Thanksgiving '10

Once again, we set forth on our annual trek to TX for Thanksgiving.  Scott and I were dreading the drive.  Abby really isn't the best traveler.  She goes on sleep and hunger strikes when she's away from home.  So we crossed our fingers, and the kiddos actually pulled through for us.  At one point, both kids were asleep in the car!  Bliss. 

As always, I missed my family and wished there was a way I could see them as well.  But it was a fantastic Thanksgiving, with lots of food, fun, laughter, and ...pictures.

Thanks for the head piece Aunt Jill

Not really sure what he's doing, but it made me laugh.

I think this says it all...



Emma was really good w/ Abby.  It was nice have a little babysitter for the day!



YaYa, Aunt Jill's parrot.  Nicholas was quite fascinated w/ him.

YaYa showing off some of his skills.  Nicholas really love playing w/ him.

I think this picture says it all as well!

Bird whisperer

Thanksgiving - Final Leg

(Warning: Long Post, but the last one)
I told you it was an extravaganza. This was not so much a leg as it was a detour. Scott's granny Helen(Scott's dad's mom) was celebrating her 88th birthday. She is the one I refer to as the emailing granny. Saturday morning we headed out on a 3 hour trip to Synder, TX. We would be meeting other members of the Robinson family for a celebratory lunch at Mo Malee's steakhouse.

Granny looked quite spiffy in her green sweater and leather jacket. She is just so cute, I'm glad we got to see her! Also in attendance were Connie(seriously, one of the nicest people you will ever meet), her husband Wes and brother, Bo. We missed you, Becky, and hope you're feeling better. Most of the Key family made it, along w/ the Kirkpatrick family. Nick was quite anxious about seeing his cousins Krece and Zaran. To say Nick took a liking to Krece is an understatement. He followed him around everywhere and sometimes would just walk up to Krece and grin like a fool at him. Krece was a bit unsure of how to deal with suddenly being an idol, although I think he handled it quite well. Nick loved the whole thing as there were new people for him to show off his singing skills. He will perform on demand.

Lunch was a typical TX affair with lots of steaks, chicken fried steaks and gravy. My "side" dish was a 4lb sweet potato. It came w/ separate containers of brown sugar and marshmallows. I seriously should have taken a picture. After lunch we went to Granny's house for some cake and ice cream. Nick was front and center for the cake, of course. Connie, you did a fabulous job arranging everything.

We left shortly afterwards since we were heading home the next day. We made good time on Sunday and made it up here in the nick of time. I'm positive had we been 15mins later, we would've been stuck in traffic for at least a couple of hours. The bridges from Alma to Fayetteville were pretty slick and there were a ton of accidents.

That wraps it up. Whew!! It was a fantastic Thanksgiving and it really was wonderful seeing everyone. Just wanted to say to my family that we missed you, but can't wait to see you this weekend.

Thanksgiving - Second Leg

(Warning: Long Post)
After our stay with Granny Charlotte, we made our way to Scott's parents in Hereford, TX. This is usually an 8 hour drive (pre-Nick) from Fayetteville. It was around 3 hours from Glazier. Nick was ready to see his Magi and Grandad. As if he needs any more spoiling. The Key family was on hand to spend Thanksgiving with us. Nick had great fun w/ his cousins Emma and Zoie. Thanksgiving dinner this year was not only delicious, but stress free. Scott's mom did much of the cooking ahead of time and all we had to do was reheat. We had a really nice time catching up, eating and watching football with everyone. Here are a few highlights from our trip.

* Nick got to go out to the farm and ride his Grandad's tractor more than once. Scott said he shrieked with excitement when he saw the tractor rolling towards them and immediately started running towards it.

* Scott, his mom, and Darby braved the frigid temp and crush of people to get black Friday deals at Walmart. Crazy, I know! This was Scott's first time, and I imagine it will be his last. His mom wanted to get a Wii and he went for moral support. He's such a good son. I was slumbering away, nice and toasty in bed. They all got what they wanted and then some.

* All the ladies headed out shopping on Friday. Our annual trek is usually to Muleshoe and Clovis, NM. We don't hit any of the large retailers, just mom and pop shops, so they're not too crazy. I do okay w/ the shopping, but what I'm really there for is lunch at Leal's. It is the best Mexican food. We eat there every year, I request it anyway. I'll stop talking about it as it's making me hungry.

*Scott's mom actually had the nerve to tell Nick to stop doing something. You should have seen the look on his face. It was as if he smelled something bad. He came over to her and laid his head on her lap and announced how sad he was. How could she be so heartless? After this big production, his Magi spent the next several days trying to get back into his good graces w/ M&M and ice cream.

Thanksgiving - First Leg

We kicked off the first leg of the Robinson Thanksgiving Extravaganza with a stay in Glazier, TX on Tuesday. We stayed with Granny Charlotte (Scott's mom's mom). It's normally a 6 hour trip, but you have to tack on an hour or so when you've got a kid. We got off to a little later start than we wanted. We let Nick sleep in, thinking he might sleep until 7:30, maybe 8. He chose, of all days, to sleep until 9. He would never do this on the weekend. The extra sleep did pay off, as he was relatively pleasant during the trip. You know, if I was strapped in a comfy car seat, forced to watch all my fave dvds, and stuffed my face with sugary snacks, I wouldn't have much to complain about. Back in the day, I (one of 7 passengers) rode in the middle console of the '78 Oldsmobile, listening to an 8 track tape (there was only one, it came w/the car), on a ten hour car ride.

We were enthusiastically met by Granny, Aunt Kay and Jett, Kay's grandson. Jett, who is 7 and in the first grade, was just wonderful with Nicholas. We love that Nick got a chance to hang out with his cousin. It was very obvious Nick loved being around Jett, as he followed him around and copied all his actions.

We had a wonderful time catching up and watching Nick and Jett play. Much thanks to Granny Charlotte for putting us up for the night. We were happy we could be there to wish her a happy 90th birthday. I'm posting a few pictures here, but you can check out the rest of the our Thanksgiving pictures here.

Nick with his great aunt Kay
Can you tell he loves his cousin Jett?

Nick's great granny Charlotte, still a spitfire at 90

One of my favorite pictures