Christmas 2012

 The week before Christmas break, Sammy was the star student in her class and she got to take home Brutus, the class dog, for the week. There were a lot of fun activities she was supposed to do with him and talk about it the next day in class. Unfortunately, she came down with the flu and missed a few days, but she had fun anyway.

Here she is the morning of her class Winter Party. I was so upset that I had to miss it. Matt came down with the flu the day before :(

He felt well enough for a picture though.

Even well enough to push "sis" out of the way.

My parents came in town that Friday evening and Saturday, Uncle David, Aunt Kim, and Ryan came over for some homemade Mexican food. It was so nice to visit with each other. The kids also opened their presents while skyping with the Nesbitts.

Sammy got all stocked up on cooking stuff from Aunt Kim and Uncle David. She got some cute stuff from the Nesbitts too, which I failed to photograph: a dress, reindeer slippers and a personalized plate. Thanks everyone!

Matt was feeling pretty lousy, but he managed to open a few presents. Some dino jams and an awesome, like really awesome sleeping bag from the Nesbitts and Bushes. He loves it :)

 

Apparently he was feeling well enough to stomp on all of the packing peanuts.

This is the big Christmas present form us and Sam's mom to the kids. Thanks Tere! It will definitely save me some long, hot walks to the park. They call it their park. I'll post more pictures of it later.

We spent Christmas Eve at Sea World and we started the day with milk and cookies with Santa.

Christmas Morning!

All Matt had been asking for was a Buzz Lightyear and he literally lost it when he opened it up. It was the cutest thing. He got other presents too, but this one stole the show.

Sammy was pretty shocked that Santa was able to find a Suzette La Sweet lalaloopsy.

Nevermind the pajamas. She loves to wear Sam's BDU tops to sleep in.

My mom and dad got her this pony and it is now her favorite toy. She takes it everywhere and pulls it around the house.

The lighting was bad, but I hope you can still see the look of sheer joy on her face. She got her beloved holiday cabbage patch doll from Grammy and Grampy.

Santa also brought her a toy cupcake set. This kid loves anything and everything having to do with baking.

He played with this crane that Kassandra and Billy got him all day. Thanks guys!

Cute socks from the Shipes and a glimpse into her new lalaloopsy room :)

 
The  last day of my parents visit, we rode the train around Brackenridge Park and made a quick visit to the Japanese tea gardens. It was beautiful! It would have been more enjoyable sans kids and the freezing cold, but it was nice to see.
Thanks to everyone who made our Christmas so special!

San Antonio Children's Museum

This video may or may not work. I'm having issues with this blog.

When Kassandra was here visiting at the end of October we decided to take the kids to the Children's Museum. They have been before, but now that Matt's a little older, he really enjoyed it. They got to "operate" a bulldozer and, of course, that was Matt's favorite attraction.

They had an HEB grocery store and Samantha played there for quite a while.

After the grocery store, there was a kitchen/restaurant set up where you could cook all of the food you made.

creepy

getting ready for Thanksgiving

Milking a cow. It was broken last time, so they were excited about this

One Very Long Road Trip

With Sam being away at Officer Training School, I decided it was time to break from San Antonio and go see family and what better excuse than a wedding? My cousin Mikaela got married to Blake on November 10 in Phoenix, AZ. Now let's backtrack.... Sam left for OTS on October 15 and Kassandra flew in to help me out with the kids on Oct 29. We had a pretty awesome Halloween (both kids actually went trick or treating and had a blast!)

After Halloween, we started planning our trip to Phoenix. We drove to El Paso, stayed the night at mom and dad's then woke up the next morning and finished the journey. The kids were actually really good. The whole family, Aunts, uncles, and cousins stayed at the same hotel and it was really nice getting to see everyone...especially Baby Henry. I finally got to meet him :) He is a cutie and so cuddly and so happy!

The Nesbitts

Dallas and Matt finally warming up to each other.

The wedding was simple and beautiful. Congrats to my cousin and her husband!

We stayed in El Paso for a few days, then back to good 'ol San Antonio. We were all suffering (still sufffering) from jet lag (car lag.)

Pumpkin Patch

Samantha took a walking field trip to the pumpkin patch down the street from her school. I volunteered to go along as a chaperone and I wanted Matt to go too. I think I ended up chaperoning only him because he was being terrible. I don't blame him though it was like 90 degrees and super humid. It was pretty miserable. Despite the heat, I think the kids had fun.

Choosing a pumpkin. He wanted one as big as him, but we ended up with a tiny one.

My favorite. 100% Matt

Sammy made the girl next to her scoot over so brother could fit.

Ms. Craven's kindergarten class

She's so sweet.

The girl on the left is her friend, Caroline. They talk...a lot!

Baking Cookies

What happens when you take a Samantha to the grocery store? She picks out a box of cookies and a can of frosting. I am making a conscious effort to eat better and this did not help. She had a great time making them, so that's all that matters.