Houston Christmas

Friday morning we drove down to Houston to spend Christmas with Jason's family. We met his sister halfway as she was headed to Arlington. The kids were excited to see their cousins and of course, open some more presents.

Jackson got a Bat Cave or as it sometimes called, the Bat Castle

Here is Uncle James and Luke with his Lego set

Finally Jenna got her American Girl doll, Mia the ice skater

Aunt Wendy's Mom was so kind to make all four girls a matching dress for them and their American Girl dolls. Here is Rori and Jenna with their dolls. Aren't they cute?

Here is PaPa and Jackson trying to fix the Handy Manny radio.

Christmas Day

Christmas morning came a little earlier than I would have liked but the kids pitched a fit that we made them comb their hair before seeing what Santa brought them. Jackson got some Leapster stuff (since he now is the proud owner of Jenna's Leapster) and a Mickey Mouse camera.

Jenna got a DS and all the things to go with a DS. After she opened all the presents she asked where her American Girl was. I told her that she did tell Santa that she wanted the DS the most.

Jackson didn't care about anything that Santa left he just wanted his Diego DVD. Of course, Santa put the movie requests in the stockings.

For those of you wondering - yes, Jason finally got me the keychain that I have wanted since last Christmas - thanks Kim for making it!

We had a late lunch with my parents and my sister's family. After our meal the kids opened their presents.

Jackson got some Army men with all sorts of separate pieces from Aunt Dee Dee and Uncle Brad.

Jenna got the Kit Kittredge DVD and mini doll from G Mommy and Granddaddy.

Jason did finally get his Sham Wow! from Dee Ann and Brad. He spent the whole night looking for something to pick up with his Sham Wow!

Christmas Eve

For whatever reason my Mom and I found ourselves up early on Christmas morning doing some last minute Christmas shopping. The kids were at daycare for part of the day so that we could accomplish so much in a little amount of time. Within two hours we went to six stores and got Barney groomed. Then we headed to Grapevine Mills to meet my sister and her girls to watch "The Tale of Despereaux." Then we headed to Bass Pro to see Santa. Jackson didn't want to see Santa the first time so this was his last opportunity to tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas. Jenna wrote out her list and even did one for Jackson. Mrs. Claus was there to greet us.

Once it was our turn with Santa, Jackson wouldn't have any of it. Luckily Rylee and Reese were able to help him gain confidence to sit there.

We were able to snap a picture before Jackson realized it.

Jenna was about to walk away but she did tell Santa that she wanted a DS and an American Girl, but she really wanted the DS the most. Then we tested out the bows and guns. I must stay my little girl is a natural. Now if her Daddy would only let her shoot Bambi.

Jackson had a little too much power - he should probably never handle a bow.

Reese rocks at the gun.

Later that night the kids made Christmas cookies for Santa with my Dad. We put out the reindeer food that Aunt Carol sent.

And finally the milk and cookies for Santa.

San Angelo Christmas

We went to San Angelo for our annual Christmas lunch at my parents' house. All the cousins come over and we just sit and enjoy each other's company. This year Dad put a swing in the over 30 year old pecan tree. The kids (and even Aunt Carolyn) had a great time twisting and swinging. Here is Jenna on the swing.

After lunch we had the annual group pictures. Here are my Dad's siblings and their spouses. All eight are school teachers with a few still teaching.

My Dad's Aunt and Uncle - Maureen and L.D.

All the cousins - yes, the cousin pictures don't stop when you are grown. Left to right by age - Aunt Gladys, Dad, Earla, Uncle Jimmy, Judy and Uncle Clinton.

Our Family

This is the reason the kids weren't in the picture.

On Sunday we met up to take a picture of the family at church. Of course, we had some cranky and tired kids so this is the best picture.

