Christmas in Texas: Sunny Skies

Growing up in Utah, I've come to expect frigid temperatures in December. It was certainly nice to take a break from the cold and enjoy some more temperate weather. I love love loved watching the cousins play like crazy outside all day long. It made me wish for a swing set, trampoline, and a houseful of kids. Or maybe just a lot of friends nearby.

Weston and William look like they're trying out for a Doublemint commercial in this shot, except for the fact that they look nothing like twins.

And here are the big kids monkeying around.

Doesn't it make you miss summertime?

Christmas in Texas: Christmas Day

How can you capture the joy and pandemonium of Christmas morning? I certainly don't have the skills.

What I do know is that Christmas morning has plenty of squinty, just-got-out-of-bed eyes,
followed by squeals of delight (for porkjog!!),

and sweet moments of gratitude.
Though some are not so impressed as others.


Here we are in our early morning glory,
but I like to think we clean up nicely.

Christmas in Texas: O Holy Night!

Christmas Eve was quite exciting with 30 people over for dinner, a nativity reenactment, testimonies and some very generous gifts.


Two of the attending guests were.... drum roll please...real-live missionaries! This is about as exciting for Conner as two real-live cowboys would have been, which is really a lot of excitement.

The kids were incredibly (miraculously?) reverent throughout the nativity. When time came for testimonies, Conner jumped up and poured out his heart. He even said he was "thankful to be in this dress up," which I thought was adorable. I think all the kids were happy to participate.

I loved...
...Papa's voice reading the Christmas story.
...all of the fantastic costumes. Seriously impressive, ladies.
...Olive's amazingly good portrayal as Mary. She loved on that Baby Jesus like any real mama would.
...Conner's kissing the baby's head (see picture). He took his Joseph role seriously.
...this little baby pulling himself proudly up on a bar stool.

Christmas in Texas: Date Night in San Antonio

Have you ever heard of San Antonio's River Walk? I never had until Trey's parents moved closer to San Antonio last year. I wasn't sure what to expect when we adults were scheduled to alternate date nights to see the sights, but I was mighty impressed when we arrived. The River Walk is down below the city, at least a story or two. Driving around the Alamo, the office buildings, and the mall parking structure, you'd never guess at the beautiful (even magical? perhaps?) scene below.

And with Christmas lights, you can bet the experience is that much more breathtaking.

We owe a big thanks to the siblings for watching our kids! And a thank you is due to Tommy, Alicia, and Grandma, of course, for being the most pleasant dates in the city.

Christmas in Texas: River Park

Here comes the onslaught of posts from our Christmas trip to Texas! We truly had such a fantastic time that even now, weeks later, we miss it and wish we were still there.

Our first day was spent at a nearby park with a river. Because of heavy rains the day before, the trails and rocks around the river were filled with water. The kids had plenty of fun and got impressively wet. The big boys were even so daring as to cross the river by hopping from rock to rock.

Conner was not quite so daring but still managed to get wetter than anyone else in the group. Here's Conner wet to the knees,

and eventually all the way to his chest.

One thing I love about spending time with Trey's dad is watching him focus on one child at a time. Weston got a good dose of PaPa during our outing at the park, complete with shoulder rides and exploring.

Mark and Amber's kids are missing because they couldn't come until Christmas Eve. Trey got shots of the rest, though. I will not be offended if you skip this slew of pictures, but I am excited to have them for history's sake. Here are the kids, oldest to youngest.

A

T

G

A not pictured

E

O

C

A not pictured

P

B

W

W not pictured

G

Trouble counting? Yes, there were 13 children under the same roof for Christmas. Thirteen! If you made it through this entire behemoth, then you will be rewarded with a good laugh with these last two pictures. Do you think we took Conner's wet, wet clothes off for snack time?

Oh yes we did.
Hats (and pants) off to Christmas in Texas.

A Night in Bethlehem

This is my favorite family Christmas tradition that we have started. Ok, I'll be honest, this is the only Christmas tradition that Trey and I have started on our own. But it's still my favorite.

One Monday in December, we dress up in bath towels to pretend like we're living in Bethlehem at the time of Christ's birth. I serve a meal that may or may not have been eaten by the people of the time (hummus, pita bread, chicken or fish, etc). We light candles, sit on the floor to eat, and try to reverence the birth of our Savior with some amount of quiet and simplicity. We sing Silent Night, have a lesson about Christmas, and try not to get too snickety about the bath towels. It's really a fun time for the kids and I hope it will create some special memories for our family.

Conner is a wise man (note the Christmas ornament on his turban) and I am obviously a shepherd woman.

Trey looked more convincing this year with his facial hair.

Laughing the Night Away

Mid-December we celebrated the Christmas season with our second annual progressive dinner with the Cranes and the Nashes. Might I suggest you start your own such tradition? But just don't steal the Cranes or the Nashes because we claimed them first. For two years in a row, mind you.

Some highlights:
Devin and Trey both sported facial hair (for the first time on both sides, I believe). Since the day we first met Devin in 2006, my family has joked that he could be Trey's brother. We all think the two of them secretly plotted to grow twin goatees as a joke, but if not, they are even more weirdly connected than we imagined.

Delicious food, three beautiful table settings, and a chance to look halfway cute for once. I think I even wore a necklace. Done.

A little picture-taking bedlam. Oh, I cannot even describe why this was hilarious, but I am mostly to blame. The fact is, I just look ridiculous standing shoeless in group pictures. I am too short for such things.

Laughing and laughing and more laughing. I'm pretty sure this whole affair lasted 5 hours from start to finish, and the only reason we went home is because we didn't want to keep our babysitter up until midnight. I think we could have gone on forever with hilarious stories from any one member of the group.



I am already counting down to the next Christmas. The third annual progressive dinner couldn't come soon enough.

Trey is pretty straight laced. Straight laced and clean shaven. We both like it that way. Well Trey went out on a limb in December and grew some facial hair in time for our trip to Texas.

Here are Trey's best efforts at a goatee:
And a couple shots of the piggy rides that followed:


Then he shaved it to a mustache just in time to make MeMe and PaPa laugh.
Trey was clean shaven by morning. Just the way I like him!

Festive Ties

Because I always need a little candy cane stripe in my December.