We have started a tradition to meet up with the Texas Monsens every other year for Thanksgiving and our second meet up was as sweet as we had hoped! We chose Independence, Missouri because it was an even 10 hour drive for each of us and we found a great house and had a great time the few days we were together.
Before we got to the sweet part, we had to drive...
Definitely our least favorite part, but we had our cousins waiting on the other side of that drive, so we battled through and were all smiles when it was over-
Eve and June were hooked at the hip the entire weekend and it was just the sweetest. Their age gap felt a lot bigger when we were both in Texas just because they were so young, and it seems to get smaller each time we're together. Love those girls!
We arrived Wednesday night, had pizza, loaded up on a few more groceries and were ready to rock and roll for Thanksgiving Day! I hardly took any pictures the day of, but it was just so relaxing and fun and we just hung at the house and enjoyed being together.
Liv loved Aunt Kelsie's mashed potatoes the most-
And Mae loved the amazing weather Missouri showed off for us!
Fun and games all day!
We made the day after Thanksgiving our church history day and went to the Visitor's Center first and had a great little tour by the senior missionaries and learned a lot. Independence is so unique and so many churches that branched off from the main church have presence in the town. Very interesting area for the church!
We took a break for naps and World Cup games back at the house and in the late afternoon made our way to Liberty Jail about 20 minutes away from where we were staying-
This is a replica mixed with some original materials and the history of how the church came to own it and make this a spot for visitors is pretty cool. I'm so glad we were able to go here!
Babies struggle with this stuff, but we made it.
Santa was our next stop in Missouri and the massive Bass Pro Shops was the perfect place to spend the morning seeing him-
They all got a pass and it's looking like the Big Man will deliver this year!
Especially for this little reindeer...
This spunky one, too!
Seeing Santa every year is fun, but it's even better with cousins!
Uncle Todd and Mae were buddies all weekend and she loved giving him hard time because of how fun he was with her-
Uncle Todd is fun to be with because he just laughs at all the "naughty" things the kids do. Thad barking at his younger sibling, Mae whining non-stop, Wes and his endless video-gaming, etc. He really lightens the mood and reminds us to take life a little less serious.
Kindred spirits!
What an awesome crew and trip we had! It went by way too fast, but we are so grateful we could meet up with these greats for a few days.
Before we knew it, we had that big drive...and although it wasn't as exciting as coming, we powered through and made it home with full hearts.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Just had to have a little spot to remember our gratitude wall and that Mae insisted on having both of her hands traced and all fingers turned into turkey heads...WE LOVE HER SO MUCH!
