Seventeen pictures of Thanksgiving weekend

On Wednesday, the four of us piled into the car and we headed out for Omaha to visit the Nebraska Pauleys.   The bazillion-hour car ride didn't go as badly as I had anticipated.  No one threw up, threw a giant tantrum or threw anything out of the window.  We didn't have to stop every 45 minutes and before we knew it, we were in Omaha.  My pictures from the weekend loaded backwards so instead of restarting everything, we'll just start at the very end..... 

Reina and I at a restaurant in Ogallala a few hours from home last night.  I include two pictures as proof of how hard it is to capture any of us with a normal pose. 

C'mon Reina, just look at Daddy!

Glenn and Will at the same restaurant and with the same dilemma. 

Before we left for home yesterday, we spent a few hours at the Durham Western Heritage Museum. It's a pretty neat museum housed inside the old Union Depot in Omaha. I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture of the inside of the Depot - it's a really neat restored Art Deco room - you feel like you are taking a step back in time.

 

This is a fuzzy picture but I had to include it for the look on Reina's face. She looks like she's off on a grand adventure.  This is a streetcar inside the museum. 

Inside a Pullman car with cousins.  And a 5-yr old who doesn't want his picture taken.

And more cousins and aunt and uncle.  

And 3-yr olds who don't want their picture taken. 

Santa was at the museum and Will had a list a mile long for him.  Reina had a few things on her list but she whispered them to Santa so some things were lost in translation.  We do know she wants a magic wand.  A real one, thank you very much. 

On Friday, some of us woke up early and did a little Black Friday shopping.  It wasn't too crazy and we did find some good bargains.  It's ironic that I can't get up at 6:30 a.m. to jog most days, but I can jump out of bed to face crowded stores and crazy shoppers on a vacation day... mysteries of life.  So after shopping and lunch, the whole gang headed to the zoo in Omaha. 

Reina swinging from a vine.  She liked the monkeys and wanted me to pretend that she was a baby monkey while we walked around the zoo.  I don't have to stretch my imagination too much with that one.  I usually think of her as a spider/howler/chimp most days....

I don't know why Glenn's the one looking freaked out here.  I'm the one who refused to go across the rope bridge and I'm taking this picture from the safety of solid ground after I took the solid-ground shortcut around the bridge.  It's very Indiana Jones Temple of Doom, without the human sacrifices and crocodile infested waters below.  Cute guy though. 

The zoo is pretty neat but one of the highlights was definitely the aquarium.  The fish swim on both sides of you and above your head and it's hard not to get a little freaked out when there's a 6-foot shark swimming directly at you, even with a big pane of glass in between.  Reina was captivated by the aquarium and we had to drag her out of there.  But not before she had some face time with a turtle. 

Sharks and fish and all sorts of ocean creatures.  Eeek.  

Aquarium girl.  At the sea horse tank, one of the zookeepers was wearing scuba gear and cleaning the inside of the tank.  Reina was fascinated by the "deep sea diver" and she could've watched the tank being cleaned all day.  She finally got up the nerve to give the zookeeper a shy wave and she happily received one in return.  Thanks "deep sea diver" for making her day. 

Alright, we've made it backward to Thanksgiving Day.  We had a delicious meal that was mostly made by the Omaha Pauleys. I did manage to make two pies that were pretty good - and I remembered sugar this year.  Yeah!  We stuffed ourselves with really good turkey and all of the trimmings.

Again, it's hard to get everyone looking in the same direction... or not holding giant pieces of turkey in front of their faces, Will. 

Happy Thanksgiving 2012!

The Pauleys pulled out all sorts of toys and distractions for the younger set.  Will was fascinated with big cousin Ben's Lego collection.  Reina was focused on the tiaras and jewels and fun dress-up clothes that were at her disposal. I thought she had a regal, flapper, 1920's vibe going on here.  She also got her hands on a toy medical kit and handed out medicine and injections to everyone.  We are also pretty sure that she performed anesthetic-free surgery on poor big cousin Ben but he lived to tell the tale. 

We had a great trip and a happy Thanksgiving.  Back home today, we are looking forward to the holiday season.