Merry Christmas 2011!

We got back  from our trip to Texas pretty late Christmas Eve.  We moved the kids straight to their beds and unloaded the van.  Then we went to bed!!  The next morning the kids slept in until about 8am.  It was so nice!  It took them a little while to realize that Santa had come.

Bradley and Daniel with their movies from their stockings.

Eliza opening her puppy.

"Oh cute!"

Bradley with his M3A2 Bradley Tank.

Andy really was happy about getting this griddle for his birthday.

Eliza with her spoils!

Bradley with his prizes.

Typical Bradley picture.

Daniel with his loot.

This is typical Daniel.

You can see the difference in Bradley and Daniel's personalities so clearly from these pictures

We had a relaxing Christmas Day.  It was fun to just spend time as a family.  We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Working in Texas

A lot Andy's time in Texas was spent outside working in the pasture with Grandpa.  One of the things they took care of was getting all the cows shots and tags.  There is new grass growing in the pasture and int he mornings it gets a little wet from the dew.  This makes it a little bit hard to pull a trainer with cows out of the pasture.

Thus the need to pull the truck out with the tractor!  :)

The boys liked riding around in the back of the truck while Grandpa was in the yard. 

Andy helped burn several brush piles while we were in Texas.  Obviously a little bit of pyro runs in the family.  The boys loved helping with the fire.

They also loved playing fetch with Chester.

Eliza loved playing with the puppy.

"Puppy...oh...cute!"

Chester carried this ball all over with him.  He would drop it by your feet and wait for you to throw it.  If you didn't pick it up soon enough he would set it on your foot.  He loved that ball!

Andy and Grandpa pulling brush with the tractor.

Andy also used the box blade on the tractor the push the hot coals into the brush pile.  It made me a little nervous since he was in the fire part of the time.  He had fun though.

In the end Andy and the tractor were both safe!  :)

"I get down?"

Uncle Matt helped Eliza gain a new view on things while we were visiting.

One night we enjoyed s'mores over the last of one brush pile.

Everyone was excited to eat marsh mellows.

Not sure what this face is, but it is a typical Bradley face.

We also made a trip to see Santa at a local bank.

The boys talked to him, but Eliza didn't want anything to do with him.

Aunt Lily, Uncle Matt and Alina.

Lily got the girls matching outfits.  

It was too bad we couldn't get them both to look at the camera at the same time.

One of the boys favorite things was riding the zip line!

Andy was the first to try it...

Daredevil Bradley was next...

Grandpa stood at the end to run the brake.

After watching Dad and Bradley go a few times Daniel finally got brave enough to try.

"That was awesome."

I did try it once, but after Andy harassed me for wanting a latter to get down I decided I should  stick to loading the boys.

We enjoyed seeing Grandma and Grandpa and all the Texas family present.  Thanks for the presents, the great food, and visit.

December 21-23, 2011

Road Trip: To Texas of Boost

Andy got a week off before Christmas so we headed to Texas for a visit.  It is a long road trip so we stopped half way in Tennessee to spend the night with Andy's sister Melissa.  The kids enjoyed playing with their cousins for the morning before heading the rest of the way to Grandma's house.

Bradley and Holden on the playhouse in backyard.

Bradley, Holden and Guard on the big slide.

Calais was a great supervisor.

Daniel wasn't a big fan of the big slide.

Eliza playing fetch with Timber.

Andy and Uncle Daniel spend most of the morning gathering rocks to make a fire place out back.

This historic site is about two blocks away from their house.  It was under reconstruction.

Even though it was pretty cold outside the kids enjoyed playing in the mud and the river!

Atlas waded across the river, it wasn't deep, and climbed the vines trying to get some bark out of a tree.

We enjoyed breakfast, lunch and visiting before hitting the road again.

Andy enjoying some chicken that was left over from lunch.

While in Texas we visited with Great-Grandma, Aunt Vickie and Uncle Bucky.

Pepper, Uncle Bucky and Eliza

Bradley and Daniel with their new RC trucks.  Thanks G-Grandma!

Eliza enjoying her new tent.

Vickie, Bradley and I putting a gingerbread train together.

Daniel was a good supervisor.

Great-Grandma and Eliza

Matt and Lily are staying in Texas with Grandma and Grandpa while Matt does some medical rotations.

Uncle Matt had some time off and the kids enjoyed rough housing with him.  

Eliza especially benefited from his assistance.  :)

Andy enjoyed "working" in the fields with Grandpa.  He liked any job he could do with the tractor.

Eliza loved being outside "helping" dad.  

Andy loved to ask her, "Do you want to come with me?"  To which Eliza would always say, "Yeah!"

We enjoyed some good weather during our visit, so we went to the zoo one day.  For the record Eliza isn't really picking her nose...she is pointing to the elephants and saying, "Hi elephants!"

The fam including the bun in the oven.  Thanks Daniel for covering it up!

Some of our favorite animals.

This was a huge Gar.  

That is Daniel on the left and Alina and Matt on the right.

We also stopped at the petting zoo to see the goats.

Daniel

Bradley and Daniel asked the man working in the petting zoo about the names of all the goats.

Alina, liked the goats from a distance as long as Dad was close by.

Dad trying to help Eliza feel more comfortable up close to the goats.

Eliza finally got brave enough to pet one.

Washing hands after petting the goats.  

We loved the "spitting" animals.

Heleman and Andy

Heleman is one of Andy's buddies from high school.

This is everyone that went to the zoo.

Heleman, Zandra and their children on left.

Us in the middlish.

Matt, Bucky, Grandma and Grandpa and Lily on the right.

December 16-20, 2011