Thanksgiving in Big D

Sooo . . . it's December 28 and I'm writing my post about Thanksgiving. That reveals quite a bit about what the last month has held in our house.

We had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving this year. And no, not because I didn't do any of the cooking. Though that was nice!

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving, we loaded up the dog, both girls, a stroller, and way too much luggage, toys, videos, books all in our little CR-V and hit the road. We left our house at 5:15 and managed to pull into my brother's driveway by 7:15 that night. LONG day. The girls did better in the car this time, but Caroline was still less than enthusiastic about being strapped in her carseat all day. Catherine actually loved the trip. She got to spend the whole day in her pjs, watched Doc McStuffins on repeat for hours, and have snacks all day long. Apparently, this is pretty awesome when you are 3. We arrived at my brother's house with an abundance of pent up energy. By some miracle, both girls were finally asleep around 10:30.

The next four days were full of fun! We snuck in a trip to the Dallas World Aquarium on our first day there. This place is just incredible - so much more than an aquarium. The girls were pretty tired and it was a little crowded that day, so they didn't get quite the kick out of it I had thought they would. But they still really enjoyed themselves.

Catherine feeding a toucan a blueberry, while explaining to all that would listen that blueberries are out of season and must have come from far away

As awesome as the aquarium was, I was actually even more excited to find that it was down the street from a Capriotti's Sandwich Shop. Growing up in Delaware, this was pretty much my favorite place to eat and they have franchised now, and they have a few locations in the DFW metroplex. People, I got to eat a Bobbie. Since most of y'all probably are unfamiliar with this slice of heaven on earth, I'll tell you about it. Fresh crusty bread, pulled roasted turkey (lunchmeat? blech!), moist dressing, mayo, and sweet cranberry relish. I should have felt bad about eating this the day before Thanksgiving. You better believe I didn't. It was wonderful. Amazing.

The days that followed, we spent with Russell's family. Our Thanksgiving celebration included lots of incredibly yummy food, attention (and accessories) lavished on our little girls, and even extra attention for the Flash. I have great in-laws, the whole lot of them! We assembled a semi-coordinated family picture as well. For where I am, there seem to be pictures. I just want to bottle up these days and remember them. Life and family is so precious.

Everyone looking at the camera - yay! (How did I not notice we were taking all of these with a t. u. flag in the background??? Arg!)

Catherine with Uncle David and Aunt Liz

Catherine in accessory-induced euphoria

The only shot I got of the lovely Thanksgiving table

From 3 to 80

Russell's sweet grandparents

Goofy Caro!

Caroline and her great-grandmother

The great and wonderful Aunt Ow-son

A big part of the reason we decided to take the plunge and drive to Texas for a pretty short break was a surprise birthday party held for his grandfather the day after Thanksgiving. He turned 80 a few weeks ago and almost all of his kids and their spouses, grandkids and their spouses, and great grandkids were in Dallas for the celebration. How could we miss the chance to see all these precious family members whose paths we don't cross often? Man, I hope I'm as cool as he is when I'm 80!

Catherine took it upon herself to help Gramps open his gifts at his birthday party. Presents and cake are sorta her thing. Sigh.

An extra perk of being in Dallas for the break was that we got to be with my brother for his 30th birthday, which we celebrated with a barbecue lunch on Saturday. Welcome to old age, little brother. Catherine and I baked some birthday cupcakes for him and Bethany made sure that he got the bathroom trashcans he wanted for his birthday. Flash didn't eat the cupcakes, so I figure the whole experience was a success.

Reading Uncle Josh's birthday card

Josh and his girlfriend Bethany, who loved on our girls a bunch! She is a sweetie!

Big shoes to fill

Josh and the Joffs

By Sunday, it was time for us to drag ourselves back home to Bama. We were sure sad to leave (and sad to have an umpteen hour drive ahead, ha). But we would do it again in a heartbeat! What a great Thanksgiving, full of special memories. We sure miss you, Texas! We miss you more, Texan family!
 

A few notes about this post - Caro was on my hip through a lot of this trip so you'll notice that she isn't in quite as many photos as her sister. No favorites were played, I assure you. I also realize that my account of the trip includes a very large section about a sandwich. I did enjoy the family more than the sandwich, but I guess I have a lot to say about the Bobbie. There is probably something wrong with me. I welcome suggestions for character improvement.

