It's Christmas season once again!

Oh how I love this time of year! We kick started our Christmas season with a date for Isabella & I to go see the Nutcracker. We would have preferred to go see the OKC Ballet production but it was going to be when we'd be out of town on our cruise. So the only one I could find was one put on in Norman by the Norman Ballet Company. Little did we know, it wasn't actually the traditional Nutcracker story- it was one set in territorial Oklahoma called the Oklahoma Nutcracker (didn't clue into that!). It was different. The highlight was the 2 guest ballet dancers from the Tulsa Ballet (who are originally from Romania) who did an amazing job. Before the ballet, we went to eat brunch at La Baguette and enjoyed some tea (none of the tea restaurants are open on Sundays! Had to make do.) Mike and Jackson had a date too... can't remember what they did though!!

Then soon after, our Elf on the Shelf made his return and we all enjoyed a fun little welcome back breakfast that he set up for us. We also set up our tree and other decorations and I wrapped all our Christmas books. The books are stored with our Christmas decorations and every year we wrap them, letting the kids open 1-2 books a night to read together. This is our countdown to Christmas and the kids REALLY love it. We try to buy 2 books every year to add to our stash, a secular story and a book about Jesus' birth. Somehow though, we have ended up with several Night Before Christmas stories!!

We also had a fun time decorating our Christmas cookies! I'm also including some of the funny things our elf, Tommy, did this year. (For those who do not know, he is sent by Santa to keep an eye on the kids. Every night he goes to the north pole to report to Santa & then comes back to perch on a different spot. There were a few times this year that he didn't move. And we had to find remedies for him... fairy dust (or something sparkly anyway) was sent and thankfully that helped him! ;o) Below is also a picture of the kids w/ the Polliard kids downtown after our family photo shoot. Devon had some really large Christmas bulbs out in front of their building.

 And here are our cute Christmas card pictures that my sister Jennifer took...

And here is what was on the other side of our Christmas card this year... I got some awesome inspiration from pinterest & melded a few ideas together from there to create. I'm really liking this style of Christmas letter & might do some version of it every year!

Isabella had her winter ballet recital and did a really great job. We all enjoyed watching her on stage. (Thanks to my mom for the pics... my camera does not zoom well at all come to find out!)

We celebrated my birthday with family before our cruise (we left on our cruise on my actual birthday)....

And here is Isabella with her best friend at our homeschool co-op. They were twins for a day. :)

November 2012

In the sake of saving time, here is one blanket post for November. :)

Isabella & I went to see her best friend Raegan in the Wizard of Oz. It was fun and Bella was excited to go and see her friend.

Her friend was one of the munchkins. 

My sister Laura headed back to work part time & we started watching my cute little then 3 month old nephew, Mavy (aka Miguel IV, aka Baby Mimi). The kids were super excited to get to entertain this little guy all day... but were disappointed to discover that he sleeps a lot. :) 

 And here is Jackson's portrait of baby Mimi that he drew... maybe it was after the baby was fussing? ;o)

And Jackson takes a turn at entertaining... this time, music.

Isabella also lost her first top tooth this month. Her 3rd tooth total to have lost.

And here is a cute little video of Jackson leading his homeschool co-op class in singing the ABCs. He has such a cute singing voice... love it. :)

We didn't go to Arkansas this year for Thanksgiving b/c Mike was working. So we had dinner at my mom's and enjoyed some time around the house. And here is my Thanksgiving wall!

Fall & Halloween Fun!

After returning from our reunion trip, we really felt the time crunch to get all our traditional fall things done! First up, our annual visit to the Parkhurst Pumpkin Patch. The downfall to this years visit is that this particular day was FREEZING! I had to sit down several times next to their fires to warm my hands up (& I wore gloves!). We enjoyed the petting zoo (the baby cow was my favorite), the hay ride, the corn maze, & the kids enjoyed running around on top of the bailed hay. The only disappointment was the pumpkins they gave with admission this year! Normally we trade up to a bigger size for carving but all they had this year was super small decorative gourd type pumpkins. Not at all suited for carving. Maybe it was the draught?

After buying proper carving pumpkins, we got to work. This year, just 2 pumpkins... I figured Mike & I didn't need to carve 2 pumpkins each again this year. That is just too much work! one day they will be old enough to carve their own & then we'll have a more representative pumpkin family. :)

Lastly, Halloween. Again we were able to get by with passing out candy on the porch with the kids dressed in their costume. But this year we didn't have time to make a run to my parents house (or anyone else we know) to show off costumes & trick or treat so Isabella was quite disappointed. I think next year we will have to have a line up of houses to visit planned out or she is going to really start questioning why she only gets to pass out candy. (Of course she does have Halloween sweets to devour... but she didn't get to go to anyone's house & say "trick or treat" to get them.)

Isabella is a spooky spider girl. (sorry, no original name... that is what it said online & we copied what she looked like b/c Isabella liked it!)

Jackson is the Hulk. Without the mask.

With the mask.

A little blurry, but this is Bella's scary face. :)

Family Reunion '12- San Antonio, day 3

This was to be our last full day in San Antonio before packing up. Some of our family actually left this day as they opted for a shorter stay (due to work or whatever). There were still plenty of kids left so we all met up at a local kids museum- The Witte Museum.

