Thanksgiving and the USS Lexington

 This Thanksgiving did not turn out as planned, but it was fun nonetheless.  I started out the week feeling pretty crummy with a cold, and then the weather was miserable--cold, freezing rain and no sun for almost two weeks.  Yuck.  We were supposed to leave on Tuesday to go camping at Mustang Island, a barrier island off the coast of Corpus Christi.  However I vetoed the whole thing.  I could barely drag myself around the house, let alone get everything ready to go, and really camping in biting 50 degree weather was not at all appealing.  So instead Leo went to work on Tuesday and Wednesday, which was good, because he was swamped and is leaving for Chile in a week and has to have things ready to go.  I got over my cold by sleeping all day for three days.  And then on Thanksgiving, we joined a group of four families from our ward who had all planned on going camping too, but then didn't because of the cold weather.  One family has a huge, military style tent, 652 sq feet I think it was (bigger than mine and Leo's first apartment anyway), and they set it up outside the church building.  Then the kids played games all afternoon and we ate Thanksgiving dinner inside the tent, with a proper Texas-style turkey--smoked in a garbage can--after which we watched movies on the projector they had set up in the tent.  The older kids and Leo played Steal the Flag and some other night games.  Ana had a blast! And I ate apple pie to my heart's content.  It was great.

I actually forgot my camera, but the web always provides an example, eh?

 The next day we left early as the weather was supposed to be back up in the 60's and headed to Corpus Christi, where we went and toured the USS Lexington, an aircraft carrier that was in use from 1943 to 1991.  Sebastian was SO excited.

 It was windy like crazy and chilly on the flight deck.  I'm so glad we didn't camp those other days.

 Ana even said she enjoyed it.

 Nicolas was in heaven wandering around so independent.

 Isabel trying to find shelter.

 Sebastian's favorite part was the helicopter.

 More planes.  For you Jethro, because no one else will care.

 This is what my kids do, find anywhere that has rocks or dirt they can pick up and spend their time playing there.

 Ana gunning down the Harbor Bridge.

 Nice.

 Isabel carefully charting a course.

 And Sebastian at the wheel.

 A lot of the time we spent going up and down ladders.

 And through hallways like this.

 Here's the barbershop.  We also saw the dentists' office, the medical office, the galley, and machine shop.

 And of course the engine room.

 I'm kind of sad now that I didn't get pictures of the kids all piled on the tiny little bunks.

All in all it was a fun afternoon, although I was feeling a bit nauseous after the 3D movie.  (It featured a destroyer, the HMCS Athabaskan, and I was so confused for a while because I was thinking, "That's a Canadian name!  Why would the US Navy have a destroyer named that?!?!"  When really it was part of the Canadian Navy.)  So then I bought some nachos that we shared and I felt slightly better.  Oh man, now I wish I had more nachos right now.  And then we headed to our campsite at Mustang Island.  And that you will have to read about tomorrow.