Thursday, December 29, 2011

a day at the park

The weather here in Texas has been amazing!  We have had a few unseasonably warm days and it has been wonderful.  We are outdoor people and so winter can get hard for us.  We all get cabin fever closed up in the house when it is cold and rainy.   

I am thankful I live in Texas.  If we had tons of snow on the ground for months on end I'd go nuts.  
Gary and I lived in Michigan for about 6 months BK. {before kids}  I almost did go nuts.  So THAT is why I am thankful for living here!



To say we have loved this weather is an understatement.



A good friend of mine told me about a fun park near our house and I'd never heard of it.  We decided to visit that park today.  At the entrance of the park there is a windmill and this old truck. 



It is a photographers dream spot for family pictures!
See the old barn the truck is in and,there was an outhouse.  We had a fun time explaining that to the kids.  Layla was grossed out!  



The kids were little explorers.  They were running around from place to place having tons of fun.








We did a little bit of hiking.  The views were amazing. 




We had a picnic lunch!  The boys had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and the girls had turkey and cheese sandwiches.  We also had grapes and cheese puffs.








The kids loved looking at the cactus plants.  We made sure they didn't get to close though.




The sun felt so great beating down on us.  We thought it would be fun to take the T-tops off of the Jeep for the ride home.  It was a so fun to feel the wind blowing through our hair.  Luckily my hair wasn't blowing...I always keep a cap in the Jeep for Layla and I.  Wind is not good for our long hair!  

It's a good thing I had a cap on.  A BIRD POOPED on my HEAD.  YUCK. GROSS. SICK.  
Gotta love nature! Good thing I also keep baby wipes in the Jeep.  I just wiped it right off. 
Can you believe that happened?  The kids got a good laugh out of it.  It made them giggle for hours.

All in all it was a fun day!

Now the kids are tucked into bed and Gary and I are watching the Alamo Bowl.
Sic'Em Bears!!!  Go Baylor.

Monday, December 26, 2011

Christmas Day 2011

We had fun celebrating Christmas Day at our house with BOTH of our families!

We woke up SUPER early because the kids were so excited to see their Santa gifts.





The looks on the kids faces where priceless!








My sweet spoiled babes.



I got the coat I asked for...



and Gary got the Jeep brand luggage he asked for.



Dad was running along beside Hayden as he took his four wheeler for it's trial run. 


Hayden LOVES his four wheeler so much!



Layla couldn't wait to clear off her dresser to make room for her new docking station/speakers for her iTouch.





Play-Doh was a HUGE hit in our house.  The kids have been asking for new play-doh for months!
 Their stockings were filled with play-doh and candy.  


When our families got here around lunch time they too played with play-doh.



We all Skype'd with Kristin...she is in Prague teaching English.  We missed her this year, but we know she is having the time of her life teaching abroad!




MewMaw was low key this year...she decided on a simple silver cross necklace instead of the necklace she chose last year.  



MewMaw, Hayden and Layla.  



My dad, opening his gift!


Layla was excited to watch Netsie open her gifts!  Layla had a super fun time picking out jewelry and a watch for her. 



Layla got a blizzard maker and so of course blizzards were served on Christmas Day in our house!



Harley was feeling festive and came out of our room to greet everyone.  She even let some of our guests pet her.  If you know Harley, this is RARE!


MeMaw threatened to steal Daisy Mae...Gasp!  She fell in love with our new little sweetie pie pup!  I think Daisy is screaming "NOOOO" in this picture!



We had a wonderful day! 

 It was exhausting and by the end of the day I felt as tired as Daisy looks in the picture above! 

Gary and I laughed and laughed when we sat down to relax for the night.  Gary was cracking me up when he recapped our day...he needs a blog.  All I can say is our day was eventful!  We wouldn't have it any other way!