Thanksgiving Week

The kids were all off from school the entire week of Thanksgiving, and we were able to do some fun things and get some work accomplished. The first three days of the break Ray took Allison to go visit his mom in Kentucky. They had a great time and enjoyed spending time with Grandma. The highlight of the trip, besides eating at Skyline, was visiting the Miami of Ohio campus where Ray went to college. While they were there, they saw a hockey game, and got to meet Swoop, the Redhawk mascot. It was a lot of fun for Allison, but truth be told, Ray was beside himself. He is bragging now that Swoop is his new friend on Facebook. Besides the game, they were able to go to church with Grandma, visit the cemetery, and eat out with some of the Gerdes clan. The last day there, Allison enjoyed going to the salon to have her nails and hair done with Grandma. It was a successful trip, and next time Daddy is going to take Caroline with him for a special visit.

While they were gone, Gram and I took Will and Caroline to the tree lighting ceremony at the Southlake Town Center. We went out to dinner at Mi Cocina, and then enjoyed all the festivities. They were able to paint ornaments, get character balloons, and get their face painted. There was beautiful Christmas music being sung everywhere, and between that and the lights, we really got into the Christmas spirit. I know, it wasn’t even Thanksgiving yet! The next day Gram and I did some Christmas shopping, and then she kept the kids overnight for a sleepover, so I got some really good sleep. It was great being able to sleep until I woke up. I can’t remember the last time I did that.

The next day, Tuesday, our good friends the Dunbars, minus Marty, were in town, and we got to spend several hours with them. Jami and I talk a lot through email, facebook, and the occasional phone call, but it was so nice to be able to sit and talk and really catch up. They kids enjoyed seeing each other, especially Allison and Jillian. I met Jami when I was pregnant with Allison, and Jillian was just a baby. They are nine months apart and have been friends their whole life. We felt so lucky to get some time in with our special friends.

Wednesday, I made the long drive to Madearis and took the kids to have formal pictures taken at the place that I have used for years. Santa is usually there, but he had been there while Allison was in Kentucky, so we had to settle for just the scene they had set up. They did great, and we captured the year!

Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, I got up and went and ran the 8 mile Turkey Trot in Downtown Dallas by myself. I have always wanted to do that and have been running some, so I decided to do it. It gave me more permission to eat more turkey later in the day. I would love to have done it with someone, but I actually had a great run and would do it again. We spent the rest of the day at Gram and Grandpa’s house with Uncle Bill, Aunt Kristen, Katherine, and Libby. As always, Gram had a delicious dinner, and we all enjoyed it.

The rest of the weekend we spent decorating the house for Christmas and doing a little shopping. The girls also had some school projects to do, so we kept busy. Our last day of the break, we made our annual trip to Northpark to see the sites and Santa. Gram went with us much to Ray’s relief - both that he didn’t have to go and because he had the better part of the day to himself. We saw Rudolph, a puppet show, and a little bit of the Scrooge show before seeing Santa. The kids all loved Santa this year, and I love the picture we got. We had dinner at Corner Bakery before heading home. Before we knew it was time to go back to school We had a great week, but I think we were all ready to get back to our routine and get into all the Christmas activities.