We are statistics!

We were statistics this weekend, here they are. First we traveled more than 50 miles this Thanksgiving Holiday. We also traveled by air. We had some of our luggage go missing en route. 3 of 4 bags arrived in Houston. On our return flight one of our carry-ons was flagged for TSA rescan. We had to sit on the runway in Houston for hour and half after pushing back from the gate before taking off due to weather. All in all it was a pretty good trip.
Leaving home was an OK movement of troops and equipment. To ease some of the different surrounding problems, we packed the girls sleeping bags and blankets with us. We managed to get everything else into one big roll-along bag and checked the 2 car seats. Each girl got to bring their own backpack, Noodle's we used to carry the in-flight provisions we brought from home. However, she decided to use the backpack for a pillow so the PB&J sandwiches were flattened. I guess they made a good pillow. CaNoodle was able to lay out in the seats and take a decent nap.

The girls did really good on the flight. Noodle came out of the bathroom just before we landed and announced that she couldn't hear herself talking and it was funny to get her to yawn and understand that she had to pop her ears. But there was no crying. CaNoodle took it all in stride.Houston upon arrival was best described as HUMID and HOT. It was quite a shock getting off the plane. We were expecting it to be cooler but it was 82 when we arrived at 6:00PM. Grandpa was there at baggage claim to meet us.

Continental lost one of our car seats. We had checked it and had a claim ticket for it. They were very apologetic about the entire situation. I am not so sure Contential lost it but maybe someone else grabbed it thinking that it was there. After all of the bags were gone, there was one car seat that was not ours left on the carrousal. Maybe that other family grabbed it. I hope they realize that it probably was full of Cheerios and M&Ms. Anyway, Continental gave us a brand new car seat in storage. I am thinking that for the 45 minuts of inconvinence we made out ahead.

Great-grandma R was in Houston for a visit so it turned into a family reunion of sorts. We had a great time. She is 97 and is definitely the matriarch of the family. She does pretty well even though she suffers from Macular Degenerates disease and walks with a walker. She got around just fine, helped out when she can and just enjoyed her No, 10, 11, 12 and 13th great grandchildren.

Day two, we finally get to meet Cousin P and Cousin T.

That was lots of fun be/c we didn't bring very many toys and Cousin P and T have lots of them. I mean lots of them. Cousin P had just had her 5th birthday which was a Cheerleader Party.... don't ask.... and there was lots of pom-poms and cheers to be practiced. She also had a room that was a bonanza of things to do! They kids did really well together.

Thanksgiving Day it was cold..... I mean, cold. We went for a swing and almost froze the kids. Even though it was a short lived adventure it was fun to get outside and let mom have a few minutes to relax and great grandma have a break from the noise. At 97 she lives in an assisted living facility that does not have screaming kids running around banging things. It took her a while to get used to them.
Here is everyone waiting on Thanksgiving dinner. Aren't they just darlings??? No, they were threatened with life and limb if they didn't sit down and relax for a few minutes as we got the final touches together on Thanksgiving Dinner.
They all played together nicely for the most part but there were moments that no one liked each other and or were not our friend. In the blink of an eye all of that would change and the screaming and running would take off again. Thank goodness grandpa and Miss MA had large houses that allowed for echoing.
Finally, on the trip home. We set up my laptop to watch DVDs in them. "My Little Pony" was able to hold viewership attention. I did manage to watch some of it but could only take so much be/c it was so sickenly sweet.

We made it home. Did 18 loads of laundry, unpacked everything and everyone and now we are just relaxing. The girls went to bed fairly early and the mom and I had an opportunity to go through 2700 Christmas catalogues that came while we were gone! Full picture set aboard Flickr if you want to see more. And there are some nice pictures of the kids.

If you are interested, great grandma R had some pictures of when she was a little girl and the family that we scanned. You can see them here. Then include a picture of the girls great-great grandma and grandpa from 1910, to great grandma and great grandpa when they were dating, circa 1930 and then as the families grew up.