Thanksgiving

This year we invited Michael's brother to our house for Thanksgiving.  We had a huge tasty meal together which was nice.  I've decided the holiday's (Thanksgiving and Christmas) are kindof funny:  you spend 2-3 days cooking and preparing so you don't have to cook for a week. haha.  We loved having lots of left-overs.

 

We couldn't go without a picture of the spread - the jello or pies didn't even make the photo (and they are the prettiest!!)

 After dinner and games it was onto the next tradition: pj's! I bought pajamas last year on clearance instead of making them but I couldn't go without something homemade so I whipped up a few Christmas pillowcases, we didn't want to leave our visiting cousin out either.

 They were happy, I promise.

 Just in case you're keeping tabs we upgraded the tree(s) this year!  I was thrilled to not have the tiny trio of trees again.  People think I'm crazy for having it up before Thanksgiving but its so nice!! December is just too crazy to find time to do everything.  I joked that while others are stressing to put theirs up I'm just hanging out enjoying the lights for a solid 6 weeks, so mock me all you want :) My goal for next year is to finish the tree skirt I started 4 years ago. (the top is done I just need to quilt it- and since I didn't even have a tree to put it under there was no pressure to finish. There are a few other projects in that state. . . . .  I need help).  We picked up pine-boughs again this year and made a wreath and garland.  Not sure if it was the type of tree, our colds or what but they didn't emit as much fragrance this year :(  We lit a candle instead.  Michael stated the smell of chex-mix in the oven is more or a Christmas Scent than a real tree anyway.

 We spent the weekend together mostly hanging out, playing games and a little bit of sight-seeing.

The riverwalk was busy (the day after the lighting) but it was fun and festive to be downtown. 

 I think this was Kelsey's first time to the Alamo, someone new better visit quick so we can take her inside ;).  One of these days I really am going to put together an Alamo scrapbook and only include pictures of people we've gone to the Alamo with as that's the only time we go.

 The girls were exstatic about running across the wood boards here.  Its the simple things in life.

 After walking around to the big tree we decided that was enough for one evening and went home to put the kids to bed and get another game or two in before we had to part ways the following morning. Thanks for joining us Dallas-Allsops, it was new and different to be around family again for a 'big holiday'.

Houston

After our camping trip Michael had meetings most of the week in Houston.  He is now in a different region now and this was his last meeting with most of the people he'd been working alongside.  Sadly no more work trips to Houston for us. :(

 

This was the last time we could tag along for Kelsey's Dr appointment. (I'm REALLY going to miss how convenient that was) I'll start with Kelsey's update. You know what they say about Dr - if you don't have to wait to see them, they aren't good.  And we waited a long time.  That being said, everyone in the waiting room is always to nice to us and the girls.  We were smarter this time and fed them dinner first. haha. Even when the Dr is several hours behind, he never seems rushed.  He's so calm and takes his time with us watching Kelsey play, interact and use her hand/fingers.  He was pleased with how its growing and being used.  He didn't even take an x-ray. He said he'd like to see her in a year and then plan to do the surgery the following year.  That gives her fingers time to get a little bit bigger so they're easier to operate on and then she'd be out of a cast and healing before she'd start school. Works for me!!

 

Since Dad was working on our "vacation" we looked up a few fun things we could do without him. I even took a few crafts to work on in the hotel room while the kids napped.  There were a couple really cool parks right next to each other.  We went a couple times.

 

When was the last time you saw a teeter-totter??

 

 Or how 'bout an old fashioned merry-go-round?  I loved those things as a kid!!

 I'd push the girls and they'd laugh, and I'd run and jump on and they'd laugh even harder. haha. We had a blast!

 Rylee was so proud of herself when she pushed Kelsey and then climbed up while it was still moving.

 She's getting to be such a big girl.

 We were staying close to the temple so we swung by for a look. Most of Michael's co-workers did a session but since we didn't have anyone to watch the kids we didn't go in, and met up with one of Michael's college room mate and his family that evening.  We enjoyed catching up a little bit.  It never seems we get enough time for that.

 The other park we went to had all these fun things built out of wood and tires. They had lots of different swings and things to climb on. fun fun.  San Antonio doesn't have many public parks and they are nowhere near this cool. (most of the parks are within the housing communities and "for residents only")

 Another afternoon we went to the museum of natural science (one day a week is free so we took advantage of that).  I wish I had taken a video or even a still shot of Rylee's face when we first walked into the rooms with all the dinosaur bones.  She was amazed!!  I didn't expect her to enjoy the exhibits as much as she did.  It was more fun watching her learn and ask "what is that?" a thousand times than I anticipated.  Good thing everything was labeled :)

 Apparently this museum has the largest collection of dinosaurs in the nation.  They had several artist depictions of what the animals would look like "in real life" next to the skeletal displays.  It was really cool and brought these fascinating animals 'to life'.  I thought I took a picture of the one where a dinosaur was being eaten by a shark, but apparently I didn't.  You can kindof see what I'm talking about in the corner of the picture below.

The plan was to head home and quickly un and re-pack the car to go to the ward camp-out.  The forecast was cold and rainy to we bailed.  It didn't end up raining but was pretty cold.  It was nice to finally be sleeping in our own bed!

Inks - Pedernales Falls

Day 3 of our camp-out was spent hiking around the park.  Which wasn't Kelsey's favorite part of the weekend.  We even saw a few leaves changing color which is rare around here.  I'd love to go back when its warm enough to swim.

 The girls learned how to properly play with their food.

 We packed the car and started home, but swung by Pedernales Falls (another state park) on our way home.  It was a nice park, but no playground, which is no bueno for this Momma of littles.

 And, they don't even let you swim here and slide down the falls. boring. (or safe, whatever.)

Longhorn Caverns

Once the family had a weekend together, we decided to make good use of it and go camping!

 

We stayed at Inks Lake SP.  We'd never stayed there before. The weather that weekend was absolutely perfect camping weather!  I was nervous it would be cold and packed nearly every blanket that would fit in the car. We used only most of them since Rylee threw up on half of them the first night. {not my favorite part of the weekend}  It was only a little chilly - we didn't even have to have a fire every night/morning but just too cold to want to swim.  I really liked the park a lot.  Its really close to Longhorn caverns aswell so the next morning we headed off to explore the caves. 

 We saw a few bats, and a fair amount of bat residue.

 This formation was pretty cool.  They call him "Rocky the Watchdog" haha.

 These crystals were really cool too, especially when you'd put your flashlight up against it.

 There is this big open area and it used to be a restaurant in the 1800's.  Seriously.  The kitchen is above ground and they would sent the food down and dirty dishes back up via a bucket. They would have dances there and then afterward everyone would head to the state park to "bathe" They've since put in a little elevator and they still cater special events.  The girls are on a stage that bands play on.  Only acustic instruments allowed but its supposedly amazing.  They between 5-10 weddings a year.  And they have Christmas Caroling and Santa events during the winter.  Interesting, right?

 We passed this giant castle on the way in as well.  The people at the headquarters told us the guy who invented scoopable kitty liter owns it, and it is 1/4 of the size of the castles it was modeled after in England.

I joked how strange, yet completely awesome it was to be packing to go camping while listening to Christmas music.