The drive to San Antonio 2015

We had a great Christmas trip to San Antonio this year.  Of course there were a few hick-ups along the way.  On the day we were leaving, I was doing last might errands before picking up the boys and received a call from Jill, our sitter, stating that both boys had fevers.  Great!  And they were eating, Great!  So, I picked them up, picked up Scott and stopped at Walgreens for more Motrin and thermometer and got on the road.

Ready for the road, kinda.

The good part about the boys being sick is that they slept most of the drive to Joplin.  The bad part was that when they woke up they were so uncomfortable they just cried and I really wanted to just hold them.  Gabe did much better than Bennett when they were awake, which wasn't often.

We spent the night in Tulsa and it was a rocky night's sleep to say the least.  No one slept well.  One room for the 4 of us doesn't work.  As soon as someone stirred, everyone was awake.  We were calling the front desk at 5am to find out when breakfast would be served (6am!).  So we had an hour of trying to keep toddlers from getting into everything in a hotel room (fun!). 

Ahh, hotel life

We got on the road as soon as we could and headed to Dallas with a stop in Norman, OK.  We made it to Dallas for lunch with my friend, Kelly.  We met her at a park so the boys could run around and burn some energy for the last part of the drive.  This was a great idea except Gabe was coughing, Scott was sneezing and Bennett wouldn't let me put him down.  The boys had allergies and were exhausted from whatever bug hit them.  As we tried to get out of Dallas we were stuck in traffic.  It took me an hour to get from Plano to 35S to leave downtown Dallas.  It was miserable.  Scott and Bennett took naps, Gabe was awake the entire hour of being stuck in traffic.  It was an experience. 

Then once we were through Waco we hit more traffic.  TXDot has been working on making I35 wider for a few years now and there is huge progress, however, it still completely sucks to drive that stretch before a holiday.  This year we actually got off the highway for a bit a drove the frontage road.  It worked well until we had to get back on the highway.  Somewhere north of Austin my tire pressure light came on.  We thought it was just low from the cold/hot/cold weather change. 

We arrive in San Antonio around 7pm that night.  It was a long day in the car for everyone.  The boys just wanted to get out and play and Scott and I just wanted to sleep.  After a delicious Rudy's dinner the boys went to bed and Scott and I followed shortly after.

The next morning the boys woke up at 5am ready to go.  And since we didn't want to wake my parents we decided we should go to Starbucks to let the boys play and us get out of the house.  We barely made it out of the driveway when the car didn't feel right.  I pulled a U-turn and back to the drive our car went with a completely flat tire!

Frank

Frank is our Elf.  He arrived shortly after Thanksgiving and likes to check in on the boys to make sure they are behaving.

He tends to hang out in the living room and kitchen and Gabe loves looking for him each morning.  And when we leave for the day he will say, "bye Frank."  Here is a couple samples of Frank's hiding/watching places.

The Hills are Alive

St. Louis Hills that is.  I love where I grew up. I love that there are people that I grew up with in the same houses.  It is a magical land nestled in South St. Louis City.  I wish that my boys could grow up the same way I did, if only a 3 bed, 1 bath 1500 sq ft house wasn't going for $330K.  Annnyywhooo. 

On a particularly warm December night we took the boys to go check out Christmas Lights or Santa Lights, as Gabe calls them.  We parked at the Birch's and walked up to Candy Cane Lane.  I'm so happy that we did that.  The line to drive down the street was probably a 30 minute wait.

Welcome to Candy Cane Lane

Huge Santa

Gabe and Bennett rode in the wagon up Murdoch and ohhed and ahhed all the lights along the way. 

We went over to Snowflake Street, aka Neosho, and loved listening to the music and seeing Minions!

Lastly, we ventured over to Francis Park to check out the really big Christmas tree.  This was supposed to the proposal spot, but it was cold and I went home instead.  So we like to come back every year to remember that little fun fact and show the boys.



Don't mind the parents not watching their kids!

Dear Santa

We made our annual trip to visit Santa.  Gabe has been having a rough week, he had time outs at daycare and wasn't earning his stickers at home.  So a trip to Santa was needed this past weekend.  We were not alone in thinking this.  The line was very long and didn't move much.  There was only 1 "Elf" helping Santa take pictures and check people out.  The boys were Champs waiting and practicing what to say to Santa.

