Thankful for Thanksgiving: A Visit with Auntie Tina

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we had an excellent Thanksgiving!

We made a road trip to Texas to visit my Aunt and Dad!

The last time we made a road trip to visit relatives was when Chloe was 2-months-old and my aunt lived in Kentucky, so this trip was long overdue! The only out-of-state relatives Evan had met before this trip were my dad, A.K.A. Grandpa, his girlfriend, Sandra, and Chris' grandfather and wife.

Our first stop was Pasadena, TX to visit my Auntie Tina. She has 7 children, so when I say I visited my aunt, it really means I visited a whole lot of cousins, their children, and friends:) We were really cherishing this family time and socializing, so picture taking was sparse at my aunt's house.

Nevaeh, my cousin's daughter, was visiting all the way from Nashville, TN and Chloe loved playing with an older girl. If you know Chloe's personality, this was a dream come true for her. "She is too grown for her britches!"

We arrived the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and decided to drive to the Kemah Boardwalk. Here are a few photos from our outing!



Alex (my youngest cousin), Chloe & Nevaeh



It was so neat to see the marine and wild life under the boardwalk!

The boardwalk also had a street, or should I say "boardwalk," performer. In this photo, he is balancing on a board on a barrel while balancing a tire on his head and juggling fire! Wow!

Afterwards, the kids enjoyed the small amusement park.

Check out this awesome 2-tier carousel! I handed the camera over to Chris so I could help Evan on it. As he was taking pictures, he made a comment about the the littles riding on the bottom of the carousel for better pictures. But, I figured that this may be our one opportunity to ride on the second level of a carousel, so we took advantage:)

 Bye-bye Kemah.

The following day was Thanksgiving. And, oh my! Did we have some food?! Auntie Tina had 3 turkeys, 2 fried and one baked, not to mention, all the delicious sides! My cousin Cristina by far is the BEST baker! This is a photo I stole from her Facebook page of the desserts that she prepared. I can't even begin to explain the yumminess!

I also managed to get a few photos.


 One thing that I really was looking forward to during this trip was meeting all the new babies!

 

Chloe with my cousin Silvia and her daughter, Rebecca

 

 

Evan with my cousin Cristina and Rebecca 





 

Jayla and Auntie Tina 



 

Cutie pie Addyson, my cousin Melissa's daughter 





 

Sandra and Chloe 

 

 

I was so glad that Chloe and Evan were finally exposed to some of my roots. I was truly thankful for this Thanksgiving with my family and all the great food!

 

(There is more to come of our visit to Texas with my Dad in Kyle!)