Happy Thanksgiving

This week we traveled to Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving.

Before we left, we had a lot to accomplish. The highlight was I got a haircut! Mom and Dad said I look much older with my new 'do.

We were also really excited and had great weather, so we burned off lots of steam at local parks. We went to three playgrounds we don't go to that often: Central Market, a playground with dinosaurs, and a huge playground with a climbing structure that looks like waves.

Monday finally came and we got up very, very early to catch our airplane. We usually bring a stroller with us but this time we instead rolled Hazel around in one of our car seats we strapped to a suitcase. It was a pretty sweet ride. Then when we got on the plane, we were lucky enough to get four seats (we had only three tickets and though Hazel might have to ride on Mom's lap), so Hazel rode in the car seat the whole time. About halfway through the flight, she fell asleep. I did a great job on the plane too. Mom and Dad surprised me with an early Hanukkah present – a Scribble and Write toy that I used to practice writing letters. I love it so much that, along with some Oreos I talked Mom into sharing with me, it kept me busy all three hours.

Since we have been at Grandma and Grandpa's, we have had a great time. There is so much to keep us busy. Mom, Hazel, Gigi, Grandma and Aunt Lauren got haircuts. We have had tons of fun seeing lots of family. Mom-Mom, Pop and Aunt Jane visited with us; we spent lots of time with Gigi, Uncle Daniel, Aunt Lauren, Uncle Ryan and his dad, Jim; and we visited Aunt Cindy and Uncle Steve at their Irish shop. Tons of other people visited us on Thanksgiving too. It has been great!

Grandma and Grandpa's house is really fun. There are so many good things to play with, like wagons and a firetruck and doggy to ride on. Grandma and Grandpa's kitties are super fun to watch and pet, and we have had a blast running around in the huge backyard. Mom and Hazel even found a bird's nest that fell out of a tree and a bunny. After a few days, I figured out how to get into trouble with things like crawling under the baby gate to get up and down the stairs at will, turning on and off various lights, and going outside by myself to visit the outside kitties.

Also, we have eaten so much good food, it might be easier to roll back to Texas than fly. Grandma cooked tons and tons of delicious goodies for us, we had lots of Rocco's, Pop and Mom-Mom took Dad, Mom and Hazel to lunch at Cross Keys, and Grandma even showed me and Dad how to make pecan pie.

There were a few other highlights from our trip. Last Wednesday Hazel and I went out with Grandma to a recycling center and a hike in a park. Friday we hung out with Dad, Grandpa and Uncle Daniel while Mom and Grandma went wedding dress shopping with Aunt Lauren. It was a good day. They took us out to lunch, where Hazel and I decided to start eating as much ice cream as we could hold in our bellies on this trip. Strawberry is our favorite. Later, Hazel fell asleep on the couch with Dad while I took a tractor ride with Grandpa.

The next day we hung out with Mom and Aunt Lauren in the afternoon while Dad hung out with Uncle Ryan. When it was time for dinner, we headed to the Famous Hot Weiner with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Daniel, Aunt Lauren and Mom. It was very fun and another opportunity for strawberry milkshakes.

Monday we headed to Wolfgang candy factory for a tour and snacks with Grandma, Aunt Lauren, our cousin Mianna, Mom and Dad. We saw how they make chocolate covered almonds and pretzels and then we ate some! After lunch and a nap, we picked up Gigi, who took us to feed geese and ducks some corn. They were very loud and hungry! It was fun watching them. Hazel especially loved it -- she kept calling the geese "ducks" -- and it was nice spending a little extra time with Gigi.

Wednesday we head back to Austin. It is hard to leave all this behind, we have had so much fun, but we are looking forward to seeing Peepa and a visit from Bubbe and Papa this weekend.

Here are the pictures from our visit.