Thanksgiving in Texas

We haven't been to Texas since Austin and I were engaged, 4 years ago. Austin really wanted to go and spend time with his grandparents and take the opportunity to get to know more about his family history.


So off we went - driving! It was a long drive, so we decided to split it up. On the way there we stopped first in Colorado (after battling really bad snow through a lot of Utah on Sunday evening). Then we stopped the next night in Lubbock, TX. Vic (Austin's mission companion) and his wife Amanda were kind enough to feed us and let us stay the night with them. Amy and Cadence had never met them, so it was fun (though really short).

We drove for a couple of hours the next day, finally getting to his grandparents on Tuesday, early afternoon. It felt so good to get out of the car!

Almost as soon as we go there, Cadence took an interest in grandma's cats (she's got seven I think). For some reason, the most ornery cat of all he was most interested in until... he was clawed pretty good.

He was pretty upset but it didn't stop him from chasing them around the house.
One thing that Austin and Grandpa Cobb have in common is shooting! They both love the sport. Grandpa took Austin out shooting on Friday and they had a blast (shooting a WWII rifle). They also had a good time Thanksgiving day shooting some tannerite, which makes a fun little explosion and LOTS of noise! They also spent some time jammin' on the guitar at Papa Cobb's house on Thanksgiving night.
Thanksgiving day it was fun to see lots of Austin's family in the area.
Aunt Michelle
Uncle Jerry
Here's Austin showing "Plants vs. Zombie's to Cody (cousin) (and Waylen joins in a little later).
Cadence's Thanksgiving Dinner. He ended up sleeping by the time all the adults sat down to eat.
Lindsey (cousin) and the food table

Austin (enjoying not having to work) and Papa Cobb in the background.

Cadence is ready to eat after the table is set (but it was still another 30 minutes-ish until the adults sat down)
Shanelle (cousin) and Grandma CobbAmy's birthday happened to be the day after Thanksgiving this year. We did the big black Friday shopping this year, but took the liberty to sleep in. When we got to Target at around 9 or 10 a.m. we were SHOCKED at how much they still had and enjoyed how calm and casually all the shoppers were browsing the store. No crazies running from item to item and LOTS of helpful employees :) It made shopping enjoyable.
We bought some Christmas gifts, items we've been needing for the baby that were on sale, and Amy's birthday present - a sewing machine! HURRAY! (Now I just have to make the time to learn to use it. I'm excited, but that project has kind of taken a little backseat to everything else going on for now.)
In the evening, grandpa & grandma treated us to Olive Garden for Amy's birthday. After a year of not eating out, it was an interesting experience. We were grateful to enjoy it with them!
More than anything else, Thanksgiving means something when you spend it with others that you love in a spirit of gratitude. We were grateful to spend it with family, thinking about the greatest eternal blessings we have been given!