I was determined this year to have my niece and nephew over to do some fun stuff for the holidays. Last year we had just had Joel, and the years before that Macy was too small to come. But now they are getting older so fast, and with Cade turning nine this year I wonder how many years I'll have left with him wanting to come hang out with us. So I planned an entire day and evening of fun and couldn't believe that we got it to happen on short notice.
The only problem was that it was the Tuesday before Christmas. You know, that time when you still have about a billion things to do and aren't quite sure how you're going to manage all of them? Well, I just didn't want that to stop this. Isn't hanging out with family what Christmas and the holidays are all about? Not getting stuff done.
We met them on the west side of town Tuesday morning so that I could switch cars with April. She drives a giant Durango, and we can't fit more than two car seats in our car. We headed back home amidst much excited talking. The kids played for awhile while Joel took a nap, then we had lunch. My plan was for my Mom to go to the zoo with all of us, since I was a little nervous about taking all four kids by myself. But my Mom got sick and had to bow out, so I asked if my dad, also knows as Poppy, would come. He agreed. Everyone was so excited about this zoo trip it was ridiculous! Even me!
We had such a good time. The weather cooperated a little too much and we found ourselves getting sweaty and hot in the sunnier places. Cade is old enough to help us with Macy and Gabriel, who held hands with each other or me the whole trip. My Dad and I took turns holding Joel up to see things, since one of the only flaws I find with the Ft. Worth zoo is that babies in strollers really can't see much. Everybody got to see their favorites, and we ended the day as we always do with the apes and monkeys. The gorillas were very accessible which made everyone happy. The last time we went I forgot to post about the second biggest male gorilla suddenly charging the glass and hitting it with all of his might, scattering the crowd and leaving us all really nervous and trying not to think about what happened at the Dallas zoo. Luckily that didn't happen this trip since Cade and Gabriel were literally inches from him sitting right next to the glass. He would look at them occasionally, but I'm trying to teach Gabriel to not stare right into their eyes because I think it's rude.
We all came home to have some much needed quiet time. But instead we headed to the back yard, because it was 85 degrees outside! Then Jav got home early, which was great because that meant we could go look at Christmas lights. We picked the Diamond Loch neighborhood over Interlochen, which I think takes too long and eventually becomes too much of a good thing. Diamond Loch is always really pretty, not too long and not too crowded. And our expectations were met. The kids all loved it. One of my neatest memories from the day will be driving back home from the lights, all of us (except Joel who had graciously fallen asleep minutes from the house), singing Feliz Navidad at the top of our lungs. It made me think of "A Christmas Story" when the Mom and kids are singing Jingle Bells together after picking out a Christmas tree.
Bedtime was a little chaotic, as we knew it would be. Joel got to bed just a little late, but everyone else was an hour later than usual. And then Cade kept trying to scare Macy, who is not used to sleeping away from home. She didn't really need help, because lots of things make her nervous, like the thought of one of our cats plodding over her air mattress on the floor of our living room. Which I never thought one of them would do, but of course, they both did. After all the initial hoopla, the kids both managed to get to sleep and did really well the rest of the night. The next day was low-key. Just breakfast and playing until they went home around lunchtime. But great memories were made that I hope the kids will keep with them for a long time. I know I will.
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