Country Fun

We bought some land with a friend and hadn't had a chance to take the boys. So on Christmas break we drove out to check it out! It's about 2 hours away close to Paris, TX. They boys had a great time doing outdoorsy stuff. Fun little get-a-way!

Ethan immediately found a tree to climb with a little ladder built in. 

Me and my man enjoying some country living.

The boys LOVED the 4 wheeler!

Especially Caleb! I was surprised because he's my more timid, cautious kids. But not on a 4 wheeler. He kept begging to ride it and to go fast! Gave momma a heart attack!

We did a little manual labor while we were there. Trimmed up some trees and mowed. The boys didn't want to do it but of course we made them. :-)

We rewarded them with a little game time.

And snacks!

Ethan shot some guns with our friend Scott. He was in heaven! They can't wait to go back and explore some more!

Christmas

This year we had Christmas at my cousin Hilari's house. We had beautiful weather so the kids stayed outside the whole time so that was a good thing! We hung out and had tons of food, gifts for the kids, and a lot of catching up with family. It was a great day!

Hernandez family photo. Yep, the kids are in shorts! Crazy Texas.

Lots of presents for the kiddos.

Ethan with his cousins Lila and Morgan. They're all growing up so fast!

Yummy dessert table!

The kids had a great time playing outside. I'm surprised that little bounce house survived!

Luckily Santa visits us at my parent's house every year so he knew just where to go!

I had to work the night of Christmas Eve so the poor boys had to stay in their room until I got home in the morning before they could go check out their loot! They were up for an hour just waiting...

Caleb couldn't figure out what this big present was....

His own golf clubs!!

Ethan's favorite present...a BB gun!

My sister got both boys these cool drums. It's a wooden box you sit on and it has a hole cut out. You hit it with your hands to make music. Super cool!

We also got him a small electronic drum set.



Best present ever? The BB gun. He was outside ALL day with it trying to shoot stuff.

Yummy Christmas breakfast!

My sister painted this for us. Can't wait to hang it next Christmas at our new house!

Don't know why this is sideways...but here's their Santa pic. Getting too big for Santa's lap!

Medieval Times!

We had debated on going to Medieval Times several times in the past but we really didn't know what it was or if the kids would eat anything there.  So when Caleb's friend Sydney had her birthday party there we were excited to go check it out. And man, was it awesome!! We had the best time! You sit in a giant arena lined with tables and chairs. There is a fixed menu so all you tell them is what you want to drink. Also...no utensils! It's back in the old days so you have to use your hands. The kids had fun with that. And no, they really didn't eat much. But the food was really good! Shortly after you eat the show starts. I'll tell more about that below...

Brock, Ethan, Caleb, Maddie, and Sydney all ready for the show!

Yep, we got to tear into a giant chicken thigh with out bare hands!

We were like 2 little kids ready for the show! The arena is broken up into colors and that's the knight you cheer for. We were cheering for the black knight.

Before all of the fighting began, they introduced everyone.

Here are the knights and their horses.

Setting up to joust each other.

The black and white knight.

After the jousting, two knights battle each other with the weapon of their choice. They put up a giant net around the whole arena so we wouldn't get hit with a flying weapon!

The fighting was very realistic. I was sitting there yelling for my knight to win without realizing how into it I was! Sadly, our knight didn't win. He did make it to the final two though!
We had such a great time and can't wait to go back again!!

Winter School Activities

Caleb's class led chapel right before Christmas. They were so cute in their Christmas shirts and socks. They led the whole elementary school in singing and prayer, then did a cute little skit. Caleb has come a long way and did a great job performing in front of everyone!

Grabbed an up close pic after it was over.

Ethan performed in a Winter concert right before Christmas. It was middle school and high school orchestra, band, and choir. They all put on a great show!

Ethan is on the back row, cello.

He was relieved it was over!

Sigh...when did this guy get so old. :-(