Thanksgiving in KS - Monday

The time has finally arrived for our annual Thanksgiving trek to Kansas!  We left yesterday around 2 pm...just in time for the boys to take their naps in the car.  They traveled really well on the trip up.  We stopped north of Oklahoma City at a Cracker Barrel for dinner.   Chuck and Lou Ann (Ann's parents) always stop at Cracker Barrels and since Mike and the boys had never eaten at one, we decided to give it a try.  My favorite thing (this might seem kinda strange) was their booster seats!  They were so cool!  They were mini wooden chairs with the legs cut off that they strapped onto one of the regular seats. 

We arrived at Grammy's house after 10 pm and put the kids straight to bed.  This morning we got to have breakfast with Grammy before she left for work and the the boys convinced Mike to play ball outside.

Barrett looked a little confused.  I think he was wondering how it was almost 80 degrees yesterday (in Texas) and this morning it's in the 30's!

I decided to sit inside and enjoy my hot tea rather than freezing outside!

Around lunch time we headed over to Chris & Teri's house in Sterling.  Mike was looking forward to spending a few days hunting with Chris.  Brody was excited to play with Collin, Hans, & Alan (and their trampoline, the toys in their basement, and their HUGE Nerf gun).  After the boys took a nap, Teri and I waited outside with them for the school bus to arrive.  We were all shocked when one of the cats jumped up on the trampoline with Brody!  He actually sat up there for a few minutes while Brody bounced.  That's one brave cat!

 

The cat was nowhere to be seen once the kids got home from school and the older boys joined Brody on the trampoline!

Instead, it sat up on the porch by Barrett.  I'm not sure this was the smartest cat.  It went from jumping on a trampoline with a 4 year old to sitting on a porch by a 2 year old toting a chainsaw!  (Yes, it's fake...but Barrett pretended it was real and wanted to cut anything from wood to the appendage of anyone who'd stand still!)

Finally Collin announced that he needed to go inside and do his homework.  Brody offered to help and sat right next to Collin watching him work for a good 5-10 minutes....until Alan asked if he wanted to go downstairs to play.  He decided playing was more fun that watching someone do homework.

Mike and Chris had a successful afternoon hunting birds and when it was quitting time (dark), we loaded up the car and headed back to Grammy's.  She fixed us and yummy dinner and we spent some time talking/playing before bedtime.  She's been working on finishing out the upstairs rooms in her new home and the boys were excited to get to sleep upstairs.  Grammy read them a story before bed in her new sitting room upstairs.

Baby Bella in the leaves

 

Thanksgiving at Ron & Jan's

Today we gathered at Ron & Jan's house to celebrate Josh & Julie's birthdays and to have a Thanksgiving feast. 

The kids ate really fast and then went outside to play.  We found Collin and Brody doing very random things every time we checked on them (like trying to walk across the yard on the fence!)

Katelyn is a little monkey and I caught her climbing a tree.

At one point the kids were starting to argue so I suggested they rake all the leaves in the yard into a big pile that they could jump into.  (I figured it'd take them a long time to rake up all the leaves...and that they'd have to work together to get it done!) 

 

Even little Bella helped...

When they got enough leaves (according to them) raked into a pile, they took turns jumping into the pile and throwing leaves at each other.

Barrett opted to stay inside and play with Tyler in the sunroom.  I think they were fixing things with the pretend tools.

 

Me and Ann :)

When Barrett decided to venture outside, it was because he found something he could drive!  He LOVES to drive!  I think he sat in this car for well over an hour!

Finally all the activity headed to the front yard where Daddy Steve and Tyler played ball with all the kids.

Lauren

 

Tyler and Ann

Doesn't he look so cute in his hat?!

We were at Ron & Jan's house from 11 am until after 4 pm.  Brody and Collin played together the entire time, however, he still had this reaction when I said that it was time to go.....

Today has been a great way to start off our Thanksgiving vacation! 

Loving Hands

I can't see a pecan without thinking about Daddy Ken and Grandmommy.  They have pecan trees in their yard and they have had some years with really good crops!  Several years I've been given gallon zip loc bags full of picked clean pecans.  Delicious!  We were indulging in pecans while chatting on the front porch today and I thought I'd capture the master at work.  Not only are these hands good at picking pecans, there are many many years of love in these hands.  Look at them?  Can't you see the love?!?

