First and foremost:
Attitude, attitude, attitude. If the kid is happy, everyone's happier. If the kid is cranky, everyone's stark-raving mad and frustrated. I'm so glad that Jackson is old enough to be entertained by videos. However, I either watched or listened to the Incredibles at least once a day. Time to find a different source of entertainment.
Second, keep busy. Find things to do or take things. I took a book to read. Well, I get sick in the car if I read, and I never picked up the book to read it the whole vacation. It just took up space in my luggage. Well, I did help Grandma Topsy with some "favors." These are turkeys (if you couldn't tell) made from Fudge-Stripe cookies, cherry cordials, and candy corn. We put them together using chocolate frosting. Aren't they cute? They were all Topsy's idea.
I also worked on a puzzle with Matt's aunt Bonnie (a.k.a. "Bobby" to Jackson).
Thirdly, keep the family drama to a minimum, or eliminate it completely. I'm happy to say that the most drama we encountered was Topsy worrying about the gravy and then having the septic tank back up the last morning we were at Grandpa's. We all got along fabulously.
Finally, eat some yummy food, and definitely do NOT forget dessert!
Unfortunately this picture is VERY deceiving! Matt didn't eat any dessert. He's sitting in front of a pumpkin cheesecake purchased at Costco. I didn't like it at all. I missed cherry pie that day, but luckily my mom had some at her house when we stopped by there on our way home.Although this was my first Thanksgiving spent away from any of my family, I must say I really enjoyed it. I really was able to meet a couple of Matt's aunts and cousins that I had never really visited with. We had fun playing games, eating food, and watching Brian Regan. It'll be fun to see them all again whenever that will be.
