Merry Christmas

Christmas in Texas

Christmas is all about tradition.  It's that time when no matter how cold it gets, expensive it is or silly it seems... you have to do it because you did it last year and the year before and the year before that.  So Christmas in Texas has thrown a wrench in our "traditions."  No temple square, no Gardner Village, no extended family and no snow.  But then again... it is a chance to start some brand new traditions.   

Like attending the annual Christmas parade.  In shorts and flip-flops....

playing outside during winter break,  

barefoot....

And getting caught in a downpour while trying to be Santa's helper late on Christmas Eve. 

We also had a blast Christmas caroling in our friends trailer then stopping at their home for hot chocolate and cookies and to toss around a frisbee.

But then some things are wonderfully the same.

 

 Buying this year's ornaments and decorating the tree.

 Making snowflakes, even though after living here for a few years, the kids may forget what snow really is.

 Decorating the house.

 Finding a few more candycanes disappear from the tree each day.

 Snuggling up to watch Christmas movies.

And of course, being so excited that you can't sleep a wink.  That doesn't change.  The magic made it all the way to Texas.  Thank goodness for that.

(The can't sleep thing was such a reality this year.  At 3:30am I heard Lizzy get up and sneak into Andrew's room.  She was fully dressed, bed made, teeth brushed and felt that she'd given sleeping a full effort for the night and was done.  She was not happy when I told her that it was still the middle of the night and hours before we could go downstairs to see what Santa brought.)

Lately....

Lizzy is jumping rope all day long....

Andrew has rediscovered tinkertoys and loves building carts for his stuffed animals....

And Sam empties out this garbage can atleast once a day so that he can wear it on his head.....

And that is today's exciting update on the Brown family going ons....

Thanksgiving Visitors

This is definitely the warmest Thanksgiving I have ever experienced.  We were so excited to have Grandma and Grandpa Brown come and stay for a while. 

 Yes.  Really.  This is the day before Thanksgiving.

 I love every one of those little rolls.

 Seeing the alligators at Brazos Bend was great.  We will definitely be going back there.

Feast

 Both Lizzy and Andrew asked for a turkey leg.  Since there was such a small group of us, it was easy to provide.  It was fun to watch them gnawing away at it.

Happy Thanksgiving.  We've had a great break.  Aaron was able to have a full 5 days off in a row and it has been heavenly.  Aaron's parents have been here with us and we have truly enjoyed having family with us this holiday season. 

So this year was the first time that I actually planned and prepared a Thanksgiving feast and I had a blast.  Must admit... that it is really a lot of work.  I'm glad my MIL was here or I never could have pulled it off.  But when all is said and done I was pretty proud of how it all turned out.  Not because I expect anyone to care, but because someday I'd like to look back and remember our meal this year:
Turkey (of course)
Ham
Homemade stuffing (the only thing that I didn't love... maybe need a different recipe)
Potatoes and gravy
Homemade rolls with the BEST honeybutter
Jello salad
Yams
Vegetables in a Cloud
Veggie tray
Pumpkin Pie
Razelberry pie
Mini chocolate pie

Sam's favorite was... the pie. 

Thanksgiving day ended with a re-showing of Lizzy's school Thanksgiving play.. costume and everything. With a little extra help. Simple. Wonderful day.

Happy Day

My birthday was last week.  I had to put this picture up to document how cute my kids were on my birthday.  They went shopping with Dad the night before and in the morning actually REMEMBERED it was my b-day and ran downstairs yelling "Happy Birthday Mom" .  They also spontaneously wrote these songs.  I sure love these kiddos. 

I love Oreo's.  So this is what we enjoyed for dessert that night. 

Thanks Aaron, Lizzy, Andrew and Sam for making my day special.  And to many family and friends sending their happy wishes my way.  I love you all.

I've been wanting to post a video of Sam walking around but since my video camera broke I didn't think I could.  Recently I remembered that I can take video with our other camera.  So here it is... many months late.  :)

And Some Words Too...

I don't want to forget...

**The awesome adult party that Aaron and I went to.  Everyone was invited to dress as a "D list" celebrity.  My favorites were the Octomom (and her fertility doctor), Hulk Hogan, Nacho Libre (and his Nun girlfriend), and Ken and Barbie.  Aaron went as Jared the Subway guy.  (Which by the way was the cheapest, easiest costume ever) and I was Wendy (the fast food icon).  We played all sorts of crazy games and the grand finale was the winner of all of the games (or should I say loser) finished off her drink of blended worms and clam juice.  Really we watched him blend 6 worms in the blender and she drank it.  Ughhh. 

**  Our neighborhood did a little party on Saturday night.  I was so much fun.  We honestly have the best neighbors.  I love them all.  We played games and ate food and then watched movies that were projected up onto someone's garage.  Good times.  I wish Aaron hadn't been in San Diego for the whole thing... but that's how it worked out this year.  :(

**  Aaron said I was more into Halloween this year than I ever have been before.  I guess I was.  Decorations, fun treats and costumes.  I've decided that anticipating holidays is really more fun than the events themselves.  But still... at about 9:00 last night after the kids were tucked in... I had a real itching to take down the Halloween decorations.  I waited until this morning, but it is done now.  Time to start planning Thanksgiving.

Halloween in Pictures