Thursday at 8 a.m., the extended Miller family (50+) headed to Branson, MO for a 60th Anniversary Celebration with Grandpa Max and Grandma Bobbie. All of us piled in a charter bus and headed South. The bus ride was relatively calm...especially considering that there were 20 children under age 13! Or, maybe it was b/c all of my children were hangin' out w/ aunties and uncles. :)
My children have awesome Aunts (and Uncles!)
Steak and Shake for Thanksgiving Dinner was a 1st. :)
Kids didn't mind at all!
The hotel that we stayed in had a water park. My Grandpa mentioned in an email that there was a waterslide, so we'd better bring our swimsuits. I looked up the hotel online, just to see what kind of "waterslide" it was...and it happened to be a waterPARK! The kids were SO excited! Being there with lots of cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents made it even more fun.
My cute lil' neice...Elliana.
Yes, and my boy: Benjamin. He LOVED the water. In January, we took the kids to a waterpark in Indy. I was a large 35 wks pregnant...and it's funny, 10 months later, I have a mobile little guy who thoroughly enjoyed the waterpark!
It was fun being the pied piper for the weekend! All the little girl cousins were following me around b/c of Benjamin. They loved him! He's such a laid back, cheerful little guy that he was passed all around. :)
Had to shop just a little...and for a gal that doesn't shop much, it was funny to me that we were out on Black Friday. :) I actually bought a new coat for Justin to wrap up for me for Christmas. Funny how we "do" Christmas, eh? I call it efficient. :)
We went to a funny hillbilly show called the: "Baldknobbers" William liked the guy w/ the hillbilly teeth. Madeline liked the singing, dancing cowgirls.
Something was funny!
Would've been a good picture...
My sister and her hubby, Nathan...
I was definitely on vacation...there were built in babysitters everywhere...all ages, too!
Another sis and her hubby, George. :)
Madeline w/ the cowgirls...
Mom and Leah...
When I was editing the pictures, it cracked me up to see who was in the background...mainly relatives w/ funny expressions. :)
McKenzie and Isaac...and Nate looking mischievious
Derek (a friend of Max's) and Max, deep in thought. :)
Family Pictures...
(the original family)
Our family w/ Grandpa Max and Grandma Bobbie.
My family w/ my Grandparents... we kinda roll w/ the motto: "The More, The Merrier!"
We were at an animal show, and the whole family was pointing to William (who was sitting on Justin's lap)...when the stage-guy asked for a volunteer. Funny thing was that he picked Justin, not William.
WaterPark! This one cracks me up...I'm sure Justin will love it.
Here we are at the show: Dixie Stampede. What a fun dinner show! All of us LOVED it!
My parents...always the biggest ducks in the puddle. :)
Grandpa Max: The Patriarch
And also the organizer and funder of the whole trip. Wow...he planned such a fun trip and we made so many great memories!He and my Grandma are so generous and such givers.
Justin and I...
Samuel devouring his whole chicken like an apple. :)
Madeline's favorite part of the horse show were the cowgirls w/ their glittery outfits and fast horses. :) She was so mesmerized, she had trouble remembering her supper! The boys, including Benjamin, loved the show too! My 2 favorites were the Nativity Scene w/ the wise men on camels and the beautiful Christmas music and the lady in glittery gold and white that came riding out on a white horse singing "O Holy Night"
What an absolutely marvelous time! Thanks to my grandparents for making it all happen! It was fun to be able to live life w/ the relatives for a few days! We made some great memories. I spent most of my time w/ little kids or talking to adults while counting to 4 or craning my neck to make sure I could see all of them. Ha, ha. Actually, it was nice, since there were so many "helpers" We had adjoining rooms w/ my parents, which was lovely!
On the way down, while we were on the bus, my Dad shared a short message about Thanksgiving. Yesterday, we had church on the bus. It was a blessing to see how God has gifted different ones. About a week ago, my Grandpa had asked Justin to share something for Sunday morning on the bus. Well, yesterday, Nathan led some singing w/ his guitar (imagine trying to play, sing, and stand on a moving bus) (Isaac assisted him w/ the microphone and music:) I forgot to tell him that I enjoyed it. :) And then Justin shared about why we should be thankful and what we should be thankful for. I was so proud of him...he did a really good job. He shared lots of Scriptures to back his comments. It was well thought out and well said. :) I appreciated that my Grandpa asked different ones to speak, sing or pray while on the bus...it was good to be reminded about the history of Thanksgiving and what the scripture says about giving thanks.
Today I helped the kids write thank you notes to my grandparents. It was funny hearing their favorite things about the trip: the charter bus, "Nugget" the chicken, the hot tub, the arcade games, the cowgirls ("actually the horsegirls"--guess that does make more sense), the horses, and the baby pool. They had so much fun. I enjoyed seeing them enjoy it all. :)
Now, back to reality. Like decorating for Christmas, finishing the mountain of laundry, bills, last week of orchestra, school, etc.
Much to be thankful for...even the daily grind. :)
**I remember now why I don't take the time to blog much anymore...especially w/ text. Why are there all these div things that space everything out? I have to go back and edit it all after I'm done. It took forever! Help!**
