For Thanksgiving break, the kids and I decided to drive to El Paso, and spend the week with Jim.  Jim has now been living in El Paso for a month, working for the credit union, First Light, and looking for a house for us to move into.
After visiting Jim at work one day, the kids and I stopped at one of the scenic spots that Jim drives by every day.
 
This is the road Jim takes to work.  It is a road that cuts through the Franklin National Forest, which is in the center of El Paso.
 
Since we are going to be moving to El Paso, I thought it would be a good idea to take the kids to the Centennial Museum at the UTEP campus.  The kids didn't care for the thought of it, but once we were there, they went nuts.  They discover many things about the area we are moving to.
Old guys dressed as Miners. 
 
A pickaxe. 
 
A wagon wheel. 
 
The kids favorite rooms were the ones with all the minerals and fossils. 
 
That is one BIG egg! 

 
Here is Mia smiling next to the bird her middle name came from.
 
Outside of the museum, they have a bunch of garden beds, that contain plants that are native to the region.
 
There are a lot of cactus, and some cactus-looking trees.
 
I forgot what this is.  Guess we will have to go back and find out.
 
At the Outlet Mall, the kids got to meet Scooby Doo and Shaggy, at a First Light event.
 
They also met the First Light mascot, Dollar Dog.
 
Mia also found Garfield.
 
Thanksgiving morning, we went to downtown El Paso to see the parade.  First Light sponsors it, and also throws a huge party, including breakfast and VIP seating, for all the employees.
 
The decorations.
 
Breakfast buffet.
 
Fruit, cookies, and other goodies.
 
Tamales.
 
No tri-tip here.  Brisket is the meat of choice. 
 
This is where the party was held.
 
If you couldn't guess from the decorations, or from the meet and greet the kids went to at the Outlet Mall, First Light used Scooby Doo as the theme for their float, and it was the first float in the parade.
 
There were a few pretty awesome floats in the parade.  My favorite was the Ghostbusters float.
 
There was The Nightmare Before Christmas float, featuring Oogie Boogie.
 
The Angry Birds float.
 
We weren't going to stay for much of the parade, until the kids discovered there was a Minecraft float.  It was toward the end of the parade, so we stayed and watched and... 
 
...WHAT THE FREAK??  Frozen Minecraft?  We stayed for that?  Cute, but not what we were expecting.
 
After the parade, we drove to Tucson, to have Thanksgiving diner with Justin and Yvonne's family.
The kids love spending time with these cousins.
Mia and Nixon had tons of fun playing in the bathroom cabinets.  What a funny thing to wake up to on Friday morning.
 
While my other kids enjoyed playing Minecraft on the Xbox.
 
For fun, we took the kids to a neighboring park, and shot off rockets.
 
Nobody puts Cannon in the corner...except his mom.
 
Mia had the honor of setting of the first rocket.
 
Then Isaac.
 
Then Alex.
 
Then Izzy, and so on.
 
The kids even took some time to play on the nearby playground.
 
Even Jim and Justin joined in on the fun.
 
Overall, the trip was great.  The kids are excited to move to El Paso, and we had an excellent time with our family in Tucson.