Visiting Santa and Christmas Parties

I took the kids to see the Santa at the Neiman Marcus downtown again this year.  We have seen that Santa for several years in a row, and he is definitely our favorite. 

It took a little persuading to get Caden to agree to go take the picture.  So we invited one of his friends from school along.  Here are the pictures of Caden and Annabelle with Santa.

 

Annabelle is in the 4/5 yr old choir this year at church.  They performed at the Festival of Carols.  Here's a picture of them singing. 

 

Afterwards, there were games, dinner, and all sorts of entertainment.  Here's a pic of the kids with their balloon animals.  

Annabelle also got her face painted. 

 

A family picture from the festival. 

 

I took Annabelle to the Nutcracker.  She loved it!  A pic before we headed to the show. 

 

Annabelle in the lobby ready to see the show! 

 

Annabelle was excited to get her picture taken with the Snow Queen during intermission. 

 

Annabelle and her friend Belle at a Christmas cookie exchange playdate.

 

Caden had his first presentation at school this month.  He picked the Lion.  He had to artistically create a Lion and present eight facts.  He molded a lion out of homemade play dough, and then he did a great job presenting his facts.

 

Caden had a class Christmas party his last day of school before the break.

 

Andrew and Caden.

 

Caden and Mommy. 

 

For the second year in a row, Santa has ridden through our neighborhood collecting toys for a local charity.  We missed it last year, but the kids really enjoyed it this year.  Unfortunately, Santa's route isn't right in front of our house, so we went to a friend's house, who lives along the route.  A picture of the kids (Luna, Caden, Annabelle, and Belle) before Santa arrived.

 

Here comes Santa Clause.

 

I saw the two cutest elves that I've ever seen at Trader Joes one day.

 

Thanksgiving 2016

Annabelle had a Thanksgiving feast at her school the week before Thanksgiving. 

They lined up and sang a song for us. 

Then they sat down for their feast.

 

The Saturday before Thanksgiving, I took the kids over to Fort Worth to meet my college roommate's new baby, Asher.  I cannot believe I didn't get a picture of Asher, but Caden and Annabelle had so much fun playing with Jonah for the afternoon. 

 

We headed over to Tyler for 3 days during the week to celebrate Thanksgiving.  The kids had fun playing on their new trampoline! 

 

A quick family pic before we ate.

 

A pic of the kids with Nana and Papa.

 

I took the kids to the Arboretum to take a few pictures of them in their Thanksgiving outfits.  Here are a few of those pictures. 

 

The kids both wanted a turn taking pictures.  They did a good job! 

 

Sausalito and Sonoma Trip

Brian and I snuck away for a long kid-free weekend the first of November.  I flew out a day early to spend some time with my best friend from growing up.  

 A few selfies before dinner.  You can faintly see the top of the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. 

 

I stayed at her place in Sausalito.  We were up before sunrise to go walking, and the views were so beautiful!

 

Brian flew in they day after I did.  We went hiking the next morning. 

 

After hiking on Friday, we headed up to Sonoma.  We walked around the Sonoma Plaza. 

We checked out the barracks across from the Mission San Francisco Solano. 

 

The trees were just changing colors, and it was just beautiful.  A quick selfie before our morning walk.

 

A pic in front of the bnb that we stayed in. 

 

We met back up with Becky and her friend, Arlene, Saturday morning.  Her friend gave us a VIP tour of Sonoma.   



Halloween 2016

Caden was an astronaut this year, and Annabelle was Belle from Beauty and the Beast. 

Annabelle got to wear her costume to school the Thursday before Halloween.  She put on her dress, and said, "Mommy, I look like one of the princesses at the Arboretum!"  We always see girls dressed up in their quinceanera dresses for pictures at the Arboretum.  A pic before we headed to school.

 

Annabelle and her two best buds at school, Cate Purser and Belle Hartgrove, in the school costume parade. 

 

Caden and Annabelle carved pumpkins the day before Halloween.  Here they are digging out the pumpkin guts.

Annabelle with the finished products.

 

The kids in their costumes before we headed out to trick or treat. 

The street next to ours blocks off traffic, so we headed over their with our friends Luna and Belle. 

 

A few of the houses on that street go all out.  Here's a pic of the kids checking out some of the decorations.  We were out early enough to catch them putting the final touches on some of their zombies.

 

It was a fun night.  The kids traded in their candy for some new books.  Checking out their new books the next morning.

 

The week before Halloween was homecoming week at Covenant.  There were themes different days.  Here's a picture of Caden on crazy hair day.

 

We took the kids to the football game, too.

 

Hadley Tilger and Annabelle enjoying a little treat at the game.