Trotting with the Turkeys

This Thanksgiving the mil10s participated in the largest Thanksgiving Day event of its kind in the country.  The 44th Annual Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot draws nearly 40,000 participants each year.  mr. mil10, mrs.  mil10, and EK were among the many that participated in the turkey day tradition.  Unfortunately Modie took ill and couldn't join us in the day's festivities. 

Lots of port-a-potties for lots of racers!

When we left Home Town, Texas, the visibility was 0.  

It wasn't much better in Dallas when we arrived.

 The pre-race activities took place in front of Dallas City Hall.

Many people got ready...

...by donning a turkey costume...

...in order to set a new Guinness World Record 

for the most people dressed as turkeys at an organized event. 

 

 Ready to race!

There were many unusual hats!  It was hard to take their picture without being obvious.

On you mark, get set, go! 

 As you can see, the fog didn't burn off as much as they expected.  

The unusual weather did provide many unique views of downtown Dallas.

Looking up into the fog.

After the race EK and mr. mil10 fought through the crowds of people 

to pick up a few post-race snacks.

Our next stop after the race was Highland Park Cafeteria for Thanksgiving lunch.  We were greeted by an employee serving their popular zucchini muffins to patrons as they waited in a line that extended out of the building and around the corner.  Although mr. mil10 jokingly (and somewhat seriously) expected to be dining with a bunch of sad and lonely people, the restaurant was filled to near-capacity with families of all types.  The couple waiting behind us in line drove from Tyler, Texas to eat their annual Thanksgiving meal at HPC. Compared to everyone else, the mil10s were considerably underdressed as we were still wearing our race apparel.  However, we were not alone as we spotted at least three other Turkey Trotters dining at HPC as well.

We had a great Thanksgiving!  We will probably trot again.  We will probably eat at Highland Park Cafeteria again.  We will definitely continue to be thankful for all of the blessings God has given to us!

Time in Tyler

Today we celebrated the first weekday of Spring Break by driving to Tyler, Texas to visit Kara.    We started the day together at Caldwell Zoo.  It was a cold morning, but we braved the temperatures in order to beat the crowds.  Naturally, we were at the front of the line to get into the zoo!

This truck was in the children's play area.  They loaded in like a bunch of hillbillies.

It seems that we always find an unusual animal at the zoo.  This penguin was molting.

I can't remember if this was an anaconda or a boa.  Either way, I am glad we were separated by a layer of glass.

Cheetahs resting.

People resting.

After the zoo, Kara directed us to Jucys for hamburgers.  We learned that the junior burger is plenty of burger for one person.  While you are waiting for your food to cook, try the complimentary beans.  They were very good.  For those familiar with hometown's very own CB's, the hamburger meat was comparable, but the buns were not nearly as greasy.  While we were there we spied another Jucys patron that was eating a large bowl of bacon cheese fries.  Perhaps those will have to be ordered if we make a return trip.  No one in our group was disappointed with their meal. 

I am not sure why my burger was upside-down for this picture.

How do you finish a trip to Tyler?  After a quick trip to the mall to walk off some of our lunch, we had to make one last stop at Andy's Frozen Custard.  We have never ordered anything that disappointed us.  Today's treats were a thin mint concrete (thin mint cookies mixed into vanilla frozen custard) and a concrete almonds concrete (almonds and coconut mixed into vanilla frozen custard).

Tech Time

Any time we are all together, there is usually someone using a cell phone.  Today after Thanksgiving lunch Grams gave Modie lessons on sending text messages.

Nerf Wars

Who doesn't love a round of Nerf wars after dinner? It doesn't matter what kind of day you may have had because you are going to have a great time and feel better after a little friendly fire!

A Lesson Learned, Again

Now that I am at a point in life where I have been driving longer than I haven't, you would think accidental near-misses with family members in the driveway with the front or back end of a vehicle wouldn't be happening.  You would think.

Earlier this weekend we decided to make a quick Friday night run to the mall that I won't mention by name (but I will let you know that we affectionately call it "the gangster mall") to purchase a gift and eat at El Chico.  Excited to be home, I suppose, mrs. mil10 went to the back of the car to get the package.  Surprisingly the back door would not open.  EK was getting out of the vehicle.  He, too, realized something wasn't quite right.  Where was mr. mil10?  Standing in the grass.  mrs. mil10 quickly realized the car was actually rolling towards her and not just settling into place like a car sometimes will when it is put into park.  mr. mil10's quick reflexes enabled him to jump back into the driver's seat and properly put it in park.  mrs. mil10 was now out of harm's way.  Modie, who had been sitting in the back, was now saying, "Just turn it off.  Just turn it off."  All was safe and thankfully no one was hurt in the mil10 driveway.  Yes, you should always put the car in park before getting out of the car.

