Ahh, Thanksgiving. Where to begin?

Husband and I decided to pack up the little ladies and venture forth to Austin for Thanksgiving. Husband's Uncle D lives in a huge house on a horse ranch, thus he has plenty of room for Husband's large family. While the festivities were held at Uncle D's place, Aunt J (Uncle D's little sister) was the hostess. She lives in Colorado and was in Austin with her three teenage kids. We love Aunt J and Uncle S. Their three kids are remarkable. They love our little ladies. They are kind and hard working. Husband's parents and siblings, A and B, were in attendance as well. Beyond these family members, there were a bunch of strangers. We should have had name tags with information explaining how they were connected to this family. Everyone except Husband's parents and siblings stayed in the house. Uncle D's girlfriend was there too. As were her son, grandson and ex-daughter-in-law.

I understand this is quite a bit to follow, but it is a necessary introduction. OK, the day of Thanksgiving we loaded up the minivan and headed to Austin. We got there in plenty of time to eat and chat with everyone. When Panda Girl napped, Sweet Pea was allowed to skip the nap and go ride Cousin S's thoroughbred horse. She loved it. Later that evening Sweet Pea teased Uncle D over which team would win the UT/A&M game. They had lots of fun with their rivalry. During this whole time Uncle D's girlfriend, E was enjoying the vino. We would soon learn exactly how much.

In the meantime I am becoming a full-time referee. Uncle D has multiple dogs who are unaccustomed to kids. They are not typically even nice to other dogs, much less people. So I deemed them totally untrustworthy, especially around Panda Girl. Panda Girl is in that phase were being gentle is a nice concept, but rarely a reality. Uncle D and E had insisted they needed to come inside since it was getting cold outside. So, I got to keep the little ladies from being the newest news headline reading, "Thanksgiving Tragedy: Children Maimed while Visiting Uncle's Ranch".

Finally it was both game time and bedtime for the girls. They were quickly put in bed while the rest of us settled in to watch the game. What a game it was! While the Ags did run out of time, we gave them a run for their money. It was fun to watch. Sadly during this time E's drinking became evident when she planted a kiss on Husband's mom. It was not a gentle peck on the cheek, a full-fledged kiss on the lips. Clearly this was a first for MIL, and she was not thrilled about the experience.

After the game, Husband and I turned in for bed. I optimistically set an alarm for 5:30 to enjoy some Black Friday bargains. Little did I know how little shopping I would accomplish the following day. As we were settling in, some loud music started playing in the bedroom with which ours shared a wall. I was a little suspicious about what would be happening between E's son L and his ex-wife-turned-current-girlfriend A. Soon the mystery was solved. Yep, you are right. They had decided to reconcile. Then they reconciled some more. I'm not sure why they were playing music, as they were much louder than the aforementioned music. There was so much reconciling that Husband wondered later if they were making an adult film. It did last about two hours, I assume that is a typical adult film length (let me be clear, I have no firsthand knowledge of that in any way). We were grateful the little ladies were in a different room, several rooms away from the activities. Panda Girl also woke up in the night. Thus, when the alarm sounded bright and early, it was promptly turned off.

The next day was much less eventful. The girls rode horses. We visited Husband's grandmother in her nursing home. Then we headed home. As I said uneventful. Let's just say I am very thankful we won't be spending next Thanksgiving with E and her family. I don't think I could handle that again any time soon!