We decided to do the Texas three step during vacation. Ken had negotiated for a few extra vacation days, so we had about a week. On Sunday we left after church and drove to Amarillo where we stayed the night. The kids loved spending the evening swimming in the pool. The next morning we began our drive to San Antonio and our visit with the Hansens.
San Antonio was where Ken served his mission and he was excited to be back in his old stomping (or should I say his old biking?) grounds. We drove by some of his old apartments and mission office, but the highlight was our visit to the San Antonio LDS Temple. It was beautiful and set up on a hill overlooking the city. It wasn't there when Ken was there almost 15 years ago and it was exciting to see how the church is growing. We walked around the grounds and enjoyed the spirit that was there.
After visiting the temple, we went downtown so we could see the Alamo and the riverwalk. It was so much fun learning more about the history of Texas. We loved the taking the kids on a cruise of the river and we were pleased that no one fell in. :) That night Jake surprised us by making arrangements for a babysitter so we could go on a double date out to dinner. And then Jake saved me by working on my back. (Thanks Jake! It felt so much better!)
On Wednesday, we headed up to Ft. Hood to meet with Cyle, my mom and dad, and Codi and Coby's family. We enjoyed a great dinner together and a movie night at Cyle's townhome. Thursday Uncle Cyle gave all the kids rides on his motorcycle. They all thought that was the greatest!
We got to have Thanksgiving dinner at the Mess Hall on Ft. Hood. They had decorated the mess hall beautifully and even had a pardoned turkey out it front. (Gobble, gobble!) The servers were all dressed in their dress uniforms. The best part was having Clint call us from Iraq while we were eating dinner. We all got a chance to talk to him. That really helped to put the day into perspective for me. We obvoiusly have so much to be grateful for. Most of all, our freedoms and the great land we live in.
Cyle gave us a quick tour of the post before we headed down to Houston to spend the rest of the weekend at Codi and Coby's. We had a fun weekend of the cousins playing, shopping, and just being together. It was so much fun!
On Sunday we started very early to make the long drive home. We are so lucky that our kiddos are so good in the car! We were making great time across Texas and enjoyed the drive and listened to The Westing Game and The Indian in the Cupboard on CD. Once we got into New Mexico we hit a snag. There was a huge storm and the roads connecting to I25 were closed and even I25 was closed because of all the accidents. We really flet like we needed to get home so we backtracked to Oklahoma and and went up the eastern side of Colorado. It was a long night -- we got home about 4:00 am.
It was a great trip! We visited great friends and loved the time we were able to spend with family. I think that made me even more thankful at Thanksgiving.
