Austin

So, since there is absolutely NOTHING to do here in Houston, well, besides eat, that is.  We decided to take a quick trip to Austin to check out the sites and ...well...eat some more.

Surprisingly enough, the kids really enjoyed the capitol.

And we couldn't go to Austin, without visiting Juan for our $3.80 breakfast taco.

 

 I swear, I love the place more every time we come.

Christmas 2011

Shortly before Christmas, Dee arrived to help ensure the children were adequately spoiled for Christmas.

Yes, she did her job well.

We started the festivities with our annual Mexican Christmas eve dinner, along with Uncle Gary.

After dinner, we headed out to enjoy some of the lights in the neighborhood.

Then Dee got a little spoiling of her own.

And after selecting the perfect sugar cookies and carrots to set out for Santa and his reindeer,

It was time to say goodnight!

As always, Christmas morning came early.  

Luckily, the kids got Grammy Dee up before us, so that bought Craig and I a few extra precious moments to sleep.

And then the frantic unwrapping began.

Apparently, everyone was VERY good this year!

I'm guessing there was a bit of misinformation communicated to the the North Pole!  Because I'm pretty sure there should have been SOME coal given out somewhere!

 

As always, it was a fun morning with lots of great surprises.

And once again, we realize just how blessed we are.

The only way it could have been better is to have Trent here with us.

 

After opening all our gifts, everyone settled in for a relaxing day of doing absolutely 

NOTHING!

Yep, it was a good day.

Finally.... a post!

As we thundered into December,

Chloe finished up her All Star cheer season.  

And while it was nice that she made the All Star Squad, we were both glad to see it come to an end.

Speaking of finishing up, Logan had his last soccer game of the season.

He and his forever buddy, AJ, took the field by storm every time they went out.

Of course, the fact that Craig and Hector (AJ's Dad) were offering cash money and McDonald's trips for every goal was a fantastic motivator.

Chloe entertained us at her school's holiday concert.  It was amazing

to hear such beautiful songs being played.  I was so proud that she was a part of it.

I teared up with pride. 

My little girl is an honest to goodness musician.

And we made sure the house was all decked out in it's holiday best.

Craig saw these led trees and just had to have them. 
They were pretty cool, the picture does not do them justice.

Oh, and Fall finally found it's way to Texas.  Better late than never, I guess.

Of course, the way we're going, it won't last for long.

I'm enjoying every moment of this cool weather because it seems to be precious and very short lived around here.

And that's about it for now.

Here's one last shot of my girl with the beautiful smile.