The Sky is Falling

The Sunday before last we were driving home from church and noticed that we had two squirrels in the tree. We have this acorn tree that hangs over the driveway. I have fallen, Jenna has fallen and it really becomes like marbles in the grass. The squirrels even crawled over Jason while he was hanging Christmas lights. Well the squirrels love the tree and Jackson has named one Squeaky. So the squirrels head up the tree with acorns in hand. They start eating and drop the unnecessary parts of the acorn. Jackson was looking straight up and it hit him on the head at the hair line. I am in the house and all I hear is blood curling screaming. I am afraid that someone is really injured. He comes in yelling that Squeaky hit him. The picture is a little blurry because he didn't want me to take a picture because he was a little embarrassed. Poor guy, but important life lesson - never bother a squirrel when he is eating.

Days of Christmas updates

OK, so things are crazy at work and my computer is at it's maximum capacity so I have had difficulty blogging. And with that I have sort of given up on the 20 Days of Christmas. Here are some of the things that we have done.

Day 6 - Church children's choir Christmas party
Day 7 - mailed Christmas cards
Day 8 - Christmas cookies



Since I was on vacation this week I was able to wrap presents. The kids came home to two empty rolls of cardboard which promptly became Peter Pan and Hook battles. Too cute!

Day 9 - Flower Mound Christmas parade
All the kids waiting in the cold for the parade to start

Where is Jackson? Oh yeah, running away from the camera

A few local celebrities

Is it Santa Claus?

Day 9 night - Sweet Spot Christmas party

Day 14 - School Christmas parties and a flat tire
Jenna had her Christmas party at lunch time. They decorated graham cracker houses. My type A daughter spent time to make sure it was perfect instead of just slathering it in icing.

The mandatory silly group picture

After I picked up cheese and crackers from the grocery store for Jackson's party that night I realized that I had a flat tire. The hissing sound was a dead giveaway. At least I was in the garage and not stranded some where. Jason attended Jackson's performance and party and it just shows on his face how much having his Daddy there meant. I try not to take it personally.

Santa Claus visited Jackson's school. This is as close as he would get.

Saying Goodbye to Disney

We had the early flight out of Orlando. When we booked the flight it seemed like the right choice being one of the busiest travel days but getting up that early with luggage and tired kids didn't feel right at the time. Here is a picture of our hotel complex.

Here are the kids in front of the restaurant saying goodbye to Disney.

It was a great time and truly our first family vacation. Lots of lessons learned but it was worth it.

Disney Day 5 & 6

We started the day after Thanksgiving bright and early. Although not as early as those of you who went shopping at 4 am. We headed to Epcot to ride some rides before the World Showcase opened. It was the first day of the Holiday Traditions from each of the countries. Jenna's favorite was Le Pere Noel from France.

This is how Jackson saw most of the World Showcase.

We had a late lunch at the Rose & Crown which in the England section. We were on the water and it was lovely. Then we headed to the candlelight processional at the American section. John O'Hurley read the Christmas story. You would know him either from Seinfeld or the first season of Dancing with the Stars. Jackson didn't really sit through the hour long show but we made it. We ended our time with the fireworks. Since Jackson slept through most of the World he was wide awake for the fireworks and he loved it!


Day 6 was our last day at the parks. The four of us went to Animal Kingdom to ride Everest and see the shows. While my kids loved the shows I think they enjoyed the water puddles just as much.

We went to Magic Kingdom for our lunch and to get the much needed Tinkerbell autograph. We rode Splash Mountain one more time. This time I cheated and wore my jacket. To end the day we went to Disney Studios to catch the Osborne Family Lights. It was a perfect way to get into the Christmas spirit and end our vacation. While I thought the castle was fabulous all lit up, this is just ridiculous.

20 Days of Christmas - Day 1-5

OK, all my friends have been doing the 25 days of Christmas. To sum up, they are posting each day something they did to celebrate the Christmas season. Since it took me 4 days to regroup myself from the Eastern time zone, I am only doing 20 days of Christmas. Here is a recap....

Day 1 - Santa pictures (of course I wasn't dressed for Santa, but Jackson was still not sure about sitting with him)

Day 2 - Finish outdoor Christmas lights
Day 3 - Family tradition of ice skating



Day 4 - Putting the star on the Christmas tree
Day 5 - Purchasing Christmas cookie items