Thanksgiving in Wichita

This was our year to spend Thanksgiving in Wichita, so we headed down late Wednesday morning and came back early Friday afternoon. We had a great time with all of my extended family and as a bonus, the whole family was there to celebrate my dad's 64th birthday today!

We got a late start on Wednesday since none of us had been home for several days. As you can see, Daniel Was Not Amused with the adults' reluctance to get out of bed. 

My mom had the afternoon off, so the kids went to work on scrubbing sweet potatoes after we arrived in Wichita.

Their excitement quickly abated, but Greg's excitement was much stronger.

Annika helped some more with the broccoli corn casserole.

Both Julie and I piled into our old bedrooms. Will and I shared my old bed, Daniel slept on a twin bed now in the room too, and Annika slept on couch cushions that we put on the floor. I actually think Annika's "bed" might have been the most comfortable.

That night, our parents offered to watch the kids, so the Thorntons/Hagemans went on a double date to Abuelos, the Mexican Embassy of Food.

After dinner, my dad had the idea of taking the kids to their favorite place on earth, aka, Chuck E Cheese. This time we were wiser and did not eat there but just played games. We got there at 8:08 p.m. on Wednesday night and just about had the place to ourselves.

Of course I had to convince everyone to play my favorite game....Skee Ball!

Annika really, really likes my parents' mom's cat, Wendy, and drew a picture in her honor.

The highlight of our Thanksgiving trip was taking part in the 3rd annual Say Grace 5K run on Thanksgiving Day morning. This is a road race with over 1,400 participants to benefit GraceMed, a United Methodist health ministry. Mom, Julie, Will and I signed up to form a team, the Stilson Stampede. It was pretty chilly that morning but just about perfect for actually running the race.

Part of the race course (with the street blocked off). It was amazing because all four of us were all happy with the race and our times (which never ever happens in a group of four people). Will, of course, had another huge PR and ran in 20:59! Julie was in 18:55, I was in 31:35, and Mom was in 39:24. So much fun!

The big family gathering was at my Aunt Carolyn's house. Our families have expanded enough that we need two rows of tables and it was all gorgeous, complete with colored cloth napkins and beautiful leaf centerpieces (the kids were excited to take home some of the leaves).

So many babies!! This is Saylor with her second cousin, Greg.

Grayson!

Such snuggling. :)

The littlest one here was Baby Owen, who is less than 3 weeks old. So precious!! Aunt Carolyn made him a super cool and fluffy barnyard animal quilt that he enjoyed snoozing on.

Annika entertained herself much of the time with drawing.

Daniel found a new best friend, his cousin Clara. They are only a year apart in age and were thick as thieves the entire day and night. Here they are playing a game on a computer together.

I don't have a picture of either, but the two highlights of the gathering were: (1) the traditional Thanksgiving day walk and (2) getting to see home videos from 1981, including the Christmas program that year!! I was 2 years old in 1981 and my parents were close to my age now; it was so crazy to see all of the roles reversed. What a wonderful treat.

This morning, we woke up to a surprise guest in bed....the Thorntons' dog, Daisy. She snuggled under the covers with us just like our cats do.

Today was a very special day...my dad's 64th birthday!! This is the first time in many, many years that the whole family has been here to help him celebrate. We practiced serenading him with the Beatles' When I'm 64 song.

To celebrate Dad's birthday, everyone headed out to the famous McDonald's at 21st and Rock, home of Maria, Debbie, and the best McD's service around. We even snagged one of the famous "round tables" to seat our entire crew of 9 people.

This morning was another wonderful treat....I got to hang out at the house of my best friend in high school, Jennifer! She is doing great and it was so lovely to see her. I can't believe how old her kids are getting (12 and 14 now!) and how mature and poised they all are. Unfortunately, Will and Annika missed most of the fun, as Will ran Annika over to an urgent care center at Walgreens because she has....pink eye. Thankfully she got prescription eye drops and they have already made a big difference.

After a final send-off lunch with the family, we headed back to Manhattan to catch the movie Frozen with our friends the Likes. It was a really cute movie with a nice message and all of us enjoyed it. After the movie was dinner at a local restaurant near our house, Mr. K's, where everyone agreed that the ice cream-covered peanut butter cookie dessert was absolutely delicious.

We have so much to be thankful for this year and had a wonderful Thanksgiving!