Thanksgiving Eve

This day is becoming one of our favorite throughout the year.  We went to the zoo again, since it was a gorgeous day.  There were many more people compared to last year.  But we hopped on the train as soon as we got there and rode to the back of the zoo.

Happy and Texas Wild bound!

The pretend alligator ...

... and the real one.  SO close to the glass that Joel really didn't want to stand in front of him to have his picture taken!

I got a kick out of watching the new female jaguar pacing up and down the fence next to the coyotes, who were also pacing, but much more nervously!

The bobcat, who sort of resembled Bones.

I love the picture below.  It was very spontaneous, and came out just like I wanted.

After a quick lunch and some long naps, we regrouped and headed out to find some Mexican food to eat outside.  It was just so beautiful outside.  We had planned to eat at Chuy's on 7th street, but decided to drive downtown to see if any decorating had been done yet for the Parade of Lights planned for the Friday after Thanksgiving.  We were surprised to see the tree decorated already, and then passed Cantina Larado, where many people were eating outside.  We asked the boys if they wanted to eat downtown and got a resounding, "Yeah!!"  It was really fun to watch their little faces looking up at all the buildings, so excited we teased them that they must live on a farm and this was their first time in the Big City.

It was dark by the time we finished so we headed down to see the tree up close, and got a big surprise.   

All the lights were on because they were still testing everything and last-minute decorating!  There were no crowds, and we had pretty much free range of the place.  Gabriel took the picture below, which I think turned out beautiful.

It was a magical day, and one we will all be talking about for a long time.  Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!