A Trip to Austin, TX

We drove down to Austin for a quick 1-night getaway after Christmas. The kids love to stay in hotels and Derek wanted to see a few friends. 

We had lunch with Derek's little brother. 

We then met our friend for coffee. John served with Derek at Saddleback Church. 

We hung out at the hotel for a little bit and then we walked to the mall across the street to meet some other friends for dinner. Derek used to work with Rachel.

Needless to say, it wasn't the most exciting day for the kids. They had to be patient and entertain themselves a lot at the restaurants and coffee shop. They did great and we were so proud of them. Right outside of our hotel was a cupcake food truck so we rewarded the kids after a long day. 

We ate delicious oversized cupcakes at 8:30 pm in our hotel room! 

 

The next day we had breakfast at the hotel and then Derek and the kids went exploring near the hotel. I was suffering from allergies and a bad night of sleep so I took a nap in the hotel. Once we checked out of the hotel, we found a food truck park and ate lunch and drove around Austin to see some sights. 

Here is a fun family pic. It was our first attempt at a selfie with John. John was taking the picture, but he didn't realize he wasn't in the frame!

 

A Few of Our Favorite Things

We love the weeks leading up to Christmas. There is a lot of excitement, anticipation and talk of Jesus!

We put up the Christmas tree and lights early this year! Every day the kids made sure the tree was plugged in first thing in the morning. 

We went to a candlelight service at Riverside Church. We are family friends with the lead pastor and that is where Kyle and I go to preschool. We saw lots of familiar faces there!  

We went to Bass Pro Shop to see Santa. Kyle and Makena were excited to share their lists with Santa. Santa read everything on their lists to make sure he understood what each one was. 

Kyle has never sat on Santa's lap before. He was going back and forth on whether he wanted to do that this year. Karis told Kyle that if you sit on his lap, you get better presents. Not sure where she got that idea from, but it worked!

I didn't realize Santa was keeping their lists, so I had to go back to get pictures of them! 

We made gingerbread houses with all the candy we collected (and didn't eat) throughout the year. 

We drove around town in our pjs to see Christmas lights. 

 The dog stayed home. 

 

We found two new places to see lights this year. One was a drive thru neighborhood in Plano and the other one was in Flower Mound. The one in Flower Mound was a fun place to run around. There was loud Christmas music, plenty of lights, snow falling, Santa and a garage filled with a miniature city. 

Kyle's Christmas Program

The 3-year old and 4-year old classes worked hard all month learning and practicing Christmas songs. We got to enjoy their songs in the Christmas program. Kyle was excited for the program, but felt a bit shy being up on stage. The program was adorable!

Karis Turns 8!

We had a party for Karis the morning of her birthday. Ten of her friends came to celebrate with her. 

Karis had a Beanie Boo Adoption Party. There were many Beanie Boos looking for a good home. 

We blew up balloons and put a number in each one. The kids grabbed a balloon and sat on it to see what order they would pick their new pet. 

They filled out some adoption papers and gave them a medical check up. They also decorated a bed for them. 

Afterwards, the kids ate lunch and sang Happy Birthday. 

Since Karis doesn't like cake and frosting we had jumbo chocolate chip and M&M cookies.

Karis had a great time and loved all her gifts. 

Two of Karis's best friends didn't come to her party because they were running fevers that week. They came over later the next week for a mini Beanie Boo party. They got to adopt a Beanie Boo and do all the party activities. 

The girls came over right after school. It was half day and pajama day at school. 

Celebrating 8 at School

Karis got to celebrate her birthday at school on Friday the 9th. She brought her favorite birthday treat again -- candy coated pretzels. Unfortunately her teacher doesn't allow parents to visit during snack time so we don't have any pictures. 

Daddy visited during lunch since it was also Mavs Dads day. 

The following week, Lindsay and Jamie visited her during lunch to bring her Cane's chicken and a cupcake. 

They stayed for recess and played. It was such a special treat for her!