Thanksgiving Day

Our Thanksgiving Day was very non-traditional, but it was wonderful! We started the morning with a huge free breakfast at our hotel (Embassy Suites are great!).  Then we went to the San Antonio Zoo.

Can you see the very still hippo in the back?

We had never seen one of these.  It is an Opaki.  We decided it was a giraffe/zebra mix.  What do you think? The Opaki live in Africa.  There aren't many of them at all.  And they were "discovered" until 1901.

Of course, we had to stop for snack time.

The birds were awesome!  I love the excitement and concentration on the kids faces.  Katie wanted nothing to do with the birds--that's why there aren't any pics of her.

This was Sam's first trip to a zoo in a long time and he thoroughly enjoyed looking and pointing.

After lunch and naps we had a little craft time.

Then we went and had Mexican for Thanksgiving--it was so so yummy!  

Then Mom and Dad gave them some Christmas pjs.

The McDaniels Invade San Antonio

Seriously it felt like we invaded San Antonio--all 12 of us in a 15 passenger van!  The Peggs flew so there were just 8 of us on the way there!

Mom packed a picnic and we stopped at a park and had a great lunch.  The kids were fantastic travelers!!  We only stopped twice on the way there and twice on the way  home and we weren't pushing them at all!  They were just happy and content!  

Tuesday night when we arrived we just walked to a restaurant near the hotel.  It ended up being great--Zeb's favorite meal we ate while we were there.  It was Icenar and it was Tex-Mex.

The next morning we hit the town running.  First up was the Alamo.  The city is just beautiful.

The Alamo

Zeb teaching the kiddos what happened there. 

Anytime Leigh saw a flag she stopped and did The Pledge.

Katie took this pic--all I had to do was crop it to center us!

Leigh loved riding on "Uncle Clark's head"

All four big kids were able to fit on the back row.

After naps we went to New Braunsfels and rode the train.

And we ate the best BBQ at Rudy's.  It was family style and you ate off of a paper placemat.

The girls got to wash their hands in a "fancy sink" also known as a trough!

Sam's first haircut

It was time.  Maybe past time.  He had a definite mullet that we had to get rid of.  I think he was almost excited about getting it cut.

This is a pretty good view of his "party" in the back.  That is all she trimmed.  We left his bangs and his sides the same.  I wasn't ready for that yet.

 

And here is what it looks like now.  All "business"!

Happy Thanksgiving

The First Thanksgiving Proclamation


Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to "recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"
Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.
And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best. 

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.

Race Day

Two weekends in a row we have spent our mornings at a course somewhere.  I must say, I love it!  It is such a fun, healthy, good environment! Sara Beth loves to run.  She runs up and down our street.  She runs around our fence in the backyard.  She runs on the playground at school.  Get the picture!  Anyway, I was doing a 12K on Saturday that had a fun run attached to it.  We asked Sara Beth if she would be interested and she was.  She and Zeb practiced a couple of times in the neighborhood and she was ready!

Waiting to run.  (The lady in green is our pediatric dentist (Dr. Tiffany Green with Southern Smiles--go see her if your kids need a dentist--she is wonderful!)

And they are off!  Leigh actually only made it 200 yards before she climbed in the stroller.  Oddly enough we discovered while we were practicing for the race that Leigh had asthma.  We (I) was at my wits ends with her. She was always sick with this nasty sounding cough and was having a hard time sleeping. When she tried to run she had a hard time breathing.   She was on 4 allergy meds that weren't cutting it.  Within a couple of days of being put on asthma meds her cough quit and she started sleeping better!  We are so thankful!  Back to the race...

Sara Beth did great.  It was in Fondren and had a really big hill at the end.

Here she is crossing the finish line in less than 12 minutes with an untied shoe!

They were so proud of their medals.

Post race family pic

Honey and G came to cheer them on.  She made a sign that was reversible.  The other side said "Go Leigh".

Even Sam got a medal for riding one mile!

Leigh's Field Trip

Leigh had a field trip to Disney on Ice on Friday morning.  She loved it and thought everything was really neat.  It's funny because I thought they had seen a lot of Disney movies, but I quickly realized they have not!  In the first act she had not seen The Lion King of Lilo and Stitch.  She enjoyed those scenes but just didn't get it.  Then, The Little Mermaid came out and she was hooked!  Unfortunately, we had to leave at intermission so that we could get to Sara Beth's feast at school.  This gave me a major case of mother guilt that I am still not over.  I feel like with three that I do lots of stuff for them half way.  I felt so guilty leaving something for Leigh to go to something for Sara Beth.  I hate that everything falls at the same time.  My friend Brittany told me that teaches them to be flexible and to not think that the world revolves around them.  There is a lot of truth in that--but I still feel guilty.  Leigh, however, could have cared less.  She saw an hour of it and then got to go to Sara Beth's big school!  All the while, Brittany had Sam---ahhh! balancing!

Sar Beth's Feast

I haven't had much to blog about lately because we have just been doing the routines of life--cooking, cleaning, carpooling, changing diapers, etc... However, we had a big weekend and we are going to have a big week so I have lots to post so that I can remember what happened when I get old--or, ummmm... next month!

Sara Beth had her Thanksgiving Feast at school on Friday.  Mr. Barbour was so sweet and came dressed as a pilgrim.  He read to them and talked to them a little about what it was like to be a pilgrim.

Giving thanks to God before eating.

Leigh was with me because she had a field trip that morning (more on that later.)  Sara Beth was so sweet to invite her to sit with her and she shared her food with her.

They did a small craft.

Class Picture

Zeb and I are so thankful that our children are able to attend a school where they are able to learn about God and He is glorified!