Giving Thanks for Family

We woke up to Thanksgiving in a hotel this year!  Not exactly traditional but we embraced the adventure and made the most of it!  I did mourn missing out on the parade with my coffee and pjs, but that's ok, next year :)  After breakfast we got ready and made a special visit to a Nursing home so we could see Trav's precious Granny.  

I'm so thankful we were able to do this, seeing his Granny was one of our top priorities in getting to Texas.  We don't know how long we'll have with her and yet we had such a sweet time talking to her and catching her up again.  

It was also a treat to have so many of her family members streaming in to love on her! I know she loved in the moment, although she likely didn't remember it soon after we all left. 

Granny has now been able to meet each one of kids when they were babies, which is a precious memory to have!

These are from our last trip to Abilene, when Carter was about 5 months old and Ava was just shy of 2! 

 So cute!

Life has changed for all of us just 4 years later.  

Ava especially was happy to see her Great-Granny!

After our visit it was apparent that we needed to get some wiggles out and thankfully it was a sunny day in the 60's!  We won't see the 60's in Minnesota for quite some time so we took fully advantage of the local park!

Ava had Papa talked into doing some underdogs in no time!

And Carter just ran wild from thing to thing...

...barefoot, until I spotted him!

We were bundled up watching it snow last year so this was a nice treat!

After they played for a long time, we booked it back to the hotel to get a little cleaned up for our big meal. 

So fun to introduce Walker to his Aunt Katy!

We ate at the hotel buffet, which was very nice!  They served like 800 people or something that day...I don't think I'm wrong in that estimate, I swear that's what they said, but don't hold me to that! Ha! It was nice to totally escape any cooking or cleaning up this year  :) 

Happy Thanksgiving from the Armstrongs! 

This little turkey did great on his first Thanksgiving! 

The kiddos swam in the afternoon and we gathered that night with everybody at the hotel, laughing and telling stories, eating some more, playing games...it was perfect! So nice to enjoy that time together and really great that we were all at the same hotel together.  

The next morning we all made another visit to see Granny.  How fun for her to be surrounded by so many of her family members! This is only a fraction of all of us, but it was so fun to see her again. 

I love this picture, 4 generations together!  Walker had just fallen asleep and was already strapped in his car seat, but I love her hand on his head.  This is a keeper for sure!

Super fun for us to see two of our favorite college students and their Mom, Nancy. 

We'll be cheering for Chris (#49) next year when he's playing for West Texas A&M! 

Ava, Lily and Henry were taking over the craft room in no time! Ha ha!

And proudly displaying their art work on the fridge!

After we visited for awhile, we all went to the Abilene Zoo to spend the afternoon. 

Look how little these two were the last time we visited this zoo??

 This is Carter, by the way, do you see Walker in him??

Our favorite thing at this zoo last time, was feeding the giraffes on this bridge!  Wouldn't you know that days before we got there, they tore this exhibit down in order to re-design it??  SO SAD!!  

Andrew was my hero and took over the stroller duties for Walker! 

We didn't have room for our big infant stroller in the van, so we had to pack the umbrella one and we weren't totally sure how Walker would do in it.  Thankfully he was the most bundled up of all of us and he stayed pretty cozy in there!

Admiring the reptile house, which still gives me the creeps thinking about it!

Lots and lots of flamingos...

Immediately Carter zero-ed in on the little train that goes around the zoo.  From the second he saw it, he couldn't wait to get on it!

Walker's first time at the Zoo!

Love these two!

Although it was windy, it was a beautiful day to walk around and be together. 

I've seen prettier zoos in my life, but they had animals and in the end, that what the kids care about the most! 

Feeding the ducks kept everyone entertained for awhile...

Carter and his cousin Henry were best buds that day!

Our nephew JT was taking it all in too! 

Love his little jacket...

...and those big blue eyes!

Ava and Lily were joined at the hip too, what a gift to have this time with cousins we don't get to see very often!

Family 

After much waiting, Carter did get that ride on the train!

And Walker did settle in for a nap too. 

Lucky for Carter, Papa was game for a ride and these 4 got to share a car together :) 

You're a good Grandpa, Ron!  I'm not sure how you squeezed in there! 

Lily had the magic touch with Walker.  Future babysitter! 

We are so thankful for this time with family and it so sweet to see the next generation of cousins growing up and making memories together too! 

Life is a Highway...

... I want to drive it, all night long! 