Although the event only lasted a few seconds, it kept us laughing for a significantly longer period of time.  Probably because we should already know the importance of first putting the car in park before getting out of the car. You see, this is not the first time such an incident has occurred.

Several years ago, when EK was just a small baby, the mil10s were in the truck and needed to quickly run into the house to get something. It should have been a simple task.  However, as mr. mil10 walked in front of the truck, he realized that it was actually coming towards him.  I could say that it narrowly missed crushing him between the the other car that was parked in the garage, but that would be a little dramatic.  I could say that mr. mil10 lunged towards the oncoming truck and stopped it in its tracks with a hearty body block, but that would also be a little dramatic.  I could say that mrs. mil10, being alert as she sat in the backseat with the small babe, quickly leaned over the driver's seat and threw the truck into park.  I could say that because it was true! 

That is twice that mr. mil10 has gotten out of the vehicle without putting it in park.  Thankfully, no one was hurt either time.  However, you should still learn from the bad examples and make sure you put your car in the correct gear! 

BIG: Tasty Sweets

Many years ago mr. and mrs. mil10, then just newlyweds, were treated to "Family Dinner Night" by mrs. mil10s parents.  Over the years the makeup of the dinner guests may have changed.  On a few rare occasions we had to eat out due to busy schedules.  The menu changes weekly, but always consists of a home cooked meal.  However, one thing remains certain -- the good food. 

Tonight was no exception.  The "one dish dinner" was great, but mr. and mrs. milton were surprised by the two dessert options.  Iced brownies or coconut pie.  Yes, I had some of each!  Mmmm.  Modie said she stayed up past midnight the night before finishing the two treats.  She shouldn't have, but they were too good.

Thanks for your hard work, Modie!  The brownies and pie were a BIG surprise and were a great finish to a good meal and a BIG day!

BIG: Looking Back

In 2008 we made our first visit to Pensacola Beach.  Along our way we stopped in New Orleans, also known as The BIG Easy, and then at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola.  We had such a good time at the beach that we decided to return the very next summer.

Saint Louis Cathedral in the French Quarter of New Orleans

Going to Cafe Du Monde for beignets.

EK stands beside a very BIG aircraft carrier anchor at the National Museum of Naval Aviation.

A BIG view of the beach from the hotel window.

BIG: Easter Lunch

It's an annual Easter tradition to host Easter lunch at the mil10 home. Although as a reader, you cannot fully enjoy the food we ate, here is the Easter 2010 menu. It was a BIG meal for a BIG day.

Coke ham
Modie’s Yukon gold mashed potatoes
Modie’s potato salad
Green beans with sliced potatoes (I think somebody likes potatoes!)
Bush’s baked beans
English peas
Gram’s corn salad
Bread and butter pickles (bought at Atwood’s)
Candied jalapeños

Buttered rolls

Carrot sticks

Deviled eggs

 The deviled eggs looked like chicks. 
I see one winking at you!

For dessert:

DQ ice cream cake

Peach cobbler

Bunny cake (Modie baked; mr. mil10 decorated)

Would you like a blue bunny or a pink bunny?

I think I included everything, but I could have missed something.

I can’t think of a better time to get together than to celebrate our risen Lord! Happy Easter!

Spring Break Adventure: Drive-In Theatre

We have discussed going to a drive-in theater for some time. This week during Spring Break we did just that. mrs. mil10 did the research on the Galaxy Drive-In Theatre in Ennis. Two movies for only six dollars seemed like a good deal. Also, there is miniature golf available if we arrived early enough. Since we were expecting good weather, why not make this a spring break adventure?

Finding the drive-in was not difficult. Actually we arrived early enough for a dinner and ice cream at Braum's. We don't make a habit of frequenting hometown's Braum's location, so we thought we would give this location shot. It was pretty good. As always, miniature golf was a must. Not really for the challenging course or for the elaborate scenery, but for the fun family competition that ensues. This time there was only a nine point difference between the highest score and the lowest score! EK has really picked up his game.

There was nothing fancy here.

First we saw Alice in Wonderland. Although we had seen Alice in 3D on opening weekend, this was a new dimension seeing it at the drive-in. EK, mrs. mil10 and mr. mil10 sat outside in front of the car. Modie and Grams were inside listening over the car radio. I enjoyed seeing Alice the second time because I felt like I could take time to laugh out loud without missing portions of the dialogue.

After an intermission we saw When in Rome. It was a silly movie about finding love. It had gotten much colder so we were all inside for this movie.

Two movies and a long drive make for a late evening! We finally made it home about 1:30 a.m. Guess who slept in the next day?