Thanksgiving in New Orleans 2013

We really had such a great weekend in New Orleans for Thanksgiving. We had 14 people under one roof, 7 of those people being children. But it was so much fun and there was just a lot of togetherness and a lot of food and that's pretty much all I need in life.

We have a very long drive to and from New Orleans. Ellie is getting older and getting more and more bored with this drive. We finally purchased a DVD player for her in the car and a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD. She didn't notice the screen there for most of the drive, so when we were at the Texas/Louisiana border and I reached back and turned the screen on, she lost her mind. She was squealing, flapping her arms, waving to Mickey and saying "HI!" I think it's pretty safe to say we won't be traveling without this anymore. Especially for these long, long car rides.

On the way, we stopped at Cracker Barrel where Ellie once again made it clear to us that she wants nothing to do with any kind of vegetable. But doesn't she look so cute in her turkey shirt?!

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We got there pretty late, but she was a happy girl that next morning when her Baba made her some french toast. Happy Thanksgiving indeed!

Here we all are as a family for Thanksgiving meal. Unfortunately, Grant has a blue heron attacking his head.

This Matilda Jane outfit was killing me. I mean, really. Just the cutest.

 And this is what Grant chose to do with his day-after-Thanksgiving. 

 I stayed inside, where it was warm. And there was television. And I didn't have to touch gross monster fish.

So we drove to New Orleans in a turkey shirt. And we drove home in a Christmas tree shirt. Because it was December 1. Time to kick off the season!

Here we are at a Dairy Queen.

 I feel like it is kind of a requirement that I mention that while we were at this Dairy Queen, we saw a man feeding a chocolate ice cream cone to a ferret. You just can't make this stuff up, y'all.

In summary, we had a great Thanksgiving. We are thankful for family, all the kiddos, mashed potatoes, the Lord's faithful provision, chocolate cream pie, our precious daughter, safe travels, the DVD player, Grant's job, and getting home. 

Let the Christmas decorating begin!