Weekend Update

This weekend has been a lot of fun so far! Last night we went bowling as a family and had a great time. Unfortunately, I forgot to take the camera. Jacob and Zoe had their own bowling balls and loved pushing the ball down the lane. Zoe wanted to knock down the pins herself and found out the hard way how slippery the lane is. Every time Jacob got to bowl he would jump up and down and yell, "I got it! I got it!" Zoe would just scream with delight when she would hit a pin.

Today, all of Goodfellow AFB was involved in a Polar Bear swim at Lake Nasworthy. We went early to let the kids play at the park and hang out. Zoe loved playing with all the dogs that came and Jacob just loved running around playing. It was about 65 degrees outside and the Lake was about 50 degrees.

This is everybody in Brandon's Squadron that was participating.

This is Brandon right after he finished his swim. His face says it all.

Zoe's hair is finally long enough to put in pigtails! Horray!

Bath Time is so fun!

Lauren and I

Our dog Shooter is staying with Lauren until we move to Maryland. We are so excited to have Shooter part of our family again!

Pappy's got a Brand New Car

Brandon's step dad, Jack got a new/old car. It is his baby. While we were there over Christmas, Jack would go out and check on the car every hour. It is beautiful.

Holiday Travels

Over the River and through the woods, to Grandmother's house we go...or went. We traveled a lot over the holidays and had a blast! We got to see almost all of our family within these past two weeks. I am so glad we are back in Texas and within driving distance to all of our family. Family is such an important part of the holidays and I am so glad we had the opportunity to see everyone! Here are A LOT of pictures of our holiday travels.

Cousins

It got really cold in Austin.

Feeding Papa icecream.

Sharing icecream with cousin Matthew.

Christmas morning #1.

Uncle Payton

A family of Rock Stars

Christmas morning #2

"I love Christmas!" This is a dress my Aunt Jerilyn made...so cute.

Brandon is borrowing Evy's Harley for the next few months and is soooo happy.

We made quilts for all of the Grandkids to stay at my Mom and Mark's house. When I was growing up, all of the grandkids had their own quilt and we would sleep on the floor in the living room. We are trying to help my Mom and Mark keep that tradition.

I love my little family.

New Year's Eve

P-A-R-T-Y...because I gotta!!

Dancing with my Dad.

Ok, I tried to warn you. It's a lot of pictures!!

Thanksgiving Fun

For Thanksgiving this year, we went up to Arkansas to visit some of my family that we haven't seen in a long time. My Mom and Mark were also able to be there. We had a really good time catching up with everyone but Brandon, Jacob, and I also got pretty sick. Let me tell you, driving 8 hours while 3 out 4 of you are sick, isn't fun. I felt so bad for Zoe on that car ride. I think all she ate that day was peanut crackers and water. Anyway, we had a really good time up in Arkansas. It was great to be around family again. Here are some pictures from our trip.

Around the Table

My Grandaddy and I

Four Generations

As you can see, the good times far out weighed the sick days!

Horray Texas!!

We are here! We got here on Saturday evening and have been frantically trying to make our apartment livable for the past few days. We went out to eat for a true Texan dinner at Logan's. We had steak, big portions and our waitress even said, "y'all." I was so excited to hear someone else say y'all it was hilarious. We are so happy to be back in Texas. Brandon reports tomorrow morning and we will find out what is in store for us for the next few months.

Leaving California

Last Thursday we had our final inspection on our house and hit the road for San Angelo, Texas. While Brandon and I were preparing to leave I got a bit sentimental. We have been looking forward to moving back to Texas for so long that I didn't really stop to think about leaving California. As Brandon and I talked about the memories we made in Monterey, we realized that it was our first real home. I know that we lived other places but this was the first time that we really had a home. We have worked in restaurants for so long that we never knew what it was like to sit down for dinner together every night of the week. This is the first time we have lived far enough away from family that we really had to go out and make new friends. We were lucky to have made such good friends. We made so many memories in our home in Monterey that we will never forget. I am so glad that our first military experience was a good one. I can honestly say that I will miss Monterey.

Here is a picture of the kids "helping" us load the U-haul.