The most wonderful time of the year...

Has been one of the busiest times for us!!  I haven't blogged in almost TWO whole months…my plate has been very full!  I'll let the pics do the explaining!!

Our house sold in November and then the packing started!

We lived in this mess for about a month.

Then it was off to Dallas the week of Thanksgiving to visit the fam and wedding dress shop with my sis!

We got back to Amarillo in time for Thanksgiving day and a fun little turkey trot with the Austin fam on Thanksgiving morning.

Then we were off to the ranch for the weekend for some more fun!

When we got back it was time to completely move out of our house and in with my in-laws.  We will be with them until our new home is finished being built.

Last bedtime story in our house.

Last walk to our park.

Ya'll, I couldn't let this go.  I was SO emotional about moving out of this house.  Something about leaving the house you brought your babies home to…it stung a lot!

We settled in nicely at Nana's house and the holidays came into full swing!

Our new house is in full swing too.  Building a house means I am constantly looking at samples of EVERYTHING!

Carpet...

Brick…

Back to the holidays…Parker's class had a field trip to the mall to see Santa.

This just cracked me up.

Parker has been afraid of Santa for the past 4 years and this year, he was finally ok with him.  Sydney…felt differently about him.  Bless her heart.

She scored a horse purse after being traumatized and then we went shoe shopping; she made me proud!

So girly!

Every year Jim and Ann (in-laws) host a bunch of widows from our church for a nice dinner at their house.  This year Parker was very into serving the ladies.  They just melted over him.

 Sweet boy served over 20 dinner plates that night!

And just in case you were wondering…among all that is going on, this is what Christmas shopping looked like for me.  I relented and finally did the rest on Amazon.com!  Amen.  I am tired. ;)

Halloween 2014

We had a fun day on Friday dressing up and getting out and about and trick or treating.  Sydney was more into it this year and by that I mean a sucker made her happy while we walked around!  We chose to trick or treat in our future neighborhood and see all of our future neighbors which was fun.  The night ended with a trip to our favorite burger joint and carving a pumpkin (which wasn't done earlier in the week due to a nasty stomach virus that chose to make it's rounds in our family).  We made the most of the week and thankfully were all better to take part in the festivities!

Sydney's reaction to her costume.

Still crying

In the neighborhood and ready to go with my little owl and police officer.

We stopped by to see the cousins and Katherine's fantastic job of decorating their front porch.

My favorite costume of the night?  Adelynn!  She was a bottle of relish!  Her friends (who weren't there yet) were ketchup and mustard, hysterical!

Off we go!

Happy girl!

Our kids lasted two blocks of trick or treating and then Parker looked up and asked…"when can we be done?"  And at that, we left and ate dinner.

Back home…Parker was a great encourager as he looked on during the carving process.

Ta da!

Good job honey!!  

Pumpkin carving skills was not printed in the job requirement of becoming a father, but every year he produces the best looking pumpkins!

Williamsburg, Virginia 2014

Last week, we took a trip to Virginia with James's parents, his brother and family and it was incredible! I've never been to VA before, so I was geared up to see what this part of the country had to offer.  It did not disappoint.  Luke, James's brother, spent two summers at the University of Virginia getting his masters degree in Accounting.  He and Meredith lived on a friend's gorgeous farm, so we got to walk down memory lane with them.  We spent some time at Monticello touring Thomas Jefferson's home and then it was off to Williamsburg to see what it was like in the colonial times during the Revolutionary War.  It really was like stepping back in time…such a fantastic history lesson!  Our last day we went to Jamestown, the first colony in America and then we saw Yorktown, where we defeated the British.  Of course I'll post too many pics, but there was a lot to see!!

Up early, dark early.  Our flight left Amarillo at 5:30 am.

Sydney couldn't understand why she was up this early…neither could we!!

We got to Dallas and it was still dark.  We rode the train around and around the airport and the kids loved it (even though they could only see lights).

The 3 hour plane ride to Richmond got a little interesting.  Toddlers don't like to sit long. :)

We finally made it and had a blast touring UVA!

Walking around campus while all the students were there just took me back…I LOVED COLLEGE!!!

Mischief!

We stayed the night at the Boar's Head Inn and were up bright and early the next day checking it out.

Beautiful!

Anyone spot a boar?  The details were amazing!

In the car and off to tour Monticello!

This place was awesome!  Thomas Jefferson built this house and lived here as a grown man.  He wasn't here much as he served as Virginia's governor and eventually became the third president of the US.

That night we made it to Williamsburg and ate at a tavern.  You really do go back in time…no electricity and everyone was dressed in clothes from the times.

How do you entertain a toddler in a tavern from the 1600's?

Shadows!  Uncle Luke was her entertainment for the night!

The next morning we walked around and explored the GORGEOUS hotel and grounds.

The Williamsburg Inn

Getting' goofy with the ducks!

These two...

Sydney loves horses.  I mean, loves them.  She squeals when she sees one.  There were horses everywhere pulling carriages.

My man!  

Yes, our daughter is barefoot in 50 degree weather because she REFUSED to keep on socks or shoes.  I pick my battles.

There were gardens everywhere…back then there were no grocery stores.  :)

Give me a tent and my family and I'll live the rest of my days happily in God's beautiful creation here!

We came upon the gallows at the courthouse!

This pic is pretty appropriate!

Auntie M…our in-house photographer!!

A picnic in the rain!

Colors

A good idea of what the street looks like as you're walking down.  Little shops, taverns and homes everywhere.

And here comes the Colonial band with their fiddles!

The boys loved this!

Can you name this person?

We ran into characters like this everywhere!

Every afternoon they fired off cannons in a reenactment of the Revolutionary War.

Parker was ready.

Williamsburg became the capital of Virginia after they settled at Jamestown and decided to move the colony.  This was the governor's palace.  Thomas Jefferson lived here.

Katherine and Parker

Getting a little patriotic!

That night our Baylor Bears played TCU and I'm pretty sure we were the loudest room in the whole hotel!  Go Bears…we won!!

Sunday morning and ready to roll.

These boys...

Playing around at the governor's palace.

There was a maze in the "backyard".  AMazing…no pun intended!  ;)

Our last day we visited Jamestown which is right on the ocean.

We saw where the very first settlement of the 12 colonies was.  Remains of the original fort are still there.

A statue of Captain John Smith stands and overlooks the water.

Father/son conversations…so sweet.

Back at the hotel, we rode around the golf course after the guys finished playing.

So, so beautiful.

Sydney did great at dinner.  The high chairs they used were hand made in Williamsburg and just adorable.

And this about sums up how we all felt on the way back home!

If you ever have a chance to go to Williamsburg, I highly recommend it!  It's the best history lesson you'll ever have about our own country!!