Thanksgiving 2016

I love that our kids have the entire week of Thanksgiving off from school.  I also really like that Reid's sister is only 500 miles away and that it's pretty much a straight shot east.  It really is an easy drive.  The "hardest" part is getting to I-70 but it's not really "hard" it's just that I'm impatient to be on the interstate and start going 75 MPH instead of being on a state highway going through little towns and having to slow down and then speed up again.  So, those 90 minutes from our house out to Limon before we get on the interstate are my least favorite, but then once we get going it's a very easy trip.  It's also a super-bonus that Reid's parents have moved to Lawrence as well.  So not only do we get to visit and play with cousins, but the kids can also see their Grammy and Papa.  And we have two different places to stay so that we don't overwhelm one family.  Well, in theory we shouldn't overwhelm one family....

The weekend before Thanksgiving we decorated for Christmas.  It was the earliest we have ever decorated but knowing that we would be gone through Thanksgiving, I wanted to get the decorations up so I wouldn't have to worry about it when we got back.  I'm so glad we did that!  

We pulled the kids out of bed around 5:30 in the morning on Monday the 21st and loaded in the car.  Unfortunately, we actually didn't get going until 6:30, but at least it was an early start.  Traveling in your jammies is the way to go, as long as you don't mind getting funny looks sometimes.  But when you spend all day in the car except for a stop for lunch or the bathroom, it's nice to be comfortable.

 We got to Lawrence around 5:00 or so Kansas time which was good timing to head over to Kristi and Erik's for a pizza dinner.  The kids had a blast playing with their cousins.  It also happened to be Bryn's 14th birthday so we got to have birthday pumpkin pie (her tradition) and sing to her and watch her open presents.  We had decided to spend a couple of nights at Carl and Joyce's house so after all of that we had to head back to their house (about a mile away or less) and get ourselves unpacked and set up.  Unfortunately, traveling with medications and medical supplies is overwhelming to me at times and I have a hard time trying to find a set up at other houses that works for me and keeps our routine flowing.  Our kids ended up getting to bed around 10:30 that night (Kansas time).  Thankfully, for the most part my kids know to sleep in because we sure needed it after such a long day.

On Tuesday the 22nd, the cousins had school and so we were able to spend the morning at Grammy and Papa's and then meet up with Kristi and Maci for some lunch at Raising Cane's.  From there, Reid went with his parents to the grocery store and then back to their house.  Kristi and I went with the kids to Kohl's for a little shopping/browsing and then she went to pick up her kids.  The boys and I did some shopping on our own and then headed back to Kristi's house so the kids could play while Grammy and Papa rested.  After that we left the little girls at the grandparents' house and we took our older kids to Epic--a fun arcade and laser tag place.  We played a really fun game of laser tag (my first time ever) with all of us on one team against another family.  We had a great time and we had all worked up a sweat by the time we were done.  The kids then enjoyed a little arcade time before we had to head back to get the girls from Grammy and have dinner.  Once again, this was another very late night and the kids were up past 10.

On Wednesday the 23rd, we headed to Kansas City to shop at the Legends (outlet mall) and eat lunch at the T-Rex Cafe.  It had been almost 5 years since I had been there with the boys and Reid had never been.  We had a good time, but need to remember that the wait for food is horribly long and it's very overpriced.  But at least the kids had a good time and for the most part, no one got scared this time.  Yay!

Finn and Isaac adore each other.  They play so well together.  This picture was late but they were strolling hand in hand through the outlets while we were shopping.

As we were finishing up at Gap I was standing off to the side with the kids right by the front door while Reid and Erik were checking out.  Next thing I know someone walking into the store complimented me and Kristi on our window models.  It turned out a couple of our kids were out there posing.  Once we were alerted to it, the others joined in and wanted to be apart of the Gap display.  They were so funny!

On our way home from the Outlets we talked about where it would be best to stay.  While Grammy and Papa had more room for us, our kids were staying up way late as we were struggling to get meds and treatments in with everything being at their house, even though we were spending a lot of time with Kristi's family.  So we decided, to go ahead and move over to Kristi's house.  This ended up being a great decision as Finn could do treatments while playing with his cousins and my kids were able to get back to a normal bedtime.  Sheww!

Thanksgiving morning.  Joyce took care of the turkey and stuffing and Kristi made pies, rolls, potatoes, jello salad, etc.  I was quite impressed with Kristi and Bryn's teamwork in making this cherry pie.  It turned out yummy and pretty!

Thanksgiving itself was a wonderful meal and a great day.  The kids loved being with their cousins and enjoyed a fun "hike" mid-day over to Grammy and Papa's house with their Uncle Erik leading the way.  Erik has also recently purchased two antique motorcycles and he got them out and let Reid take one out for a spin while I rode on the back of the other one with Erik driving.  It was actually really fun.  I can see the appeal for sure!

The day after Thanksgiving we took a hike through the local nature park before heading to the Sandwich Bowl for lunch.  Seriously, Monument needs a Sandwich Bowl.  It was one of my favorite meals the entire trip.  Yummy sandwiches, yummy soup, and really good prices on kids' meals.  

We were joking that the 4 boys could be their own Gap ad as  they were all wearing the new sweaters they had bought earlier in the week at the Outlets.

That night, our last in Lawrence, Kristi got a babysitter for the 4 youngest kids and the rest of us went to Breakout Lawrence.  It was our family's first time in a breakout room, and the Perrins' second attempt.  Their first attempt they did not make it out in an hour.  This time we tried a different room that had a 28% success rate (yikes!) and working together, we did it!  It was such a fun and neat experience.  I would love to do another breakout room!

While we were in the breakout room, Santa visited downtown Lawrence and helped with the lighting of the Christmas lights.  So, when we came out we saw these lights in Downtown Lawrence.

We had a great time in Kansas for Thanksgiving.  The time went so fast and we were so busy!  The kids loved being with their cousins.  As we were driving away, poor Finn was in tears in the backseat already missing Isaac.  I have a feeling we might have to visit more frequently, especially since Grammy and Papa are there now and somehow we didn't get a single picture with them our entire time there!