Thanksgiving in the Lone Star State

The time has finally come. The Thanksgiving Texas trip post!

So, we are back! And as soon as we are back, we are about ready to leave again. We have decided to go back for Christmas. This will be the most we have visit Texas ever. We normally only go once a year but now, we will have gone two times in 1 month!


It took us 16.5 hours to get there but it seemed like it flew by. I will take 16 hrs over the 48 it took to get to Ohio from California or the 30 it took to drive from California to Texas last Christmas. Besides, we drive though Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas and Texas which was prettier scenery than Arizona and New Mexico.


We left Tuesday night and I actually drove from 12 midnight to 6 am, without falling asleep (I have narcolepsy when I drive) But I can’t take all the credit, I did have a Go Girl in hand =) (thanks mom for the best Christmas Gift)

Are We there yet?

In Texas, we spent quality time together.



We took family photos

And ate lots of really great food.

Baxter played ball

Niquie was glad to see her other Boxer friend, Callie, who was kind enough to share her blankie.

We played games

And I got my first haircut by someone other than my Mom. The experience wasn’t as traumatizing as I thought, but I do plan on flying home every time I need a haircut. I guess it’s just a mother touch that makes it perfect…. Or I can cry if it’s messed up and she doesn’t think I am a wacko.

We went shopping… not the day after Thanksgiving though. Michael’s opened up for 3 hours on Thanksgiving night and LOOK!

Cricut cartridges normally $89.99 each were on sale for $29.99 each. We got there 30 mins before they opened, we waiting in line and were #2 to walk through the door. I even splurged and bought a Cricut Jukebox (which holds all of the cartridges so you don’t have to keep changing them out) I guess you could say it this shopping spree was my Christmas gift from Matt, since I did spend 80$ more than what he said I could spend. I really needed everything I got though =)

On Saturday, we went to Waco, TX to a place called Heritage Homestead. They are some form of Baptist or Pentecostal religion and live life to the simplest with long dresses and skirts, no make up and there uncut hair is pinned up into buns. I would compare them to Amish, but they have electricity and go out in public. In fact, I just tried to research them a bit and some websites say that they are a cult. I don’t know what to believe. I do know that they are very nice and have a wonderful homestead.

We watched how jump ropes are made

We watch a man make a chair out of a solid oak log with no power tools.

We watched soap being made

We say how they make brooms

We watched a lady spin sheep’s wool into yarn

We say lots of animals, like roosters, chickens, turkeys, cows and baby chicks being sold for $2.

We watched homemade ice cream being made and metal silver wear being molded.

We had homemade apple cider and walked there the gardens where they grow there veggies.

We ate kettle corn and I had some of the best sweet potato fries!

None of their food has any sugar, including the soda. It all tasted really good. Except the porridge I ate, yes, porridge, just like Goldilocks. It tasted like flavorless oatmeal.

We saw an old gristmill, which they still use today.

We looked at a barn they were building which would be turned into a home. They also take old

barns off of other people’s property and re-assemble them back on someone else’s property.

We looked at other barns that had already been converted into homes and I have decided that my next home will be a barn home. You can’t get much more antique and rustic then an old barn converted into a home.

Before leaving, we took a Christmas card photo in front of an old surrey carriage that had formally belong to an Amish group up in Indiana.

On our way home from Texas, we drive through Memphis to see if we could see Elvis’s home from the street. We couldn’t. We did see Heart Break Hotel though. If we didn’t have the dogs, and hadn’t been driving for 10 hrs, we would have stopped and taken the tour of Graceland.

The trip was fun and looks like we will be doing it again in less than 2 weeks!