Surprise!!

This Thanksgiving me and Matt totally surprised my sisters and their families by showing up in Texas unexpectedly.  Originally I was planning on driving to Texas with my parents and Matt was going to wait and take time off at Christmas to go out there, but when my parents decided to fly, we didn't think I would be able to do that so I told my sisters I'd have to wait until Christmas to see them.  Not too long after that, my mom told me that she found out she had some frequent flier miles that we could use so we decided to go, but wanted to keep it a surprise.  It wasn't easy to keep the secret and it nearly slipped several times, I was so excited.  I had my sisters convinced that we were going to celebrate with Matt's family and even tried to play off how disappointed I was not to be able to spend the holiday with all of them and the kids :-).

Lindsey and Eli

We flew out of Pensacola on Wednesday morning, had a short layover in Dallas, and arrived in Killeen (about 30 mins from Devon's) at around 3:45.  When Devon and the kids got there to pick up my parents, they went out and greeted them while me and Matt waited for a few minutes inside.  Once they were distracted by my parents, me and Matt snuck up behind them. Devon was shocked and the kids were excited. The next day when Lindsey and her family arrived, she came outside to help my mom carry in her groceries and was pretty surprised to see me standing out by the car. 

Enjoying Thanksgiving dinner

On Thanksgiving we went to my Aunt Pam's house (we had told her we were coming) where they had over 20 people there for dinner.  There was a ton of food and it was all delicious! It was a little different not having to help cook all day, but it was fun to be able to just relax, hang out with everyone, and enjoy the day.  That night me and Devon waited in line at Toys R Us for about an hour and a half for some good Black Friday deals for the kids.  Once we were through there it was about 11:00 and I was exhausted. My crazy sisters went out to do more shopping, but I was ready for bed.  

Family dinner (just missing Kevin) while the guys watched the kids

Playing at the park





New Christmas pajamas

I got to stay for a whole week and Matt and my parents stayed from Wednesday until Sunday. We had such a fun trip and it was so good to see everyone.  I couldn't believe how much the kids had grown and how much older they all seemed since I last saw them this summer.  The twins are talking so well, Isaac is super smart, I was amazed at some of the things he understood and knew, and even little Eli is turning from a toddler into a little boy.  I also got to meet my newest nephew Carter Ames who was born October 10th.  He is adorable and the perfect baby, hardly ever cries, and sleeps really well which Devon is more than pleased about. I can't believe Thanksgiving is already over and Christmas season is in full swing. This year has flown by!