 

 

The King and the Princess

When Ginger got off work, she (and Cindy and the girls) came over for a visit.  Brody was super excited to see McKenna again (Barrett was taking a nap).  They decided to use Grandmommy's blankets to turn themselves into a King and a Princess!

It's tough work being royalty...so they had to take a break to eat a few goldfish.

Jayma decided it was a good time for her to get a snack too!

The afternoon went back way too fast and before long it was time to head for home.  Here's Brody saying, "You go head and go home...I'm gonna stay with Grandmommy!"

 

Grandmommy's Front Porch

The boys didn't get the memo that we were up late last night.  They were bight eyed and bushy tailed at 6:45 am!  Grandmommy thought it was funny to watch Barrett play games on my phone.  He played it up for her.

Before long the lack of sleep was showing in Barrett's attitude.  While he spent some time thinking about his attitude, Grandmommy read Brody a book.

We finally decided to give into Brody's pleading to play baseball in the front yard (he asked about ever 30 seconds our entire time in Temple!  He LOVES playing baseball!)  I hadn't heard anything from Barrett in the front bedroom, so I assumed he'd fallen asleep.  As we were going out to the front yard the alarm on the Durango went off...then was quiet...then went off...then was quiet...etc.  I knew immediately that Barrett must have the keys and was pushing the "panic" button!  When I walked into the front bedroom I found him sitting on the bed surrounded by the contents of my purse!  There were also a bunch of gum wrappers.  Come to find out, he'd eaten (meaning swallowed) 9 pieced of gum!!! 

As we headed outside, Sharon arrived!   

We sat out in the front playing ball and watching the boys play ball for almost 4 hours!  There was some additional excitement taking place in Grandmommy's neighborhood.  The city was installing a new sewer line all down Grandmommy's street (in the homeowners back yards).  It was like a dream come true for the boys...tractors, construction workers, and baseball!  It was a gorgeous day, so we didn't mind sitting on the porch watching the boys and talking.

There was only a few places of exposed dirt in Grandmommy front yard...and Brody found them!  What is it that draws boys to dirt?

Barrett asked me to take a picture with him. 

Then he wanted a picture by himself.  Too cute!!

 

It was fun talking with Grandmommy  & Sharon.  The weather was absolutely perfect for relaxing outside. 

Just in time for dinner

Today I picked the boys up from school, stopped by Daddy Steve and Namaw's for a potty break and a quick snack, and then drove to Temple.  We got to Grandmommy's house just a few minutes before Cindy, Ginger, Liz (Bryan's girlfriend), McKenna, and Jayma arrived.  It had been way too long since I'd been to Temple, so it was really good to see everyone.  After talking for a little while (and throwing the ball for Brody to hit with his baseball bat), we load up the cars and headed to Chick-fil-a for dinner.  The kids went back and forth from the food to the play area. 

Cindy invited us to come over to her house after dinner.  I was excited to get to see her playroom (I'd only seen it via pictures on her blog).  The kids went straight to the playroom and found lots of things to play with.  (Side note:  The boys had a Thanksgiving Feast at preschool today and they painted the kids faces like Indians.  The way Barrett's face was painted made everything he said look like it needed an exclamation mark at the end! lol)

I think Brody's favorite thing in the room was Jayma.  He really wanted to hold her like a baby, but she wasn't interested in that.  She wanted to play like the big kids!  She did at least stand by him and "talk" for a little while.

 

What's a trip to Temple without a picture of me and Ginger?!?

Barrett disappeared into the living room for awhile and I found him relaxing in a cute kid sized rocking chair.  Cindy said that Daddy Ken bought it for Ginger when she was little (although it's been reupholstered since then).   

 

When we first got to Cindy's house, Dave was in their bedroom watching a football game.  When the kids got loud enough to make him curious (or maybe it was that he coudn't hear the game anymore), he came out to say hi.  We were all crackin' up when Barrett looked up at him and said, "Were you hiding?"  I think he thought Dave was playing hide and seek and just forgot to tell the kids! 

When the kids started to cry over little things, I glanced at my watch and realized it was almost an hour past bedtime!  We said "goodnight" to Cindy, Ginger, Jesse, Dave, and the girls and headed back to Grandmommy's.  Grandmommy made the boys a pallet on the floor in her front living room and we started a movie.  I had to pause the movie a few times and lay down the law for the boys...but they finally fell asleep and Grandmommy and I stayed up way to late watching a movie...but it was fun!  I always enjoy having some one-on-one time with Grandmommy!