Final Act

There are so many fun things to do near Dave's house.

The Surfside jetty isn't far away.

It was a beautiful day.

The sky was clear -- we could see forever.

First, we climbed ginormous rocks.

This was fun for everyone,

The surf is also a lot of fun.

Taking pictures of wonderful grandchildren in the surf is fun!

Looking for treasures is very exciting.

We could have spent all day there.

The cousins found a sea-comb.

We walked a mile out to the end of the jetty.

Julia hitched a ride.

So did Nate.

We saw dolphins.  So wonderful!

Mostly, we played.

Nathan was proud of his climbing feats.

Some supervision was necessary.

We watched fishermen catch huge fish from the bay.

Sometimes it doesn't matter where you are as much as who you're with.

Just having someone your own size to play with can be enough.

The best part about getting to the end of the jetty was we got to walk back.

We also went to the Sea Center, 5 minutes away from Dave's house.

Watching kids gaze at the tanks is surprisingly peaceful.

We did some necessary waiting.  Matt is a master at waiting.

He started a trend.

We timed our arrival to coincide with the daily feeding.  Mesmerizing.

I was mesmerized with Adele.

After  looking at the fish, we strolled the boardwalk.

It was just a little chilly.

Julia soon figured out who had the snacks.

As I went through the pictures, I started to see that Julia loved all the adults.

The sun was great for taking perfect pictures.

Birds were fun to spot.

Cousins having fun were also easy to find.

Things were pretty exciting!

Some went into Houston to see the Nutcracker Friday night.

Ella learned that ballet doesn't have words.

They had a magical time.

Saturday afternoon we flew Papa Ben's and Dave's helicopters.

Phones and iPods are the controls.

It was way cool.

This helicopter has its bumper pad on.  It also takes pictures.
I can think of a good use for this.

Lots of instruction was required before kids could try this.

Everyone was successful!

This event was an amazing amount of fun.

Even just watching is fun.

This is how I feel right now!

Main Event

Our Thanksgiving Day started out like everyone else's did with the preparation of the bird.  Matt worked under the masterful eye of Uncle Sammie.

Our hosts, Dave and Carolyn, prepared the smoker.

The rest of us had important tasks, also.
Aunt Melissa helped every child with their needs.

It was a beautiful day to be in the backyard.

Kyle took delight in his cousin's toys.

He quickly became adept.

Did you have a zombie attack at your Thanksgiving?

I love to listen to grandchildren explain important things.  And when Luke uses the word "actually" in his explanations, I understand better.

It's hard to beat fun on a glider.

Papa brought two XO tablets for the kids to play with.  These were an enormous hit.

But he doesn't need technology to build strong bonds.

In the meantime, the dads tended the smoker.

I loved that the kids didn't hesitate to ask for help from anyone.

I took a little circus of children on a walk around the block.

We spied something amazing.

Toward the end of our walk, Julia took a tumble and needed to be carried.  Jacob said, "Don't worry, I'll get the others home."

He lined them all up and they marched, singing.

I will laugh about this forever.

The big girls played with their dolls.  Out of sight, out of mind.  They are learning how to be teenagers, I warned their parents.

Will, very much a teenager, totally wowed me with his marching band skills.

How anyone could have napped was mind-boggling, but it happened.

Rocket launching was the last planned activity of the day.

Shooting rockets is a great Thanksgiving Day event.

Rockets are fun even when it's getting dark.

In fact, no one wanted to leave.

I have put in another movie for you to enjoy.

After we were settling into our pie, Jeff started to drum.  Decorators advise to plan the room around what happens there, so Carolyn made the decision that the living room should be the band room, considering all the musicians they have in their home.  Guitars appeared.  The floors vibrated.  This was my favorite part of the day!