It was a museum that had a wide range of exhibits from the natural ecology of Texas to log cabins/historic home (seen in the picture below of Mike, the kids, & myself talking with my baby sister Lyndsey & her girlfriend Maria).

They had a science "tree house" where there were 4 levels of fun activities for the kids to do... although I think nearly everyone had a turn at playing this game- 

Look at that action shot of Cameron! He gets serious about things! (all the other kids were already out & that is why they are all standing around watching... and I'm holding Jackson back from rejoining the game before he is welcome!)

 And I think all the adults got in on these strength tasks (using a pulley to lift yourself up on a chair).

Isabella tried out this bike on a cable... not so easy in flip flops! And then in the western section, here is Mike in a nice Cowboy hat. ;o) I think he is pretending to be a Cowboy.

This was, by far, the weirdest thing we saw. A statue/mannequin with a holographic face. And he talked. And winked. And weirded us out! (He looks so very real!)

After the museum, we all had worked up quite an appetite and we headed over to the Blue Star Brewing Company for some lunch. (My parents mapped out all the great breweries in SA before the trip. I can't remember the last time I had so much beer over a span of a few days.)

I was quite happy with this selection... notice behind Mike on the sign- Organic Beers! Yay!

Here we all are... cheers! (I think i was a bit late in on the cheers action.)

I was also quite happy to see this in their restroom. Their menu had local pastured eggs & pastured/grass fed beef! I had a super yummy egg sandwich. 

We headed back for naps/rest at the condos & then we had one more meal out with the group. We at a pretty famous restaurant called Mi Tierra which was a very large restaurant (with this very large mural on the wall in the room we ate in). They had a huge pastry counter which we made sure to visit after our meal. 

The next day we would head out, make a stop by IKEA with my parents (who had yet to ever step foot in one!), & then on to Dallas where we'd spend a night before heading back home. We had a nice time getting to see some family that we don't see very often at all and also spending time with the family that we do get to see regularly.

Family Reunion '12- San Antonio, day 2

The second day activities included going to the Alamo and the Riverwalk. I can't remember the last time I went to the Alamo so it was neat to see inside and walk the grounds. They maintain the Alamo really well and oddly enough, there is no entrance fee.

Mike had been on the internet looking at things to do in SA prior to our trip & he had scoped out the Ripley's 3D ride (I can't remember what it was called... it was Indiana Jones related) where you ride through in a cart & shoot at 3D targets. Isabella had said she wanted to go but when we got near & walked by the Haunted Adventure where a guy was in a scary costume/make-up, she got scared. It was also really loud scary music so I think she was over stimulated in a scary way! So I took her back to my family  & she played with her cousins instead. Jackson decided he was brave & went on the ride with first Mike & then me. It wasn't really scary & he enjoyed it. 

Afterward, I took Jack to my family on the Alamo grounds & then Mike, Lyndsey, Maria, Brendan, & I went into the Haunted Adventure. There was a lot of screaming (I think mostly from Maria and me) but overall it wasn't too scary. :) Here we are all coming back.

Then we headed down to the Riverwalk for some lunch. One of the first restaurants was an Irish pub of sorts so a group of us decided to eat there. I don't remember what I ate... but 2 beers later & I was doing just fine. :) 

Then we walked a bit down the Riverwalk. The day was overcast & a bit drizzly but perfect for walking. But due to the kiddos tiring after awhile, we only walked a fraction of the Riverwalk. We headed back to the condos for a nap/rest.

And one of the condo perks... free wine/beer on certain week nights. So some family took advantage of this during our stay... 

 Dinner was another famous Mexican restaurant... & it was yummy.


**Some of the above pictures were taken by members of my lovely family. Thankfully I have a lot of family members who are better at taking photos than I!

Family Reunion '12- San Antonio, day 1

My Mom's side of the family planned a family reunion in San Antonio this past October. A family member got a good deal to share w/ the family on condos in San Antonio through their time share (not sure how that all worked but they were really nice condos & it was very inexpensive). We drove down in one day and got there in the evening.

There were some fun activities put together for everyone to enjoy together. The first day was the Natural Bridge Caverns, not far from the condos.

But before heading out, we all met up and took a group picture.

We had a lovely tour through the amazing caverns and got a nice morning workout to boot! The kids really enjoyed being in the cave and I have to say, it is pretty fascinating how so much is created over such a long period of time. Stalagmites, stalactites.... and all sorts of other things we learned about (& of course I can't remember).

All the younger kiddos taking a break on the bench (minus Lily). 

And a picture of everyone who walked through the caverns...

Afterward, we all hit the canopy tour they have set up on the same property as the cavern. Isabella & I went up on the ropes course (which was 4 stories high!!), I did the rappel, and Mike took Jackson on the low course. The weather couldn't have been better (overcast, cool, & breezy).

Isabella was quite nervous starting out on the obstacles... she needed some coaching. But she totally did it and she was really proud of herself (we all were too, of course!). 

Afterwards, several of us met up at a brewery and had a bite to eat for lunch. I tried my first ever Spirulina beer. :)

We then went back to the condos for naps/resting and later that evening had dinner at a Mexican restaurant that is well known in the area.

**Some of the above pictures were taken by members of my lovely family. Thankfully I have a lot of family members who are better at taking photos than I!