Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving this year found us on the road back to the cousins' house.  The kids are always ecstatic to head on over, and this year we had the added bonus of being able to spend time with Scott's parents as well!  We experienced quite a rocky start on Wednesday before finally getting on the road, but once we were on our way, the children settled down quite nicely -- let's just say that a certain child REALLY did not feel like he should have to do any chores or get anything done before leaving for our trip that day.

THANKFULLY {Get it?? hahaha.}, it was pretty smooth sailing for the entire drive over.  Alex and Jane conked out almost immediately, Ethan and Grace had their iPods for company, and Sophie had the Kindle all to herself.  :)

For the rest of the post, I'll leave you with a BUNCH of pictures, and my running commentary on all the things I'm thankful for.  Because everyone loves a humble brag.  Hahahahaha.  I'm just kidding, I'm just kidding.  Suffice it to say that I have MUCH to be grateful for, even when things don't sail smoothly.  

Here are the highlights of our trip:

• LOTS of late nights for everyone.  And not enough sleep for the kids.  :) {Even if the following two shots would have you believe otherwise.}

• Lots of fun was had around the house.   Between cousin friends to play with, games and electronics, and a substantial pool of markers and notebooks to draw from, the kids made the most of their time together!

 Alex REALLY enjoyed lining up these Qwirkle Cubes.  After lining them up as circles, he said -- "Let's do the superhero side!"  After a few seconds of staring, I realized the shape he was talking about looks exactly like a comic book sound effects bubble.  Hahaha.  I wonder if Alex thinks in terms of "Zap!" and "Kapow!"  Hahahaha.

 Meanwhile Jane was happily distracted from her exclusion by the big girls, in this on-the-fly idea of mine for her to make turkey name cards for our turkey dinner.

• A Thanksgiving Feast was devoured!  Many, many thanks to Kristin and Janice for preparing pretty much everything.  My only contribution was a French Apple Pie.  And I totally botched the crust.  :(

 Gobble!  Gobble!

 She purposely chose the "berry color" for the feathers on my bird because she said she knew I would love it.  :)

•  A movie was attended.  {Not pictured, but we all LOVED Big Hero 6.}

• And a Children's Museum outing was organized.  Scott's mom gave us all an early Christmas present by funding our trip to the Indianapolis Children's Museum.  It was the bomb.  Even if it did take a long time to get there.  The kids were in heaven as we spent most of Black Friday playing and exploring and then picking out a toy from the store on the way out. 

 Hahahaha.

 The carousel was a must for all the kids.  Scott graciously went on with the little ones, so that I wouldn't have to.  :)  Here he is with Alex and Jane.

  Ethan and Jonah hopped on as well...

 ...as did Sophie, Hannah, and Grace.

 The China exhibit was probably my favorite thing there, and Jane seemed to love it as well.

 This "Magic Water Paper" is pretty much the coolest thing ever.  Jane spent a LONG time standing there and "painting" some Chinese calligraphy.   And I don't have pictures, but the older girls LOVED the panda exhibit around the corner.  They have spent A LOT of time since our outing creating panda research centers -- first at the cousins' house and now that we're home Grace has turned her closet and the corner of Sophie's room into research centers as well.  You could say that the panda is now her second favorite animal.

 This giant slide had the giant line to match.  But that didn't stop them all from wanting to go down a few different times!  Hahaha.

• And finally, the highlight of Alex's vacation was hauling around a brand-new carrying case that now houses his growing collection of action figures.  He had me take pictures of SEVERAL different guys, but I'll spare you and post only a few.   :)

  The Joker

 Clayface

And Thor!

And that's a wrap!  We came home Saturday evening just in time to eat dinner, put the little kids in bed, and make the older kids shower.  {There was not a whole lot of clothes-changing going on while at the cousins'.  Hahahaha.}  We are certainly grateful to live close enough to family to be able to spend time together for the holidays!!!  Stay tuned for the lighting of the tree...