Thanksgiving!

We had a nice and relaxing Thanksgiving. Earlier in the month, Josh's preschool had a Thanksgiving feast that Lucy and I got to attend. It was fun to eat our little feast with Josh and his class.




























We had lots of different ideas of what we wanted to do for Thanksgiving, but ended up finding ourselves on our own for the holiday. Adam and I enjoy cooking a big Thanksgiving dinner, but we didn't want to do it just for ourselves (because let's face it, the kids weren't going to eat much), so we decided to just make a few pies and go out for dinner. We went to Rudy's and it was EXCELLENT! Their smoked turkey was amazing, and they have the BEST creamed corn I have ever tasted. It was even nice enough that we could eat outside.
























It was great to have yummy food that we didn't have to cook or clean up after. After dinner, we went home and had mini pumpkin pies and lime meringue pie that Adam made. So yummy!! Later, we were able to Skype with our families and share a bit of the holiday with them. All in all, it was a very nice, relaxing day and I'm so glad we were able to spend it together. I am so grateful for my little family and all the blessings we enjoy!

Bowling!

We took the kids bowling the day before Thanksgiving. I think it was the first time we've gone as a family, and the kids were really excited when we got there. Lucy lasted for about 4 or 5 frames before losing interest, but Josh had a blast the whole time. I'm glad we were able to go and have fun. It is definitely something we should do more of in the future.

Grandma's Visit

My mom came to visit us last week and she brought along my nephew, Ryan. Josh and Ryan are very close in age, and I'm so glad they were able to spend some time together and have a fun week of playing. That's one thing I miss most about being away from our family. I wish my kids were able to play with their cousins more. And now for the pictures!







































































































































We had a great week. Grandma had so much fun playing with the grandkids, and they loved all the attention. I'm so glad they were able to come and visit us!

Arizona Trip

OK, it's time to try and update the blog. Again. These catch-up posts probably won't be as detailed as I would like, but at least there will be pictures of what we've been up to this past summer and fall.The last week of June and into the Fourth of July weekend, we took at trip to Arizona for a family reunion for my mom's side of the family. We left after Adam got home from work and drove through the night, hoping the kids would sleep most of the way there. Remind me to never to that again. The kids did OK, but it's hard on the parents, too. The reunion was at a small horse ranch just outside of Flagstaff. It was great to see my parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and other extended family.

Adam and I left the kids with grandma and grandpa one afternoon and headed up to the Grand Canyon. It was pretty amazing!

After the reunion, we drove down to Chandler to visit my dad's brother and family. I love visiting with family! Josh and Lucy had fun playing with cousins and electronics.

We stayed the night there, then headed home the next day, which happened to be the Fourth of July. We stopped in El Paso for the night, then drove the rest of the way home the next day. That stretch of I-10 between El Paso and San Antonio is a long, lonely stretch of road. Sometimes you just really have to go to the bathroom.

I'm so glad we were able to go on vacation and spend time with family!

Catching Up

I had wanted to do individual posts for each of the things I will mention in this post, but that's just not going to happen right now. We did lots of fun things in April and May. My mom cam to visit for a week during the first part of April. While she was here, we went to Pump It Up, a place where kids can bounce and climb around on huge inflatables.







Josh just LOVES climbing all over everything and going down the slide. It's a great way for him to use all of his abundant energy.
































While my mom was here, we also went to Corpus Christi and spent some time at the beach.















Lucy didn't like the water very much.












Josh LOVED everything about being at the beach. He had a blast playing in the waves and digging in the sand.






























Up next is Easter. We had an Easter Egg Hunt with our playgroup friends. Josh and Lucy really liked looking for eggs.


















Oooo, there's candy in here! Bonus!








The day before Easter, Adam and Josh colored some eggs.




























That week we also got to play with a present from Grandma Pratt.













Josh doesn't quite have the whole "sliding" part down yet, but he still has lots of fun playing in the water.

Christmas Day

We spent Christmas Day at my parents' house. My brother and his family came over in the morning to open presents and have breakfast. Christmas breakfast has become one of my favorite traditions over the years. When we were kids, we rarely had sugar cereal, so for Christmas morning, we could have whatever cereal we wanted. (My favorite has long been Lucky Charms.) My mom would also make cinnamon rolls and we would have hot chocolate and sometimes warm Christmas punch. Mmmmm...I love Christmas breakfast!

In the early afternoon, my Aunt Catherine came over, and Adam's parents also came over. We had a late afternoon Christmas dinner, followed by games and chatting. It was a fun, relaxing day. We got Josh a Thomas the Tank Engine track set. He LOVES it and played with it the rest of our vacation. He is pretty much obsessed with trains.