doctor visits, family, & thanksgiving

last week (Thanksgiving week) was INSANELY busy for us & our little trooper.  First, we had follow up appointments with Fenway's opthamologist, gastroenterologist, & ENT -

Fenway reading a story in the waiting room

we are continuing with GFDF (gluten free/dairy free) with her, all of her ENT issues were resolved & we will have another swallow study done in the spring to hopefully get her off the thickened stuff! It turns out that she does have to get glasses =( She went from a -.5 to a -4 with her vision & is nearsighted.  We'll be going to get her fitted for her glasses this week, that should be super fun (note the sarcasam!)

We were in Little Rock Monday & Tuesday for those appointments, then headed to Warranton Missouri Tuesday afternoon to spend thanksgiving with Kelvin's Aunt/Uncle/Cousins.  Fenway was a TROOPER! We are seriously blessed to have such an amazing little girl.  She was great in her car seat for the 7ish hour trip there, only started getting agitated about 30 minutes away from our destination. I don't care who ya are, that's HUGE for a 2 year old!

Selfie time!

enjoying the ride

awesome kid cashed out on the way!

We got to Missouri late Tuesday night.  No, we didn't encounter any of the Ferguson craziness.  His family actually used to live in Ferguson! They moved out to their farm about 2 years ago.  We went up I-55 to avoid any issues.  When I checked the forecast the week before, it was supposed to be in the 40's and higher all week with no snow, I was sad.  BUT.. we woke up Wednesday morning to snow!!! about an inch or so of the good kind that's great for building snowmen & snowball fights.  I was SUPER excited! We took Fenway out in it for a bit, she was super excited at first..

SNOOOWWWW!

CRUNCHING THE SNOW

WITH MOMMY IN THE SNOW

FELL IN THE SNOW

once she got down, she decided she wanted to see how the snow tastes..and her hands got cold!

All in all, the snow was fun! I hope we get to go back next year so that we can build a snowman together.  AND I hope it snows at home this year so we can have all our gloves & stuff with us! Maybe then she'd like it a little bit more..

Thanksgiving Day came around & it was wonderful.  The guys went hunting that morning, but didn't kill anything.  I helped Aunt Mindy cook dinner - Roasted Turkey, Fried Turkey, Sweet Potatoes, Cornbread Dressing, Bread Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Giblet Gravy, Green Bean Casserole, Corn, Pear Fritters & Tarts & Apple Pie.. Talk about delicious!!

Friday we went to St. Louis and ate at Kelvin's favorite restaurant - Blueberry Hill.  It was ok, not nearly as great as I remember it being =( We went grocery shopping too and Fenway got to ride in her first "car buggy" so stinkin cute!

Best pic I could get.. Blueberry Hill, St. Louis

Fenway Buggy Driver!

We got some great family time, hunting, gathering, & the likes.  They live on a farm & raise bee's for honey, chickens, gardens, process their own meat for summer sausage/jerky/meats, & pickle/can all their produce.  We came home with some gooooodies! I'll post those pics later..

I've really got to get better at taking pictures in the moment. I didn't get ANY family pictures with the kiddos or all of us together =( 

All in all, it was a FANTASTIC, drama free, much needed vacation.  I'm hoping we will have the money to be able to do it again next year.  They seriously have the two best, most well mannered kids (Gabby & Hunter 12ish & 10ish) who LOVED playing with Fenway.  I loved seeing how their family works and interacts.  I've always wanted to live a sustainable lifestyle, get a little piece of property.. 10 acres or so.. and put down roots.  Raise chickens & have a good garden & a couple livestock for meat.  Randy is very in tune with his Native American roots (they are registered Choctaw Indian) and I'm hoping spending some time with them will get that spark ignited in Kelvin.  There is just something so fulfilling about that way of life, living off the land and such.  

More to come later - I read a FABULOUS book on the way there so I'll tell ya all about it later this week when I've got some time =) Some anxiety & work issues popped up once we got home, so more on that too once I've got it worked out in my head.. 

How was your holiday? Any good stories to share?

-Sara