Once it was time to visit with Santa, we got to talk to him for about 5minutes minutes before the picture.  We told Santa that Gabe wants a big truck and cars that go zoom zoom and Bennett wanted cars too.  Then I sat Bennett on Santa's lap and he was happy as can be.  Gabe wasn't sure and clung to Scott until we set him on Santa's lap. As soon as Gabe was on Santa's lap, the tears started.  We got about 5 pictures and decided that was enough for him.  Bennett could have sat forever.

I could not be more happy with how our Santa picture turned out.

St. Nicholas Day

We finally remembered St. Nicholas Day and it was a success.  Gabriel helped me get his and Bennett's shoes ready the night before.  In the morning, Gabriel kinda noticed something on the floor outside his door when he woke up.  But I made him go get Scott and Bennett before he could really take a look at it.

Once everyone was upstairs, it was time to check out the goodies.  Gabe received some dinosaur shaped crayons and a coloring book and Bennett received a wooden police car.  Simple and yet the boys have really enjoyed their gifts. 

Gabe is really understanding Christmas this year and it's been fun for us to watch. 

Oh Christmas Tree 2015

We took our annual drive down to Festus to pick out our Christmas tree this past weekend.  We went later in the day and it was busy.  It was the best weather day of the weekend, sunny and high 50s!  Everyone took advantage and it was crazy crowded. 

 

We took our time looking at the type of tree that we wanted and then we took the tractor to a new section that Scott and I had never seen, up the huge hill.  We had to hike pretty far once we got off the tractor to find a tree.  We looked a lot.  And then Gabe decided this was our tree.  And it was the perfect tree. 

Scott then proceeded to saw it down.  It took a little longer this year to get the tree down - I'm pretty sure we had a dull saw.  With an extra push the tree was down and we were hauling it back up the hill to wait for the tractor ride down.

We had a long wait to get our tree.  A very long wait.  The little train wasn't running due to mud, but the boys were able to play with the other kids and climb on the train.  Gabe loved the drivers seat and did fairly well taking turns.

We got home got home and got the tree set up in record time.  Gabe helped hang a few ornaments this year while Bennett supervised from his chair. 

Ornaments

I can finally show off some of my needlepoint ornaments that I've been working on.  I've made these over the last 3 years and have a 5 more that need to get the finishing touches done.  I have to say this hobby is so relaxing and I can't wait to have enough to decorate a whole tree (someday). 

My goal is to make Silver Needle ornaments from places that Scott and I have been together, including our state capitals. I have 5 done and a bunch more to buy.



This is Gabriel's first Christmas Ornament

 

 

Playgrounds

We have been searching for new, fun playgrounds to take the boys in the mornings.  We have found 2 new ones that we just love.  One is in Millennium Park in Creve Coeur and the other is Faust Park.  Both of these playgrounds are huge and both boys have fun. 

It's starting to be pretty cold so our trips aren't that long to Gabriel's dismay, but we still have fun.

Faust Park (we took family pictures here)

Hey Yo, it's Rocky!



Millennium Park

Super Gabers!

Thanksgiving 2015

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year.  We actually stayed in St. Louis and had amazing weather to boot.  It felt more like a San Antonio Thanksgiving with the sun shining and it being in the high 60s!  We took advantage of that.  We headed down to Scott's parents house to celebrate this year and have an early meal. 

We arrived with coffee in hand and happy and well children.  Gabe was anxious to play outside and we didn't put up much of a fight.  In the backyard is open area and some woods.  Bennett and I hung out while Scott and Gabe explored the wooded area. 



 After dinner Gabe decided that he was still a baby and needed to play in toys that he outgrew a couple years ago. Of course that didn't stop him from trying. 

The look of confusion and need for help are all over his face.  I think we all had a great laugh at this one.  He was a stuck turkey.  After lunch/dinner the boys took naps while we watched football and enjoyed pies and pumpkin bars. 

 

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving and now we are ready for Christmas and a trip to San Antonio.