a two night stay. We had a little trouble with the whole check-in thing when we got there - in fact we had to change rooms 2 times, which is not that fun with two little ones trailing along! But we survived and we were all so happy just to be together. That night we ate at a wonderful Mexican food restaurant in downtown Grapevine, and then we went back to the hotel for an exciting game of Cranium! One tip for this game is don't let Tootsie be the drawer!! She gets so tickled at her drawings that somehow when we were supposed to be guessing "dog" all Amy and I could come up with was "United States" and "Utter". I must say that the ladies smeared the men two nights in a row on this game!
On Thanksgiving Day, we enjoyed the huge buffet breakfast, swam in the pool, ate Thanksgiving dinner at Luby's and, visited Mrs. Clause and her live reindeer, and just enjoyed the company of family! While we were eating at Luby's we had a big surprise snowfall! The biggest flakes I've ever seen. Adam and Jonah ran out and caught snowflakes in their mouth, a first snowfall classic! Snowfall is definitely a shock on Thanksgiving in Texas! It didn't stick of course, but it made the moment seem a little bit magical! Oh yeah- after that we caught a little of the Cowboy game too - go Cowboys!! We also ended the night with reminiscing stories and playing our own version of Balderdash. Amy's brother, John, joined us for dinner and games, he definitely got a taste of our zany family!
Oh - Uncle Collin and Grackle had a little too much fun with my oldest son! As they were all sitting by the indoor river in the hotel, they proceed to try and convince Jonah to jump in the river and ride the big fish that's in there. Jonah really did not want anything to do with it, but with the convincing of one precious uncle and grandfather, let's just say he was shirtless, shoeless and sockless by the time they decided to stop him! It's always amazing to me the power of a little testosterone and a challenge! Uncle Collin - I will return the favor to your kids one day!
Overall, our trip was so wonderful. I wouldn't necessarily say it was relaxing (I don't know if that word exists with a 3 and 1 year old ), but it was definitely worth every minute!!
On Friday, we ventured to my parents church fellowship hall in Freestone, Texas. Of course we were already running late, and lo and behold our oldest had to go the bathroom! Why does it always seem to happen that way? My family always made fun of me when I was little, because they said I knew every bathroom in the state of Texas! Can I help it if I had a small bladder?! That's a whole other conversation...
All of my family was there (Aunt Donna, Uncle Dennis, my cousin Brandon and his wife Michelle, Byron and his girlfriend Bekah, my grandparents Pappa and Annie V., Papa John and Mama Gina, my sister Michelle, her husband Jason and their two kids Landry and Logan, my brother Mike and his daughter Myka)!
We had a a huge meal complete with all the trimmings, including my mom's fantastic chicken and dressing. It has little pieces of chicken in it and it is wonderful! It was my Mamma's recipe and her legacy lives on! After we ate, we had our annual football game! Jonah kept running up to everyone saying, "I feel a tackle coming on!". As a little boy, he just enjoyed getting to run freely, tackle people, and make as much noise as possible! Isn't that every little boy's dream!
It was just so nice to be all together with family this Thanksgiving! I remember my grandparents saying that when I was little, but I don't think you really appreciate it until you have a family of your own! Family is precious!
3 comments:
It was wonderful, Mandy! And it was actually four times that we changed rooms before we got settled. You were too busy chasing kids to know exactly how many times we moved. Family is so important and what a blessing to be with everyone. When y'all left to go to your parents, we took Collin and Amy to the airport. I couldn't help but shed a few tears, knowing how long it would be before I saw them again. Collin went into the airport, changed their reservations for the next day and called us to turn around and pick them up to visit some more. I think since I don't cry very often, it is difficult to take when I do. I'll have to pinch myself from now on if it means getting to spend more time with my family. :) I'm so very thankful for all the love we share. Did you notice we had the two cutest kids at the Gaylord? Little precious babies, their Tootsie loves them so much.
Once Adam told me he could teach me to draw. He sat me down and told me to draw something. He then picked it up and studied it for a long time and said, "I can't teach you to draw, you only see in one dimension." So, most likely, getting the United States and utters out of my drawing a dog (with my eyes closed) would have looked the same with my eyes open. Not my strong suit for sure, but it was so much fun.
Thanks for a great Thanksgiving!
Grackle and I had the best time ever. Being with all of you just
made it as special as it gets!!
We relived so much of it on the trip home. Jonah and riding the
fish will become a delightful story
to tell for years to come.
We love our family and cherish every moment of these past few days. Thanks to each and every one for the love we share. GG/Grackle
You have such a beautiful way of expressing your feelings! Even a big sister can learn from such wisdom. (Obviously you learned it from me anyway...probably on the day that I was supposed to be on the top bunk! hee, hee ) You have such a sweet family. Thank you for sharing stories and pictures with us. I am hoping to get a digital camera for Christmas so that we can do the same. You have inspired me! I love you!
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