My mom is a very creative woman. Especially when it comes to blessing those she loves. She usually comes up with very unique ways to make all of us around her feel loved, treasured, special and important.
This last Christmas she was very peculiar about her present. She would drop hints and tell me to look out for certain packages in the mail. I tried to figure it out...but just gave up.
Christmas morning we had several packages to open. The first was a book, Mice on Main, written about the nine bronze mice that were placed throughout downtown Greenville.
After reading the book we were instructed to open the rest of the packages. In those we found an all expense paid trip (I mean - ALL expenses were covered!) to Greenville for our family at a date of our choosing. We had a hotel suite paid for in our name. A dozen different giftcards for several restaurants. And even more giftcards for the local attractions. It was amazing!
We finally cashed in...and went to Greenville this past week. It will go down in the Jimenez family history as one of the best trips ever made! We had a BLAST!!!
We went to the Children's Museum on the first day and literally spent the entire day there. They had so much there to keep us busy...and keep us laughing. Even Jackson had a good time!
On the bottom floor they had three huge water tables for the kids to play at. They also had this circle of high-chair like spots for babies to sit in and play at the table. Jackson played here for almost an hour and attracted all sorts of smiles, giggles, laughs! He was so funny playing in the water!!
The kids enjoyed learning about the body, playing store (complete with baker and butcher shops), learning about thermo-dynamics, playing in the water, learning about electricity, being on live TV, and playing in a band! The list goes on an on...but those were the highlights!
Everything paled in comparison once Tyler saw this trash truck. If you know Tyler...you know that he has THREE large trash trucks in his room that he plays with all the time! But this was one that he could actually DRIVE!!!
The next day we slept in, ate a huge breakfast at the hotel, packed up and headed out for a full day. First we hit the zoo (along with almost every other child under the age of sixteen in the area!).
The kids liked the zoo but were eager to find the mice on main. The kids have been reading the book since Christmas and had a very good idea as to where the mice were hidden. Unfortunately...it was a little bit harder than it seemed. Most of the shop owners down Main street had clues...pointing us in the right direction...but even still we only found eight of the nine mice!
After walking up and down Main street (several times!) we decided to have an ice-cream picnic at Reedy Park. Right in the middle of downtown Greenville, they had a beautiful park with huge waterfalls all around. 
This vacation was such a needed blessing for our family. Although it was short...it was filled with memories that will not soon be forgotten! Thank you, Mom! This really was the best Christmas present ever! :-)
