Well, it ain't Dixie and there's no snow on this ground. That's fine by me. I prefer the 50's and 60's any day! We had a really fantastic Christmas this year. Jason had his first few days off and we really made the most of them. We honored our family traditions and made a few memories in our new house. The boys are at a magical age for Christmas morning. They were both very excited about their gifts.
Jackson (aka Jason) scored a VERY nice rifle for hog hunting. I'm sure it will be a nice father/son bonding time when they go for a hunt but is a scope of that size REALLY necessary?
Mustaches in stockings was one of Santas best ideas yet! Note: Jackson is claiming to be British. He's holding his pinky out and has a cup of tea. He also is using his best british accent. You'd have to hear it to appreciate the comedy in it!
Oh, yes, I have. I am finally to the age where I get household appliances for gifts and actually LOVE it. I spent the rest of the day with this baby! I think she and I are going to get along just fine. Maturity has its perks.
Lincoln got his own DS. This picture accurately shows who is truly interested in the DS but now they both have one and can play. Bad news is they still fight over ONE game. Seriously.
The boys and Jason got "the family" a Soda Stream. I had never considered one because the idea is to NOT drink more soda. I have all but stopped drinking diet sodas but I had moved on to drinking lots of sparkling water. I was buying the cans. A friend had one and made us sparkling water right from her tap. In seconds! I was SOLD! I can flavor it with lemon and I might as well be drinking a sprite. Now the kids prefer it to be sugared to some degree but fruit juice does the trick there and they are none the wiser. It was an even better gift than I had originally thought.
Miss Marie got Lincoln the watch he'd been wanting. He's hardly taken it off. He even sleeps in it. You know, in case he needs to know what time it is!
Jason was excited to get a LEFT handed glove for playing baseball with the boys. It's extremely difficult to find a LEFT glove that large. Three cheers for amazon, again!
Even "baby sister" as the boys refer to her got a few things for Christmas. Gosh, we can't wait until she's here. She's going to be one well dressed and overly adored baby girl! Lucky her!
All that Christmas joy...piled into the floor of the living room. It's a crumpled mess but the memories and the joy they bring will last forever.
Santa couldn't get the two giant trampoline boxes inside. They were far too heavy. He left them on the back porch for the boys to find. It didn't take long to locate them.
A classic and a modern twist. Jackson asked for a lava lamp and in true Miss Marie style, he not only received a shiny new one but this awesome vintage which one might be everyone's favorite! These things are mesmerizing!
And I got these shiny (and handy) new rainboots, or wellies for all the british among us!
They were pretty serious about their new mustaches. The fun with them went on for several days. Reminds me of the Sons of Anarchy!
I spent the day vacuuming the entire house while the guys were constructing and bouncing away! It was a great day followed by a really delicious standing rib roast. These kids don't even know how good they have it!
The day after Christmas my parents flew in for a week. I was SO glad to have them here. Those two! They are so helpful. I don't know what I'd do without them.
I had been making plans for Santa's Wonderland in college station for quite some time. I had gotten tips from others that have gone before. Use the groupon and go after Christmas if at all possible because of the crowd levels. It seems as if my advice was right on point. I bought the groupon and it was accepted the weekend I wanted to go. I planned on going the 27th so the Christmas spirit was still lingering but the crowds had died down significantly. And that's not to say it wasn't still crowded. I cant' imagine going on a "crowded" night. Crazy!
Nana is Lincoln's playdoh. Anything he wants, anytime he wants it. She is putty to him. Always has been. Can you tell?
The lights were amazing! We took the hayride and it was fun. Everyone had their favorites. Mine was the "stream" made of blue LED lights.
On Sunday, we had a belated Christmas "brunch" at Brennans. It was Jason's favorite place here in Houston and I hadn't tried it yet. I knew I would love it too. Brunch was a great choice and nobody left disappointed OR hungry. The service was pretty impeccable too. The final word was in the Pralines. Nobody left empty handed!
This was my photo worthy shrimp and grits. The grits were almost as good as the shrimp themselves. I also had an appetizer of "turtle soup" and surprisingly it was good!
We had to make a run to IKEA. Mom loves that store and I needed some baby room items from there. We went on Sunday and the crowd was pretty bad. We only needed a few things but we left with ALL of this!
I think he's getting worried about what else we plan to purchase and where we might try to place it.
There was a whole lotta lego construction going on in the days that followed Christmas. Lincoln is getting amazingly good at following those meticulous directions and building. I was impressed that he could follow so many steps at age 4.
No trip is complete without a "science 'spirment" with nana. This was actually just shaving cream and food coloring they made pretty designs on paper with. It makes great stationery.
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