Oh how true those words have become for us!  I've been quiet on the blog for the last few weeks because we had a big secret to keep and I've spent every waking minute in November preparing and getting ready for it...In addition to the craziness of everyday life, of course.  Awhile ago we realized we would be able to pull off a trip to Texas over Thanksgiving but we wanted it to be a surprise to Trav's Mom and the rest of our family who would be gathering in Abilene.  We had to coach the kids many, many times to keep their mouths shut and not give our secret away and minus a few close calls, they did an amazing job!  We've been quietly preparing for the long journey, knowing that we would be driving and not flying.  Traveling with two little ones on a long road trip was old hat to us, but traveling with three and a new baby to boot, would be brand new territory!  But we are never ones to shy away from an adventure and try what some would call "crazy."  We had a feeling this might be the perfect time for Walker to travel before he starts to really protest being in his carseat or get too wiggly.  So two weeks ago, we packed up the minivan and hit the road a few days before Thanksgiving, Texas bound! 

 I'm never as excited for these huge road trips until I get in the car and all the work is done!  For weeks before I want to throw in the towel because it's so overwhelming, but I'm married to Mr. Adventure who always convinces me that it will be worth it.  With a few of these under my belt now, he's right, it is totally worth it!  Our kids love love the adventure and as soon as we pull out of the driveway I cherish all the family time we have ahead of us!  I love that we get to have Travis to ourselves for days on end with no events, no texts, no phone calls, and no emails! 

 After a busy, stressful Fall, the timing of this trip could not have been better.  We planned to make a pit stop in Iowa so that we could get a solid night of sleep and a big nap before we braved a long stretch of driving through the night.  

Although Walker has already made several trips back and forth to Iowa, this was his first real road trip!  Ready or not, he had no idea what was in store for him but thankfully this sweet face gave way to... 

 ...this sleeping face! He was a trooper in the car and barely blinked an eye through our first leg.  

What a sweetie! We were feeling like this was a good start...

We enjoyed one good night of sleep at my parent's house and best of all, a visit with Sawyer and the rest of the Iowans! These two did what they do best right now, they laid on the floor making noise and doing tricks for their adoring public! Ha ha! 

By dinner time the next night, with a big nap under Trav's belt, Walker and the gang were ready to hit the road and head south! 

Forgive the blurry pics, but here we are after an entire night on the road at about 6:30 the next morning!  We were somewhere in Oklahoma and we got to enjoy the sunrise as a family.  We thanked God for a perfect drive there, the kids slept well and Trav powered through the miles like a pro.  I sat in the back and acted as concierge for the little people, dishing out snacks, consoling crying babies, keeping the peace and answering a million questions.  It was a long night for Trav and I, but I couldn't help but be thankful for the opportunity to make memories with our kids and of course for the gift of a full minivan, carrying the most precious cargo.   

Carter was all smiles as the day began and we spied lots of grass with NO SNOW!

Walker missed the sunrise but we were all happy to let him catch some more winks.  

Our road warrior! I don't know how he did it, after some stomach issues this year caffeine is no longer an option for Trav, so he managed the drive with good, old-fashioned perseverance and free reign of the radio while we all slept! He is my hero.  

I gave him a little reprieve after we stopped for breakfast, but out of the 15 or so hours, he drove about 12 of those.  I didn't sleep the whole time but I did get a enough to keep everyone taken care of.  I could not wait to stretch out in a hotel bed, however! 

We stopped at a Chik-fil-a for breakfast around 8am so these kiddos could do this! 

Walker enjoyed the reprieve from his carseat for a little while and I sipped some coffee slowly!  There really isn't a much friendlier place in the morning than a Chik-fil-a in the South, is there? We were well taken care of and now that we were in the Oklahoma, the locals poured on the southern charm.  One  sweet, older man stopped me to ask about the kids and then told me what blessings we had in our three children.  He was so kind and I couldn't have agreed more!  

Ava and Carter sat still just long enough to get a little food in them and then it was back to getting some wiggles out! 

This one especially!  He sort of reminds me of a caged monkey! 

Generally we were all happy to be out of the car and to be just a couple of hours from our final destination.  After 12 hours on the road, 3 more actually seems like nothing. 

What a great big sister Ava is!

Walker is one loved little brother!

Before we knew it we were safe and sound in our hotel, unpacking for the next 4 nights there.  Staying in a hotel is such a treat for our kiddos and what beckons them more than the promise of the hotel pool??  They took no time jumping in and wearing themselves out!  We had a fun afternoon of stretching our legs, surprising family who were also staying at the hotel and just relaxing a little bit too.  Later that night we went out for dinner with Trav's aunts, uncles and cousin where we waited to meet his mom and stepdad so we could surprise them too!!  What only we knew is that another surprise was in store for everyone, Trav's sister and her family also flew in that day and no one knew it but us!  And his Mom  :)  It was a crazy and fun night at Abuelos, celebrating our mini-reunion and enjoying one another in the great state of Texas!  We were so happy to be there and ready to soak up our time with so many sweet family members and of course, the Texas heat too.  We were SO ready for the sunshine again!!