Thanksgiving adventures

We were supposed to leave for Michigan the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  I was leisurely packing and running around Monday morning while Clare was at school when LD called at 1pm and said if we didn't leave by 4pm we were not going due to the expected snow storm.  I had nothing (NOTHING) in suitcases, I had not showered and I had to get Clare.  It was insanity, but at 4:30, we were on our way.

We have never done the drive in the night thing with the kids.  I am always way too scared about it being a disaster...but it was awesome!!  Everyone was asleep by 8:30 and slept til about 2:30 on and off.  At 3am when we got gas EVERYONE woke up but was quiet and content.  We pulled in at 3:30 and everyone slept til late the next morning.  We truly loved it so much that we decided to do the same thing on the way home.  Except on the way home LD and the kids slept from 8 til midnight while I packed the car and then we left at midnight and got home at 10:30am.  In that 10 1/2 hour drive that is normally 11 and a half with kids...we only stopped ONCE!!!!  At 6am we got gas and took a potty break and then finished the trip.  It was really great!!!

 

We spent days 1 and 2 of our trip in Reading with LD's family.   We did the usual - play with cousins, play with new toys and eat a LOT of food!!

 

 

We did an early Christmas with them and scored some fun toys that kept us entertained the rest of the trip!

 

 

 

LDs mom hosted 22 people (TWENTY-TWO!!) at their house for dinner, so we were busy.

 

 

 

And this is our niece Kara's first year at Purdue, so everyone got some new clothes to show off school pride :)

 

Days 3 and 4 were spent at my parents, and my older sister, her husband, their kids and boyfriend/girlfriend also spent the entire weekend with us.  It was so fun to all be in one place!

We got to hang out with MORE cousins, eat yummy food, and do another family Christmas!

We also joined the crazies and did some shopping on Thanksgiving night from 9pm til 1am.

Before heading home, our last day in Michigan we went to Cabella's, which is super fun this time of year.

And had to stop for dounuts.  Also, if you are from Michigan and ever in Dundee, my very favorite candle store called Swan Creek is in downtown and we made a fun stop there and stopped for pizza too.  So at the end of the day, everyone got something fun!

 

The last two years downtown Blissfield where my parents live have a light parade the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  We were all bundled up and ready to go and there was NO ONE in town.  I guess they changed the date to later in December for this year.  (BUMMER)  To avoid a LOT of tears, we ducked in for a quick scoop of ice cream instead :)  That was just a few hours before we put them to bed and headed home at midnight!

 

Successful and fun filled trip.  We were so thankful to be able to celebrate Thanksgiving with so many of our family members!