The Gaylord

Clay for our anniversary surprised me with a weekend get away trip. I was really hesitant because Paige had never been left alone with anyone. Colleen planned on coming down and staying with the kiddos. We debated on rather to go to San Antonio but then I mentioned the Gaylord to Clay and they have this amazing deal for anniversaries where you pay one night and you get a second night free.
It was a relaxing weekend with my honey. Our room had a view of the River Walk so we did get a little piece of San Antonio. We were planning on leaving to eat, see a movie, go to the mall or something but instead we ended up staying at the hotel just walking around and being lazy. We ate at an all you can eat Rio Cafe and it was amazing. I tried lamb for the first time and loved it!! We loved sitting on our patio talking and watching the people while listening to live music from the restaurant below.
It was an amazing weekend and what we needed more than we thought. We are ready to pack our bags now for another getaway (hopefully it will not be 5 years till the next one). The kids did amazing with Grandma.

Snow Again

Christmas

Santa delivered a remote control car and motorcycle to Matthew and for Paige a kitchen.

Grammy was in charge of taking everything out of the package once opened. It was cute to see Paige open a present and take it directly over to Grammy.

Paige with her morning hair and Missy sniffing her Christmas bone.

The kids got me a necklace and a bracelet (thank you so much Clay I love them).

The kids received so many presents from grandparents, aunts and uncles. Thank you everyone for thinking of the kids. They loved everyone of them.

Matthew with a quilt from Grandma Bea, Clay said he had one just like it when he was young. Paige with all her jewelry from China.

At Christmas dinner Grandpa kept teasing Paige. These two are so cute together.

Christmas Cookies

Christmas cookies decorating was so much fun. Once the frosting was mixed they got to lick the beaters. Paige kept on dipping hers back into the bowl of frosting for more. Matthew did an awesome job frosting and decorating. Paige with the help of dad had busy hands. On hers she would put the red hot in her mouth and then put it on the cookie. Paige had a few cookies set a side just for her.

White Christmas in Texas!

I have lived in Texas for almost 30 years and I can not remember a year where we actually had snow on the ground on Christmas. The day before Christmas Eve the high was 73 degrees and the kids were outside in shorts. Christmas Eve comes and it starts snowing. I thought there was no way that it would stick because it was so hot the day before. Well it stuck. The roads ended up being very icy. My brother had a hard time getting in Christmas Eve from Dallas which took him 3 hours, he ended up spending the night on the couch. My sister didn't even attempt to journey out. By nightfall most roads were closed. Texas wasn't ready for this storm. The kids sure did enjoy it. Matthew said "it snowing for Santa."

A New Christmas Tradition

Elfie
Meet Elfie, our "Elf on a Shelf." This little guy has magical powers and he was sent to us from Santa Claus to watch over Matthew and Paige. He doesn't say anything because it is his job to listen. Each night he returns to the North Pole and tells Santa all that has happened that day. Then each morning he returns and is in a different spot. You can't touch him because if you do he loses his magic. On Christmas Eve he returns to live with Santa until next December.
Matthew has had so much fun with this. He would say "that Elfie is a tricky one." He would wake up most mornings hunting the house for him. One morning he was found sitting on the back of the toilet. Matthew came up to me and wanted to know if he could use my bathroom, because he didn't want Elfie to watch him go potty. It also helped with managing bad behavior. All I had to say is "Elfie is watching" and the behavior was fixed.

Paige's Christmas Show

My little Angel. Her Mother's Day Out put a Christmas program together for the parents. Her class rang bells to Jingle Bells and hand signs to Away in the Manger. It was fun to watch her participate in the program. She loves her class and Teacher.

Holiday in The Park

Our good friends Nicki and Brian invited us to join them and Emma to Holiday in the Park at Six Flags on Bell Helicopter Day. For $30 the whole family got into the park, our choice of lunch, a bracelet that let us enjoy hot chocolate all day and get 3 pictures, awesome deal. It was a really cold day and we tried everything to stay warm. Matthew had so much fun riding rides with Emma. His favorite ride was the mine trains. Paige was a trooper and spent most the day in her stroller bundled up. Clay and Brian really enjoyed the Superman ride. We all were tired and cold by the end of our fun day. We love spending time with this group of friends.