Thanksgiving Part 1

We went to my dad's house in upstate NY for Thanksgiving.  I was happy to set my camera aside and let him take most of the pictures.  He also prepared a delicious feast for us. He brined the turkey and then cooked it in a bag and it came out very moist and flavored with spicy goodness. He also made sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, rolls, and apple pie. My only contribution was a pumpkin pie.

 Here are the kiddos Thanksgiving morning. Grandma Judy's new puppy, Miko, loved all the attention from the kids. Baby L was his special favorite as they are close to the same age and both about the same height off the floor.

 Miko loves giving little kisses.

After the feast our kiddos zoned out watching a moving while everyone took naps.

Road Trip: Lexington, Kentucky

 We stopped in Lexington, Kentucky on the way home.  I got to see my "bestest" friend, Liz, and her family.  We got a little lost on the way there and arrived at bed time instead of dinner time. We really only had Saturday to spend together.

We went to the Montessori School that her children attend and played on the playground.

We also went to the Keeneway Race Track where the movie Secretariat was filmed. It was blustery and rainy so we did not stay long. We put the movie on for the girls right after we got back from visiting the racetrack. Amazing!

The kiddos races around the parade track:

Too bad we don't live closer to these buddies.  Big sister A and my friend's daughter S had lots of fun playing together.

Road Trip: Arkansas Outdoors

We went to an amazing drive through safari in Arkansas.  They had all kinds of animals. Herds of antelopes, deer, water buffalo, and similar animals roamed the open acres in the drive through safari part. We saw wolves, tigers, hippos, leopards, and monkeys in large cages as we drove through as well. An emu came up and pecked on the window of the car.  We had to wait for camels to cross the road. 

In the petting zoo portion of the park the kiddos fed potbelly pigs, goats, alpacas, ponies, and kangaroos.

Brother M wanted to say "Hi" to each kangaroo and he went around and gave them all a pat, making sure not to miss anyone.

 The kangaroos were my favorite. I have never petted one before this. I followed this mama for awhile watching her wiggling pouch and waiting for the joey to pop his head out.

We also got closer to a lion than I have ever been before. It was only a few feet away. She had an Australian shepherd in the cage with her.  They were playing like siblings.

Big sister A's favorite part was feeding the giraffes.  It was amazing getting so close to them and their big black tongues.

Baby L's favorite was the rabbits. She kept putting her hand in the pen and I was afraid they would nibble her. Luckily they were super friendly.

Then we went on a little hike to a local creek and waterfall. Brother S was a bit scared walking on the trail by himself and wanted to hold my hand.  I think he was afraid that it was a road.

It's so amazing to me how much the kids love being outside and make their own fun without much interference from me.

Road Trip: Arkansas Art and American Indian Museums

Our first 2 days in Arkansas were rainy so Aunt B planned indoor activities for us.  We went to their local art museum, Crystal Bridges, and spent most of our time in the children's activity room. On the way across the courtyard we saw this huge sculpture of a spider called "Maman".  

The abdomen of the spider was full of large white rock eggs.

The kids' room was a perfect place for this creative crew to hang out. They had lots of different activity stations.

Cousin C was super patient with baby L's efforts to "help" him with his building.

We also visited an American Indian Museum that was very well done.  They normally had an arrowhead hunt for the kids outside, but they just gave them to us since it was rainy. 

They had this lovely exhibit about stone tools and grinding grain.

 We decided to try going out to dinner that night to a local pizza place.  With both husbands out of town and 8 kids between the two of us.  It was wild. We got a lot of interesting looks. We also had to send one pizza back because it was too spicy for anyone to eat!