Trip to Tyler

The morning after Christmas we headed to Tyler for the weekend to see my dad's side of the family. It was so fun to see everyone!  My Grandmother and Grandpa Ken, my dad's three younger sisters and their families, and two of my dad's first cousins all made the trip.  This group knows how to have a good time.  There is plenty of story-telling, teasing (the fun kind), laughter, eating, and game playing whenever we get together.

Elena and Evan with the Great-Grandparents

A competitive round of "Take-Two". My cousins are all brilliant and I've had my share of humbling experiences over the years - like when my then 8 yr old cousin would have to help me with my cross-word. :)

Two of my aunts preparing for a surprise birthday party for my cousin Emily

The birthday girl. Happy Birthday Emily!

The Elkins' Christmas

I've had so much fun reading about everyone's Christmas, but have meanwhile been delinquent in posting pictures from our own. 

This year we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with my parents way over on the "East Side" :)  We joined them after attending the Christmas Eve service at church (of which Evan saw only 5 minutes of and then spent the remainder walking the halls). Once at my parents house, we ate dinner and then headed out to look at the Windcrest lights. Christmas lights in Windrest are a big deal, and they do not disappoint!

Just before bed, Elena and Evan gave Mace (my dad) the book, "The Night Before Christmas".  It was a family tradition for my dad's dad to recite that poem and read Luke 2 every Christmas Eve, so we had my dad follow through with that this year. 

After the kids went to bed, "Toy Assembly 2008" began. Whew! This was one of the many toys that required a screwdriver.

Evan really appreciated Daddy's efforts on setting up his car. He loves that thing!

Elena got a baby and all the gear that goes with one. 

Double the fun!

The birthday cake for Jesus was YUM!

A Very Merry Christmas!

Christmas Clump

I'm clumping together a few posts about some fun things we've done this Christmas season:

First of all - I introduced White Christmas to the kids and they liked it! Well, Elena really liked it, and Evan would just dance to the music. This made me so happy since watching this movie was a family tradition growing up.

Secondly - we decorated a gingerbread house together. This house is not going to win any awards in the aesthetic department, but it was still fun to do.

And finally, last night we went caroling with our Sunday school class on a river boat downtown. It was incredibly cold, but so fun.  The lights along the river walk are beautiful.

"I SAY!"

Elena has figured out a new way to emphasize her point. She loudly adds, "...I Say!" at the end of her sentence. Examples from today:

Elena: Mommy, I want some more Fruity Pebbles. I want some FRUITY PEBBLES, I SAY!!!

OR

Mommy: Elena, what's that on the TV?

Elena: It's my booger. It's my BOOGER, I SAY!!!"

Sheesh, where does she get this stuff? 

Ooooooh wait a minute - this just came to me. She watched Mary Poppins yesterday, and I bet you she got it from there. 

New York, New York - Part 3

Here are some of the Christmas Windows. You should be able to click on the picture itself to enlarge it and see the details.

Anthropologie - Jennifer, I was thinking of you!

My absolute favorite! This was at Bergdorf Goodman. I wish I had time to take more pictures of their windows.

New York, New York - Part 2

As a first-time visitor, here are some things that really hit me while we were there.

-If you want Starbucks - just walk, you will hit one by the end of the block. And I thought they were everywhere here!

-Public restrooms are a gamble.

-There are so many foreign languages spoken all around you; I had no idea it was that diverse!

-Lots of "potty mouths"! Maybe people use profanity just as much here, and I just can't hear it because I travel from point A to point B in a car. 

-All the stores, not just major department stores, take their Christmas window displays VERY seriously. There were so many creative designs, that I took dozens of pictures. That will be my next post. 

-For being such a small island, Manhattan is so different one block to the next.

-The sun can be out all day, but it may never hit you because of the buildings (it also doesn't help that it's winter and so far north). 

New York, New York - Part 1

We're back - and we had a wonderful time. Here's a summary of the highlights from the trip.

Wednesday - Went to see Wicked. AMAZING!!!

Thursday - We hit the Today Show (we even got on t.v. a couple times - yay!) Then we got in to see Letterman. I've never been a part of a t.v. recording - so that was way cool.

Friday - We walked and walked and walked. We traveled from our hotel (just south of Central Park)  to the south end of the island, going to the Top of the Rock (top of the Rockefeller Bld with amazing views), to Chelsea, Greenwich Village, and then to the Financial District. In the evening we went back up to Central Park and went ice-skating.

Saturday - We took the Staten Island ferry past Lady Liberty, then we walked over theBrooklyn Bridge, ate at Grimaldi's Pizzeria under the bridge, and then toured China Town and Little Italy.

Sunday - Back to San Antonio to give BIG hugs to our kids who we missed very much.

We were right behind them at the Today Show!

A little shopping! 

View from The Top of the Rock

Self-explanatory

Ice-Skating at Central Park

There she is!

Brooklyn Bridge

China Town

New York, New York

We're leaving for NYC in the wee hours of the morning tomorrow, so I thought I'd get in one last post.  If any of you watch the Today Show, look for our smiling faces and cold noses on Thursday,  and then that evening, watch for us on Letterman (we're not guests, just audience members - thought I'd clear that up).  

Speaking of Letterman, you know how I mentioned that we were really excited about Seinfeld being Thursday's guest?  Well they changed it. Bummer!

 

Oh, and if you are a burglar reading this blog, our house will be fully occupied while we are gone.  

Christmas Casualties

The losses are not as grim as I was originally fearing, but we'll see - there's still more time. 

- Joseph has lost his head

- Some twinkling lights are shattered

- The Tazmanian Devil ornament is in two pieces

Thankfully, all of the other injuries sustained by ornaments who fell to the floor are very minimal due to their plastic or soft bodies. 

Mommy's Little Helper

With everything on my plate, it has been such a pleasure to have little Elena at my heels asking to help every single (stinkin') step of the way. What would I have done without her? 

Really though - her enthusiasm over Christmas this year has been one of the sweetest things I've experienced up to this point as a mom!

Have I Got News for You!

Ben and I got tickets to see Letterman while we're in New York!!! Hooray!

To get tickets you apply on their website, and then you just wait for someone from the show to call. We applied almost a month ago, and hadn't heard anything as of yesterday morning, so we were beginning to have doubts about getting in.  But, lo and behold, 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon, they called! 

When they call, they ask a trivia question about the show. But as luck would have it, I did not know the answer to the question! (Plot thickening - DUN, DUN, DUN!) Tears were forming as I began to think that I had single handedly dashed Ben's dream of getting into the show. I begged the guy to call Ben and ask him instead. He did, and Ben took care of it from there. Whew!

The icing on the cake is that Jerry Seinfeld is a guest that night. Giddy-up!

Thanksgiving

We went to H-town, well actually Katy, to be with Ben's family this year.  Thank you Mark and Susan for all the yummy food, the fun "outings", and especially for getting up early with Elena every single morning. :)  Here are some pictures of the highlights.

Making stuffing with Grandma

She got the long end!

We went to the Children's Museum - that place is so fun for kids (and adults).

We also went to a place called Dewberry Farm

(don't worry, Ben's spotting him)

Fair Weather Blogger

Yep, that's me. 

I guess when things get busy around here, I quickly drop any consistency I had with posting. I know this is busy time for everyone, but some of my blogger friends are amazing at keeping up with it.  In fact my sister-in-law has blogged every Monday thru Friday for like...forever.  Simply incredible. 

Speaking of Abby, check out her oh-so-cute stuff on Etsy! 

Joy Papers