We made the long, long journey back to Texas to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. It was the first time back for me and the boys since we moved in April, and it was so wonderful to see our friends and family again! I failed to get as many pictures as I should have... for instance, I don't have a single picture of us with the Thomsons. They were our backdoor neighbors, good friends, and gracious hosts for this trip. Thank you, Scott & Debra, for always making us feel so welcome. We can't wait to return the favor whenever you can get up this way!
Here is Maddox on our old playset, which is now in the Thomson's yard. He is just about tall enough to actually enjoy it now!
While in Allen, we also got to see our old house since our friends bought it! Thanks, Cindy, for showing us around! The place looks fabulous (even though you painted over my stripes... *teasing*!) and I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner in your new home.
Our Thanksgiving dinner was held at my brother's house. Here is Maddox with his favorite Uncle...
The dinner was fabulous, and the company even better. So good to see you guys... thanks, Mark & Debbie, for hosting. As always, it was beautiful.
After dinner, some chose to go outside and enjoy the afternoon, as Mark & Chandler above. But others could be found in the typical lounging position, as demonstrated by my nephew, EJ, here:
Mason and Morgan had a long-anticipated opportunity to spend the night with their buddies. Here's Mason with his good friend, Andrew.
In order to drop him off, we had an opportunity to visit with some of our friends too... here I am with my good friends, Jill & Jazen.
There were so many more people I wanted to see, but it was off to east Texas to spend a couple days with my parents before we made the long drive home.
It was such a lovely trip... despite the long drive. The boys really did quite well taking into consideration they sat in such close proximity to one another for about 15-16 hours!
Just look at how much they love each other!!
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving...
Michele
It's been many years since I've driven a car on a regular basis, but the initial weird-ness of feeling as if I'm sitting on the pavement has passed and I'm now enjoying zipping around in the little thing! And grocery shopping is a dream! No more hoisting my little self up into that huge Sequoia... well, we still have it because it's great for road trips. But the poor thing is just sitting all alone wondering why it's being neglected... or maybe it's just happy to be in park. :)
Maddox doesn't care to wear skates, so he just gets pulled in the sled!
The boys certainly surprised me with their talent on the ice. They were speeding along like they do it all the time! They've been on ice rinks before... not a lot, but they've been on ice. Well, this ice is VERY different. It has ruts and grooves and cracks (yes, cracks!) and is not smooth by any stretch of the imagination! Oh, and there's NO walls to cling to!
But they skated along like they've been doing it all their life. I suppose the in-line roller hockey helped out quite a bit.
Me, on the other hand... I just couldn't quite keep my feet steady! I don't remember having this much trouble on an ice rink, but it didn't matter. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and it truly helped it feel like Christmas!
When Maddox had had enough, he and I sat on the side and watched... and amused ourselves with the camera.
Truly a wonderful memory!
Above she is talking to the group about her darling little screech owl. The group loved her, as they always do!
The boys had a fun time dressing up like cowboys in the museum.
Before she left, she let us handle the birds. Below is me with E.T. (stands for Extra Terrific), the Great Horned Owl. 
E.T. is 26 years old and has been in Doris' care the entire time. She was taken from the nest illegally and imprinted onto a human, so she was assigned to Doris since she would never be able to survive in the wild. Doris uses E.T. to educate kids on why we don't ever take birds from their nest. 
Doris is able to tickle E.T. on the beak and feathers, but no one else would ever get away with such a thing! It's amazing to see her relationship with this gorgeous bird.
Cara was legally taken very young for research purposes, but has been in Doris' care for the last 26 years. Cara is very friendly and loves for you pet her on the head. We didn't keep her out here very long, because she's originally from Florida and this Colorado mountain weather was not her cup of tea! See how her feathers are all ruffled out?! She was C-O-L-D!
It is always a joy to spend time with Doris... she has truly become a cherished member of our family.
While in Allen, we also got to see our old house since our friends bought it! Thanks, Cindy, for showing us around! The place looks fabulous (even though you painted over my stripes... *teasing*!) and I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner in your new home.
The dinner was fabulous, and the company even better. So good to see you guys... thanks, Mark & Debbie, for hosting. As always, it was beautiful.
After dinner, some chose to go outside and enjoy the afternoon, as Mark & Chandler above. But others could be found in the typical lounging position, as demonstrated by my nephew, EJ, here:
Mason and Morgan had a long-anticipated opportunity to spend the night with their buddies. Here's Mason with his good friend, Andrew. 
In order to drop him off, we had an opportunity to visit with some of our friends too... here I am with my good friends, Jill & Jazen.
There were so many more people I wanted to see, but it was off to east Texas to spend a couple days with my parents before we made the long drive home.
It was such a lovely trip... despite the long drive. The boys really did quite well taking into consideration they sat in such close proximity to one another for about 15-16 hours! 
Just look at how much they love each other!!