NEED TO GO CHRISTMAS SHOPPING

I LOVE long weekends, but for some reason they never seem long enough. It's probably because I try to cram too much into each day that I never get much of a chance to rest. Travis and I both had Thursday through Sunday off from work, which was quite a treat since Travis usually works every day except Sunday. And even then he sometimes works Sundays.

Thanksgiving was great. I spent all day preparing for the big meal and then cooking everything. I was in charge of the turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, stuffing and rolls. Everyone else filled in the gaps for me. The food was so good. I think I ate all day long. From the appetizers starting at 2pm until pumpkin pie at 7pm. I cannot remember what time everyone left by, but I know it was not late. I was worn out from being on my feet all day and then stuffing myself with delicious food, so I was ready for bed when everyone left. Travis wasn't quite ready to call it a night so he went over to Sara and JR's to hang out with them and Sara's family, who were in town.

Friday morning I got up at a pretty decent time since I had gone to bed so early the night before. We expected David, Stephanie and Wednesday around 1pm, so we didn't plan to do anything except clean up from Thanksgiving and relax. David and Stephanie spent Thanksgiving in Dallas with her step-mom and they had a late start to our house. They ended up not getting in town until dinner time, so we met them at Buffalo Wild Wings for the evening meal. Alexa and Chris brought Blair to greet Wednesday. After dinner we went over to Chris and Alexa's for a few hours before heading back to our house to unload their bags and all Wednesday's gear. It always amazes me how much stuff is required when you have a baby. I'm thankful Travis and I invested in some larger vehicles so we will be ready when the time comes!

Saturday we had a big breakfast at home and then drove to Galveston so they could check out all the old haunts. David and I went to college together and Stephanie had lived in the area since she was a teenager. They found the destruction depressing. Beyond the damage, the place seems so dirty because of the mud and trash all over the place. We drove out to the west end and Travis took a picture of David next to a house on the beach. The sand erosion is so severe that the concrete slab where the owner's used to park their car is now five feet above the ground.

That evening Travis and I had a wedding to attend for a guy I work with. While we were there David and Stephanie headed out to do some Christmas shopping. Stephanie always complains that there are no places to shop near where they live, so they were excited to take advantage of all the prime shopping locations around here.

Travis and I left the wedding after the ceremony to spend some more time with Wednesday and the bunch. It was so funny because they brought this colorful, little "fence" that can be set up anywhere in the house to prevent a baby from getting into things they are not supposed to. We called it baby jail. They just threw a bunch of her toys in there and she seemed content.

Sunday morning Travis made breakfast before everyone got back on the road. He made turkey omelets. I'm kind of over the turkey thing at this point. Although I'm still digging the leftover mashed potatoes and gravy. Brought some more for lunch today. =D I pretty much laid on the couch for the rest of the day while Travis ran up to Chris and Alexa's to get a couple of their old cabinets. He plans to put them in the garage for closed storage space and counter top space. He mentioned putting in a sink too, but I'm not sure if that will really happen or not.

Last night we went up to Kai's house for dinner. Which is actually Kai and Melinda's house because she moved in a few weeks ago. Everything seems to be going smoothly. Melinda seems to have supplied everything Kai didn't have, so the house is complete now. Jenna came over for a little while too, but she had to leave early. I helped Melinda wrap Christmas gifts for the kids, which made me feel pretty incompetent since I still have EVERYONE to shop for. Guess I better get on that!