Thanksgiving Break

I'll pick up with Monday of our break since I covered last weekend. So Monday was our first day it felt to really adjust and slow down. It was nice that we didn't have any plans on the agenda. We slept in and took it easy around the house that morning. We mostly cleaned and Austin worked in the yard. I had to grocery shop and prepare for the week ahead. We did get out though to have lunch out and go to Lowe's. Something about this time of year I love eating out. Nothing fancy we just had po-boys and the kids had fried catfish. The rest of the day was very low key which was lovely! 
Tuesday we had a nice family morning and went to Lakeside. This is our yearly tradition of going to see Santa and ride the train. I wasn't sure if they would even do either b/c last year when I tried they both refused. Luckily this year they were thrilled. We started with Santa. It was the first year we got Lindsay up there without me having to go sit...well except the year she turned 1. She wouldn't sit near him but atleast she sat without us present. The picture came out so cute too! I love the glimpses of still seeing little kids in them. Even though I looked at a picture just 2 short years ago and realized just HOW MUCH they had grown up! After Santa they both rode the train and got the biggest kick out of it. Then we went to pick out ornaments for them. Lindsay found an Elena ornament in the Disney store and we took Colby to Macy's and he found a Charlie Brown one. By the time we finished all that it was time to eat lunch. Again I just tried to soak it all in. Even though it was before Christmas and it was in the 70s it still felt like Christmas. That afternoon Austin went to Hattiesburg to be with his mom. The kids and I had a low key time at home. My parents picked up Colby that afternoon so Lindsay and I had a very quiet night. I enjoyed just having her and the quiet that 1 child brings. She was also in bed before 7:30 which was bliss as well. It felt lovely to just put my feet up and relax.
Wednesday she and I tried to get going pretty early. We went to go pick Colby up at 9:15 and dropped him off at Nijel's house and we picked up Mia. We girls had a playdate scheduled with Lindsay's friends Claire and Layla. I invited Mia to go with us since she and Claire are now in school together. We got to City Park around 9:45. We spent the morning in Storyland together. It was fun to visit again with Tayna and Cindy. The girls had an absolute blast. We were able to mostly sit and visit while they played. We ended up staying about 3 hours! I was so glad Lindsay got to see her old friends. We miss those preschool days at Aurora so much! Meanwhile Colby also had a blast with Nijel. I was glad they both got to have "Friend time" during the holiday. Once we were finished we dropped Mia off and got Colby and came back home. The kids and I rested a bit. Soon austin got back home too. It was nice that night to not have anywhere to be. We ended up ordering pizza and working on our Thanksgiving pies. 
Thursday was of course Thanksgiving (see separate post)
Friday we did our Annual trip to the Children's Museum. Last year we had missed b/c Olivia had a vet appointment. I gave them the choice between there and the zoo and that's what they landed on.  We got there a little before 10 and it wasn't crowded at all. They spent a lot of time in the grocery stores both the city and country one. They also spent a lot of time on the building projects. I was proud of how independent and well they played. Its so fun taking them at these ages. I was able to mostly just sit and watch but I would get involved in a few play times with them. We even went into the art room for a bit. They were making snowflakes and they both enjoyed that for awhile. The last thing we did was play downstairs. Down there their fav things were dressing up like the police man and firemen. We only stayed about 2 hours then we went to meet Austin for lunch at Jimmy John's. This has become our holiday tradition on Black Friday. We have done it the last 4 years. Its such a fun thing to do! I hope we can continue it! That afternoon the kids and I just hung out. That evening we did our usual movie night event. We watched Because of Winn Dixie. It was really a good little movie. 
Saturday I decided that the kids and I really just needed to run errands. Colby wasn't happy with me but I felt we had done fun stuff most of the week and I needed to get stuff together so I wouldn't be as busy during the week. We first had breakfast with Lizzie at Chickfila. I figured they needed something fun. It was also nice to catch up and visit with Lizzie especially since we didn't see them on Thanksgiving this year. We stayed for about an hour. Our errands began at Party City. We needed to get things for Lindsay's party. I was glad to get that one out the way so I wouldn't have to get out later in the week. The next errand was Target. We needed several things there too. I tried to be quick though b/c I knew the kids were counting down. The last errands were quick just the bank and library. We made it home and ate lunch then hung out. Austin got home early and we worked on outdoor Christmas lights. That night we went to eat burgers at Bud's Broiler. Again just something so comforting and fun about eating out on a chilly evening during the holidays. 
Sunday we had church. We went to 1st service. Austin helped me but we only had 4 kids. It was honestly nice. I hate to wish for small crowds like that but we had 2 boys and 2 girls and they were all 4 years old. It made teaching so fun and enjoyable. We left after 1st service to eat lunch and get our tree. We ended up eating Mexican and picked up the tree. That afternoon/evening was spent finishing outdoor lights and decorating the tree! Its always our tradition to decorate the week of Thanksgiving since Lindsay's b-day comes the very next week! 
It was a lovely holiday despite the sadness that started it. I feel like we accomplished a lot but also took time to slow down and enjoy each other and the simple pleasures. I also feel like we got to have a lot of fun with the kids. I will miss them when they return to school but it will be nice to get back to "normal". This school year has been so plagued with craziness with Austin's dad being sick and him going there every week that it will be sorta nice to settle back into routines and life before the holidays. This week will be busy as we get back into all of our routines. We will also be prepping for Lindsay's party!