Maybe I'll publish a post about Christmas in another month or so! <3 br="">

Daddy's big day

Last Saturday was a day we'd been anticipating in our house for months. It was Russell's first half-marathon. He has spent many long hours pounding the pavement to prepare for his race . . . showing a level of dedication that, in my life, I have only applied to such arduous tasks as napping and eating brownies.

I am so, so proud of him. Just finishing the race would really have been an accomplishment, but he managed to do it in 1:50. That's almost two hours of running at an 8.5 minute pace, people! Thirteen miles. This is serious business!

The girls and I got an early start on the day and went down to mile markers 5 and 10 to cheer him on. Our friend Jason also came and was super helpful. He manned the camera, provided the donuts, and lugged half of the two tons of stuff that it takes to keep two little girls happy on a 45 degree morning for an hour and a half. Yeah, we owe you, Jason!

Awesome job, Russell! We are so proud of  you!

Race day shirts that my friend Erin helped me make
Guess who picked the color!
Will they be appearing on the Christmas card?

Early morning donut break
I brought them hot chocolate and THEY DIDN'T LIKE IT. What???

 

Cold but proud!

The number is the year we each joined Team Joffrion.
The names reflect particular personality traits of each.

Going strong at mile 5
The girls were so excited to see their dad!

From mile 10, we barely made it to the finish in time to see him cross. But there is his back! (And his awesome time!)

He made it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caro decided it was time to rest. On her pom pom. Why not!

Both girls were totally excited about all of daddy's new fun accessories. Each finisher got a hat, a medal, and a tee shirt. Daddy kept the tee shirt.

I think Caroline just wanted to go run around. Seemed to be the thing to do at a half marathon.

Other random fall fun

So, is this my really my fifth blog post tonight? Um, I guess I was a little behind. I have put a few of these on Facebook, but I really prefer to have our updates here. It's okay if no one is still reading this. Actually, this will be the one that comes up first when you pull up the blog. So maybe my first post will be last. It's like the sermon on the mount. Okay, not really at all.

Anyway, I gotta show some Caroline love since the last few posts have been about Catherine's milestones.
Caroline is really starting to show us her personality. Fiercely loving, loyal and affectionate, this girl is all about the LOVE. Couldn't be sweeter. Except for the rare occasion where she doesn't quite get her way. But we're all like that, right?

And the relationship we are starting to see between the girls is just amazing. They really do love each other and it blesses this mama's heart. Neither wants to go anywhere without the other. And they just love playing together . . . sometimes even up in their rooms WITHOUT ME. Wow. Twenty minute stretches of play time. I only have to intervene when someone starts to cry. And though someone always does, those few minutes to get things done on my own are pretty AMAZING. :)


These pics are all from a September morning up on Monte Sano.

These next pictures are from our first attempt at gathering leaves for some serious jumping and crunching. Catherine read about this practice in a book and couldn't wait to try it. Caroline was less than enthusiastic about the leaves but loved being outside just the same!

Crunch!

Our happy little dreamer

Caroline trying to bury her sister. Catherine requested a sleepsack made of leaves. Huh? Oh well, Caroline seemed to understand what she was asking for.

Isn't this leaf great?

Helping daddy by adding a single leaf to his pile

Told you she was our little lover-girl

Harvest Hey Day!

Caroline was pretty sick, so Daddy stayed home with her and Catherine and I caught a little fall fun at our church's festival. Did you ever see such a sweet little owl?? :)

I had to drag her out of the bouncy houses!

Together on the hay ride!

Nana and Paw Paw visit in October

Nana and Paw Paw paid us a visit last week. We had great fun eating WAY too many fresh HEB tortillas, eating WAY too much Chuckwagon bbq, and drinking WAY too many Sonic drinks. We also had the chance to celebrate Catherine and Nana's birthdays and enjoy an evening at Tate Farms, our local pumpkin patch (and fall fun central!).

The girls and me making Nana's birthday cake - a Louder family classic! (German chocolate, yum!)

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Catherine and Nana blowing out candles together
We went with three candles . . . I'll let you guess why!

Nana and Paw Paw gave Catherine a balance bike for her birthday. Here she is trying it out!

Oh my. Is she like 15??? Ack. Gotta say, she likes the bike, but she really loves the helmet. Our girl loves accessories!

Below are some shots from Tate Farms. This is always a highlight of our fall here in Huntsville. Caroline liked the petting zoo area best. She wanted to hug and kiss the pigs!