Monday, January 2, 2017

Texan Thanksgiving

Happy (Belated) Thanksgiving!

Somehow the husband convinced me to drive 28 hours EACH WAY to get to Texas for Thanksgiving...I must love him or something. 




We took a pit stop at Barnes and Nobel... and I fell in love

On the way back, we got a quick glimpse of the St Louis Arch.
Not enough to scratch off my bucket list, though


I got to meet the entire Glenn family (minus one)! Three generations, under one roof.


Thanksgiving was hosted by the grandparents, who live on a large property with a small pond, which the family calls "the Tank." They have a small boat that's been around since Evan's dad was young. All the cousins took turns in it, some better than others. 


Evan took great joy in pushing Ian out onto the lake alone, in great big-brother fashion

Ian didn't seem to catch on to the whole Boat thing very quickly

 

 


Evan, however, was a pro.






And their property was beautiful!





    Apparently it's a Glenn tradition to celebrate Evan's birthday during Thanksgiving, since it's only a few days later. So Donna made an awesome cake and had Evan blow out a candle. I think one of the other cousin's birthdays was close, too.                               Also, Evan's family is awesome! His cousins immediately felt like big brothers, and his aunts are some of the coolest ladies I've ever met... we went to go see a movie (just the girls of the family), and I felt right at home. The way they talked to each other is very similar to the way I interact with my own awesome sister, so I felt right at home.   




 Esme, Evan's grandmother, is an exceptionally talented artist. She has a studio above the garage, with paintings on every wall and available space.





Evan's grandparents also have a stash of futuristic magazines...from the 1980s. We read through some of them, most with advertisements for the newest computers: Macintosh!

The articles also fantasized about space travel and technological revolutions that would occur in 30 years' time. Unfortunately, that day is upon us and almost none of their predictions came true.
I have never seen a state as patriotic as Texas...for their own state. This waffle maker was in the breakfast area of the hotel

.
Thanksgiving was a whirlwind: two day's drive there, two days with family, and two days drive back. Meeting the family was awesome, but I think next year we'll fly. 





Christmas in CA :: Safari!

The day after Christmas, the family went to Safari West, a wildlife preserve near Middletown, CA. We had the first tour of the day, so it was a beautiful 20-something degrees outside. Always good times when you can see your breath. 

You can tell mom and meg are cold-
Thank goodness Granny gave us blankets for Christmas!
This very social bird took a special interest in Meg
and her blanket

The bird was also very interested in Granny's blanket...for good nesting material!

This hyena is usually extremely shy...but he was just basking in the sun!




Evan, Meg, myself, and Kara (cousin) sat on the top of the jeep...and met an ostrich!

They're a mini gang...or the Fates from Hercules

Evan, Meg, myself and Kara chillin with some Zebras
These rinos were pretty hardcore...they eat 150 lbs of food a day!



We love giraffes...one of Meg and my favorite animals. So naturally I took a boatload of photos!















PORQUPINES




 

Christmas in CA :: Wine Tasting!


With the gorgeous weather California afforded us on Christmas Eve, we went to a winery on the outskirts of Napa Valley. The owners built the castle exclusively for the winery, so while it was a little crowded, it was beautiful!





We entered through the back way (no entry...except for us!) and found the wine tasteing area. With 5 wines each, I was feeling it (I'm such a lightweight), but they were soo good!





After the tastings, we spent some time traversing through the castle grounds.
In the first photo below, you can see Dad and Gramps spying on us from the top :)




         
                     
                       Arn't we adorable?
...he tolerates me ;)

   



  




      

 


That's dad and Gramps viewing us from the top!


 

"Your mother is a hamster, and your father smells of elderberry" --The father in question is in the upper left
  

I love my family