Weekends go much too fast, especially when family is in town.

The past 3.5 days have gone by much faster than I had hoped they would. My family from Dallas has come and gone, our friends are back in Virginia for the next month and my grandpa and mom head back to Ohio tomorrow. They're leaving behind and taking with them some fabulous memories, but I do wish the weekend wasn't coming to a close so soon.

Thanksgiving on Thursday went off without a hitch, with the exception of weather. It was about 80 degrees in Houston with 100% (or greater humidity). Add to that an oven baking pies, potatoes, rolls, etc. and a busy stove top, and you've got 10 rather warm people chattering and waiting for turkey. All of our efforts to clean, cook and decorate really did make the evening very enjoyable. We all sat at one long table with cute tea-light candles. The turkey was perfect and all of our traditional Thanksgiving food really hit the spot. My favorite part of the night was most definitely hearing stories my grandpa shared from his childhood and about my Aunt Cathie.

On Friday, we all gathered for pancakes and eggs at IHOP, Grandpa's favorite breakfast restaurant. I had my fill of once-a-year pumpkin pancakes (almost a Thanksgiving tradition, as I've had these on Friday morning after Thanksgiving for the past 3 years), and conversation was great. We spent the afternoon at the Houston Zoo, marveling at giant giraffes and elephants, big napping cats, and primates. I took my mom and my grandpa to a small, local Houston cafeteria for dinner so Gramps could get liver and onions. We had a bit of fun with photo ops and I showed them a few little places I like in Houston, including my office building.

Saturday we turned into tourists and traveled over to Kemah, an area hit hard by Hurricane Ike but recovering rather quickly. There's a boardwalk facing the Bay, several restaurants and little shops. We browsed a few and spent some time playing games in the arcade. Grandpa played Knock-Out, a boxing game, and has us all in a fit of giggles. I made a fool of myself on the DDR machine. All in all, it was a great time. We then made our way down to Galveston, drove along the seawall and ended up stopping for dinner at an Island restaurant called Gaido's. We tried stopping by Moody Gardens for the Festival of Lights, but rain came and we headed back to the mainland - visiting Mike's office along the way.

Today, Grandpa bought us our first Nativity Scene and we are relaxing at home watching the Colts-Browns game. Oddly enough, it's actually on national television. Tonight, we're putting up our Christmas tree and a few other decorations and heading to bed early. We must be at the airport by 5:30. Grandpa and Mom have flights through wind and snow, and then he has a full week of work. I'm headed to the office right after I stop by the airport, and this week will be full of holiday parties and a lot (and I mean A LOT) of writing. I have so many grants to submit between now and the 19th. We all need our rest.

I'm looking forward to finishing up our holiday shopping and enjoying the season, even if it is 70 degrees and sunny with no hope of snow. I really am tempted to buy some Christmas cards at Target that have a picture of palm trees with Christmas lights around their bases that say "Miles away from from an ordinary Christmas." ;)