This is the last post of our trip to Springfield. The big Thanksgiving day turkey feast at Joanie's house was a grand event. I haven't had Thanksgiving with my family since I moved after college 20 years ago. I know my mom and dad appreciated having everyone together as much as we did.
Joanie made the whole experience amazing for the kids. Since we aren't around for the other holidays and birthdays she planned a full sleep-over extravaganza that included every holiday and birthday for the next year. The twins will never forget this.
Each kid sent up a paper lantern into the sky for the 4th of July celebration.
They floated high into the sky as each kid's lantern went up and out of sight.
They did each month and made the birthday time special for each person.
I happened to be there for the March birthdays so they sang to me and I ate my cupcake in one big bite. The kids were inspired by my cake eating abilities.
They even did halloween trick-or-treat time together. Their neighbors were prepared with candy as the whole crew went door to door in November to get candy stuffed into their bags.
The summer celebration was a field trip to a hotel with an indoor pool and water slide. The whole crew burned major energy through this part of the evening.
They finished the night with a dance party, complete with DJ Eli and Silas. This was Layla's favorite part of the night.
They went to bed late and crashed on the bedroom floors together. The sleep-over part of the night was exciting because we never let Easton or Layla do that with friends or neighbors. The next morning they continued the year of celebration with breakfast. I don't know how Joanie managed to pull that off, but it was an incredible feat.
We had a family photo shoot out at a local park. Mom and Dad have always cherished the family photos of everyone and they haven't had a new one since we were there three years ago.
We took some pics of the 4 Webbs and they turned out even better than I expected.
Easton and Layla had minimal screen/display time during this week of adventures. On this rare occasion they rested on Nana's bed watching tv for some down time. It's rare for them to be surrounded by Nana and all of her belongings and style.
Papa gave Easton some knives. He opened his toolbox full of knives and let Easton pick out whatever he wanted. Easton found a few that excited him. He asks regularly if he can whittle on the front porch, but it's not exactly front porch weather right now. When spring comes he'll get a chance to use these for camping and cub scout outings. It's nice to have some things that represent Papa.
Our flight home was uneventful. Max held his bowels for the entire 8 hour trip home. Kendra did some stretching and yoga in the airport while we waited during the layover. Layla joined in and they did their thing without one bit of worrying what anyone around them thought. These two are so much alike that it still surprises me.
Now that we're done with the great turkey adventure I'm hoping for a slowdown into the final few weeks of the year. We'll be spending our time laying low as we save and wait patiently for Disney trip in less than 60 days!
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