Houston for Thanksgiving

Craig has been trying to figure out how we could manage to go visit his brother in Houston for a while now.  Jason and Jeni and their four kids have made the trip to Charlottesville twice since we moved here, and the last time we went to their place was three years ago when I was pregnant with Camille.  So we felt like we "owed" them a visit.  (Not that you can ever really owe family, but you get what I mean, right?)

After much discussion, we realized that the only time that would really work was this Thanksgiving.  Craig's parents were already planning to be there, so we sort of announced that we'd be coming, too, and hoped everyone could make room for us (which they very graciously did!).  Craig managed to get time off from work, I emailed teachers to explain my kids' absences, we loaded the van, and we were off!

It is a LONG drive to Houston.  19 hours each way, and that's not including stops for gas, bathrooms, and food.  And because Craig is a better person than me, he also decided we should be good and go to church while we were traveling, too.  All told, we left home on Saturday morning, stopped for the night in Slidell, Louisiana, and arrived in Houston around 4pm Sunday afternoon.  So that was a long time to drive and a long time to be sitting in the car.  I didn't know you could get sore just from sitting!  We were VERY relieved to finally arrive!

As soon as we'd piled out of the car, our kids scattered throughout the house and I felt like we barely saw them the rest of the time.  Cousins have got to be about the best thing in the world-- all the comfort of being with your own siblings, but none of the fighting.

Donna with her boys!

Bentley and Eli blowing bubbles

Kids on the trampoline, Peyton wishing he could join them

Some of the surprises from the trip were that Bentley and Eli had a FABULOUS time together (this is only surprising since Eli is the same age as Ryder, and Bentley and Ryder don't tend to get along very well).

The other, bigger surprise was my kids' reaction to Peyton, Jeni's poodle.  We'd met Peyton when they came to our house last Christmas, but he was always confined to a couple of rooms, so this was my kids' first time in a place where a dog had free reign.  From experiences with dogs at the bus stop, I knew that Camille would demand that I carry her around a lot (she LOVES dogs until they get within about three feet of her, and then she'll get very nervous).  But Camille got used to Peyton pretty quickly and after a couple days wasn't scared at all.  It was Colton who got more and more freaked out.  He found places he could go where the dog couldn't reach him (a room with a door he could shut, the trampoline, a corner behind the couch) and would hide there and demand we carry him any time he moved locations, lifting his feet up even higher so Peyton couldn't touch him at all.  It was tedious, and I worried that we were just damaging him.  I'm all about facing one's fears, but at what point are you just being mean to a terrified little 4-year-old?

Cousins hanging out after they finish their dinner

Camille trying to figure out how to get off the couch without squishing the dog

But life goes on, whether your 4-year-old is a scared mess or not.  We ate a TON of food (duh) and spent one afternoon making model rockets and then the next day launched them in a nearby field.  Camille was napping, so I missed the launch, but it sounded like everyone had a good time!  I enjoyed walking around the neighborhood any time one of my sisters called to chat-- the weather was PERFECT.  We usually end up going to Houston in the summer, so it was fun to be there when it was so delightful.  (Although truthfully, Houston's heat and humidity don't usually bother me-- I'd always rather be hot than cold.)

Bentley made a tiny rocket

Colton concentrates very hard painting his rocket.  Uncle Jason had a lot of patience to stand there holding it for him while he painted!

Dinner at Chuy's Wednesday night.  The refrigerator was absolutely stuffed full ready for Thanksgiving, so no one was allowed to bring leftovers home!

And then one morning I came downstairs to this:

Suddenly Colton wasn't quite so scared of the dog!  He would still get nervous-- especially when he hadn't been near Peyton for a bit (since that was when Peyton would be the most excited to see Colton and more likely to jump around trying to lick him).  But he worked really hard to overcome his fears.  I was so proud of my brave little boy!

Watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Kids' table (not on Thursday)

Eli, Ryder, and Peyton getting up to no good!

I love this picture

Static electricity does fun things to our hair

Kendra was very excited that her (14-year-old) cousin, Lindsy, put make-up on her

And yes, there were times when we all sat around staring at our various devices

Starting to really like Peyton

Grandma teaches Ryder the REAL way to enjoy a slice of pumpkin pie!

Camille snuggling with Lindsy

We had a wonderful time together.  We'd play games in the evening with the older kids, and then once they had gone to bed, the grown-ups would sit around talking, which is my favorite thing EVER.  Our Thanksgiving dinner was wonderful (I did feel bad that I didn't do any of the cooking, but Jeni just pitched in and got everything done so calmly, I was hardly aware that she was working at all-- so very unlike me, who has to stress out in the kitchen and order everyone around!  How do you cook without yelling at everyone???).  Friday morning Jason and Jeni made crepes that were amazing, and then in the afternoon we went and saw Coco, the newest Pixar film, which was super cute.  And then of course it was leftovers for dinner!

And suddenly it was Saturday and time to get back on the road!  It was my decision to really push on our first day of driving, so I'd booked us a hotel in Knoxville, TN, the idea being that we'd have 13 hours of driving the first day, but only six the next.  That turned out to not be a good idea-- thirteen hours is just too much for one day, plus we lost an hour heading east.  So we rolled in a little after 11pm and went right to sleep.  (The hotel was extremely nice about the fact that I'd somehow made our reservation for the wrong day, a problem we didn't notice until we were on the road.  They didn't charge us for the night we hadn't shown up!) 

Bentley falls asleep for a few hours on Day 2 of driving

And I have to say-- all things considered, the kids were SUPER good in the car.  Camille spent some time crying (but she could hardly move, trapped in a five-point harness-- I'd probably cry, too!).  At one point she began sobbing because she wanted to go back to Peyton's house!  And there was at least one time when Colton wouldn't stop making some little popping noise and that sent Ryder into hysterics.  But considering how many hours they spent in the car (40?  All told?) they were fantastic.  Kendra and Bentley were super helpful: they would pop out of their seats and look for water bottles and lovies that had gone missing under chairs.  At one point they were passing out sippy cups and they totally looked like little flight attendants during the beverage service!  And Bentley was very generous about sharing his kindle with his siblings.  That definitely made everything go smoother.

We were less than three hours from home driving through the "mountains" of western Virginia when we hit traffic.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised-- EVERYONE is traveling on Sunday afternoon after Thanksgiving.  But it still made me about ready to tear my hair out.  That's when I start making declarations like, "We are never going anywhere for Thanksgiving again EVER!!!!" (which I'm pretty sure I say after trip to New York for T-day, also).  It was stop and go for almost an hour before Waze rerouted us, and we got home around 4:30pm.  Camille screamed for the last 20 minutes of the drive, then fell asleep as we pulled into our neighborhood.  Of course.

Home.  FINally.

It was nice to be home again.  I did about seven loads of laundry in two days.  And I am thoroughly enjoying not having any children sleeping in my room.

But we had a wonderful time and I'm so glad it worked out for us to go!  Yay for Thanksgiving with family!