Thanksgiving Trip to York

The holidays without family close by is always tough. Good friends are always nice to have around for the holidays when we're so far away. Unfortunately, we don't have any good friends here. I guess we are just unlikable or too picky ourselves. Last year was great having the Barkers here. So much fun! Derek invited his entire squadron over, while it may have been a little awkward, I was kind of looking forward to a house full. However, not a single person rsvp'd. Sooooo, we decided we might as well take advantage of the kids being out of school and go somewhere. Bonus: the Brits don't celebrate Thanksgiving so things wouldn't be crowded. We decided to have another go at York. We went last November with Natalie and Alex but we went to Castle Howard first, which is north of the city, and by the time we left the castle it was dark so we never actually stopped in the city.

We actually stayed in Leeds as the hotels were much cheaper. We found a fun place to take the kids and went there first.....only 2 1/2 hours from the house. It is called Xscape. It has indoor skiing/snowboarding/sledding, miniature golf, arcade, laser tag, rock climbing, etc. Our plan was to do the snowboarding/sledding but once we saw the slope and the price we changed our mind. Instead we did the glow in the dark golf and had an amazing lunch at TGI Friday's. I am usually not a fan of that place in the states, but this was SO GOOD! And funny thing, Derek got a few calls/texts while we were here asking where we were! A few people showed up at our house for a Thanksgiving meal.

We then went to the hotel to check in. Our kids love hotels. So, they entertained themselves while Derek and I took a quick nap! Then we went to Leeds city centre and walked around. They had their German Christmas Market set up. I love Christmas Markets!

 It was fun to walk around and we all had a hard time deciding what yummy goodies to eat! The kids decided on German sausages and fries. They all liked it, especially Rudolph.

Derek ended up with a German burger and I had potato pancakes. Then the kids and I had donuts for dessert. Derek had a waffle with loads of Nutella. I also got a yummy hot chocolate. The hot chocolates over here are amaze balls, plus you get to keep the souvenir mug!

We ended the night watching people pay £8 to get in this snow globe where "snow" was supposed to blow around you....but didn't do much at all. And then we let the kids play one game. Blake picked out a car, Allie got a duck/fishing game and Avery picked out a police set.

The next day we were off to York. First stop, the National Railway Museum.

We had lunch at Byron's Proper Burgers. They were proper indeed! Of course, the kids ended their meals with ice cream.

That guy outside looks really familiar!

After lunch we went to visit Clifford's Tower.

Then the York Minster, which we heard is better than Westminster Abbey. Though we didn't actually tour the Minster because as soon as we went in two of the kids started fighting for whatever reason.....so we left.

Then we were off to the Shambles. A now popular, touristy street in York. Such a quaint area, with beautiful buildings dating back to the 14th century. I wished it hadn't been so crowded so we could have got better pictures. I guess Black Friday has started to catch on here.

Next, we went to an old church.

St. Mary's Abbey

Walking the walls surrounding the city

Ended the evening at the St. Nicholas Christmas Fayre.

Sunday we were able to have a traditional Thanksgiving meal. It was yummy!

Then, we even got the Christmas tree put up and the house decorated for the season!

I am loving my new entry way piece that we found for just £10!

And, how could I forget, just about the best news of the whole trip. Blake went on our first big outing with only underwears!!!! And he had NO accidents!! Plus, I only remembered one diaper and no wipes.....and he kept it dry every night.....and has been dry every morning since. He is a rock star now!!