A Very Texas Thanksgiving

 As of the middle of this year, my family is now spread across both Atlantic and Pacific coast states. This provided the perfect opportunity for us to stay put in Texas, and everyone come to the middle of the country for Thanksgiving! This was no easy feat, for many of the nieces and nephew, this was only their 2nd airplane trip ever. For Chris, his rigorous holiday schedule at the airport makes it hard to leave for the 2nd biggest travel week of the year. For my parents, Grammy has been dealing with mysteriously low energy levels, was released from the hospital 48 hours before flying out and needed 2 blood transfusions within the week before travel. Papa Mas is still recovering from multiple strokes in 2022 and this was only his second trip since his hospital stay ended. Needless to say, it took grit to get everyone here, but everyone made it and we are so very happy that they did.

Bernard held his own as the littlest family member

The week of Thanksgiving we spent at a large beach house in Jamaica Beach, south of Galveston. If felt like a complete departure from our everyday lives in Texas, there was water a short walk from the front door, we could listen to the waves and watch the ships pass by all day long, and while the weather didn't exactly cooperate, no one missed out on playing in the sand.

Peityn showed off her perfect spiral throw

Gretchen went fully incognito in her new gigantic sweatshirt

The little girls diligently filled things with sand. 

Aubrey brings her own style everywhere she goes

The day we arrived, we had some really nice weather, warm temps and sunny skies. Like an amateur, I didn't pack swimsuits so the kids had no other choice but to go into the chilly ocean fully clothed. They did. They stayed for FAR longer than I would have thought. And then they stayed for games. 

We had some nice quiet moments of playing and catching up.

And big, loud moments when we were joined by Dallas cousins and the kids all fell in like old friends.

We were given an insider tip to skip the dolphin watching tour, and take the free ferry that goes between Galveston and Fort Bolivar every 10-20 minutes. Great tip! We saw hundreds of dolphins without spending a dime!

We explored all kinds of kid-friendly Galveston attractions like the Moody Garden pyramids:

The Rainforest Cafe, complete with a face paint artist that found a cash cow in our table of EIGHT children:

We had matching jammies and catered food on Thanksgiving. No one got much sleep, but it was so much fun.

It's Up To You New York, New York!

At this point in life, Jon and I are able to go on date nights pretty regularly. We have reliable babysitters, and recently we have graduated to having Gretchen babysit her brothers - which is really the best option. She is responsible and knows the house rules, the boys know that they can't get away with multiple desserts after dinner or fibbing about bedtime, sister runs a tight ship! We wanted to go somewhere together for a long weekend, which is a more difficult venture with young kids and no family nearby. The stars aligned when Gran and Poppa were able to visit Texas over a weekend and agreed to handle the very busy schedules while we took a time out. 

There was no question as to where we would go in the middle of fall - New York City! Broadway! Incredible food! A city we can walk in! And as an added bonus we saw some incredible fall foliage!

We got in nice and early on Thursday so we had time to get settled, change and hit the town. We sat for an early dinner at La Pecora Bianca and had delicious Italian food sitting in a corner booth watching the city pulse. We finished in plenty of time to get in line for The Book of Mormon, a show we've been walking to see for years. Waiting in line outside the theater, we saw all kinds of folks walking into the stage door, getting Uber Eats deliveries and wondering who we will see on stage. 

Then we're allowed in, we get drinks from the most boisterous bartender I've ever seen and we sit fantastically close to the stage and wait for the show to start. Offensive and hilarious, this show is not for the tender hearted. We knew this going in, Trey Parker and Matt Stone are not known for their political correctness. 

The second day, we walked from our perfectly-placed hotel to Rockefeller Center, 5th Avenue fancy shopping, Radio City Music Hall and got our fill at the Nintendo store. We walked The Highline start to finish and meandered around Chelsea Market. It was a real reminder of how much walking we did every day in Argentina, and how suburban our lives have become. 

We search for an easy dinner spot and find the brilliantly named,  Thai Food Near Me. It was delicious, the best Thai food we've had in a very long time. Texas knows how to do a lot of food well, Thai is not one of those options. 

Finish off the day by sitting at our hotel rooftop bar, staring at the Empire State Building. No complaints here. 

We get even more spoiled by having our bestest buddies come up and join us for the next two nights! 

The first day of our foursome was a rainy, dreary east coast day. The city that never sleeps didn't disappoint with the Museum of Broadway, an indoor experience available within a drizzly walk from our hotel. We all now own new, terribly crafted NYC-themed umbrellas. 

This place was my heaven! Orphan Annie's original dress *eek*, costumes from Cabaret, Hamilton, Dear Evan Hanson and so many others from the years of broadway shows. A short video on the history of Broadway and how it was created, and then they let you loose to wander the decades of theater. 

We have an early dinner at Bourbon and Branch so that we can catch our second show of the weekend, & Juliet. This show is a party! Fun, sing along songs set to the background of Shakespeare. A real crowd pleaser!

The rain cleared and we had this lovely 2nd full day to wander, this time we went Up! To the Top of the Rock and had fantastic views of the city. 

Farewell New York. We'll see you soon!

Graham Turns SEVEN!

What a treat to have Gran and Poppa in town for Graham's birthday! As he had been asking for the months leading up, we went to a restaurant for Hibachi dinner to celebrate the big day.

We came home for bundtinis and presents and had a low key birthday night. That is not to say it wasn't a busy year leading up to becoming a 7 year old. 

This year has been been a year of growth for Graham, he has become an avid shoe-tier, an emerging reader - graduating from Elephant and Piggy to The Magic Treehouse chapter books, and realizing a love of sports through baseball and basketball. Basketball hasn't started yet, but you're outside playing every chance that you get. 

Baseball was a big success this season, starting with getting comfortable with the pitching machine and learning to be a solid hitter - then following up with a great season in the field, most often playing at the pitcher's mound. The Rays ended the season with championship rings and an overwhelmingly successful season! We even had the 1st grade class pet, Kevindillo Armadillo present for a few games. 

Graham also wanted his birthday party to be celebrated at The Game Preserve, so we had a round 2 party with many of the same friends, and our favorite HEB bakery cake to complete the celebration of seven years with Graham. 

This birthday month was rounded out with some of the most beautiful weather of the year, where we joined up with a Howl-o-ween event at Northshore Park. Graham had his fill of holding precious little puppies like this one. We have no plans to have a dog, but that doesn't stop all three kids from asking, Graham having the loudest voice recently. 

He's becoming a real big kid, losing the baby roundness and now has a mouthful of big boy teeth. He's spunky and funny and confident. There are not many people who meet Graham and don't have a memorable story about the meeting. He's a joy and a challenge and he's ours. Happy Birthday Big Guy!