Frio Winter Trip

We took our annual trip to the Frio this year after Christmas. The dogs joined us, so we headed out with a car load full of food, kids, and dogs. We all had a really great time. Cory and Ryan had to do a little work on the land, but other than that, we just hung out and played. The weather was fantastic, and we had fun down by the river and roasting marshmallows. The day we left, we decided to go for a hike up the hill. I never thought we would make it anywhere close to the top! Cory, Adilyn, and Brooke were in the lead with Kacy and I following close behind. We kept going and going, and then we were more than halfway up. I wanted to quit because I was pretty sure someone was going to fall apart. Cory pushed us to keep going, so we did. All of a sudden we were at the top! The view was amazing, and the girls were so proud of themselves. I couldn't believe that we did it either. It was a great way to end the trip! I love being able to do things with them as they are getting older!

This is the view we will have from our back porch. Love the hill country :)

My little cuties watching a little tv before bedtime.

A heart cactus - sweet but painful :)

Brooke showing off her throwing skills!

Adilyn found this rock. So cute!

Winter at the river.

Sweet Kacy!

Tree's reflection in the still of the river.

Riding in the mule is always a favorite!

Brooke on the hike up the hill. She got the easy way up - in Cory's arms!

All my loves at the top of the hill!

Adilyn, checking out the view.

Me and my big girls after all the hard work.

Christmas Day 2013

I love Christmas so much! I love our traditions and being together celebrating the season. Brooke was great this year! She loved the lights, she loved finding Elfina every morning, and she loved seeing "Santy" everywhere. It was fun seeing her join us in the joy of Christmas!

Our Christmas Eve tradition of over decorating sugar cookies while "eating the profits". 

Matching Christmas jammies! Unfortunately, Adilyn's footed pajamas were a little small. We tried to cut them to fit her, but it didn't work perfectly. After we got jammies on, we went on a light tour in a neighborhood by our house. The girls loved seeing all the decorated houses.

Christmas morning hair! I love it :)

Kacy made this at school for all of us! She was so proud, and it was so cute!

Cory, "resting" under his new Texans blanket - just his size!

Zoe, in the middle of all the Christmas chaos!

Listening to music on their "new" iPhones that Santa dropped off.

After we had fun opening our presents, we headed over to Grandmother Henderson's house to celebrate with the rest of the family. The kids loved dressing up (even Connor) and playing together. We had fun eating dinner and opening presents.

Christmas night! What a better way to end the day than in more matching sister jammies!

Another Christmas holiday season filled with love, joy, and happiness. I am so blessed to have this wonderful family to share this beautiful life together.

Chinese Lantern Festival

I bought a Groupon for tickets to the Chinese Lantern Festival in Dallas. I thought we could all go one night while we were visiting in Dallas. Unfortunately, it was crazy cold! We were just going to blow it off, but everyone told us that we would love it. On our way out of town, we bundled up and braved the cold. Everyone was fine with it except Brooke, who refused to wear her hat and gloves. She was okay for a little bit, but all of a sudden she freaked out. She must have hit her cold limit, and she was done! Because she got so crazy, we had to leave a little quicker than I would have liked to. What we saw was awesome! It was so amazing to see what they had created with this fabric and metal. Some of the displays were absolutely incredible. We had fun, but I do wish we would have had a little more time and a little better weather to really enjoy it to the fullest.

Christmas in Fort Worth

We had a fun-filled weekend in Fort Worth celebrating with the ones we love so much! It was busy as usual, and it was super cold outside. Saturday was our day to go hang out with Mom. We had tickets to go to see the play, "Frosty the Snowman" at Casa Manana. I was sure that Brooke would freak out, as she usually does during times that she is supposed to be quiet, but she was great! We all loved the play. It was really cute, and it was great for the kids. After that, we picked up some dinner and headed to Mom's for presents. Of course, the girls wanted to get right to the present opening. We did and they loved every minute of it! They got so excited about every single present they opened. It was really fun to see how excited they got. Brooke was still not into opening presents too much, which surprised me, but it just gave her older sisters more to open. We had a such a fun time with Brandon, Mom, and Greg. The next day was our celebration with Dad and Kris. It's always such a different experience there. Of course, at Mom's house they are the center of attention. They are the only grandkids, and it's all about them. Then we get together with all the 8 grandkids at Mimi and Pops's, and the focus becomes more about the group. I love having the best of both worlds in our family. It is two completely different atmospheres, and I love each one in their own ways. At Dad's we did our 2nd annual "Dance and Sing Around the Tree", which the kids loved. We also had our 1st annual  adult gift exchange, which worked out pretty well. We ate tamales for a change, and they were great. There was, as usual, lots of laughter, silliness, hide and go seek, and rainbow looming. Our time in Fort Worth is always short, but we make the most of it!

Leaf Fun!

Sometimes the simplest things can bring the most joy! Cory was raking leaves the other day, and the girls ended up playing in the leaf piles for hours. They jumped and played and made some sort of leaf house. They threw leaves, made leaf hats, and had a leaf party. It was so cute to watch them all get along and have so much fun together. I love simple outside fun more than anything!