Post Christmas Kerrville Trip

Since we had not been to Kerrville since the beginning of July, that meant I had not seen my sweet Grandma in almost 6 months. Unacceptable!!!!! So the boys and I packed up on Wednesday and headed to Kerrville for some rest and relaxation!

Take note, Casen is no longer in a car seat!!! We
are now a carseatless family!!! Woo Hoo!!!

The weather was rather cold while we were there, so there was a lot of time playing indoors and relaxing. On Thursday, my Mom, the boys and I headed to see my Grandma to give her her Christmas gift. She was as thrilled to see us as I was to see her. Anytime I go to see my grandma, she is always more than willing to take a selfie with me, however after we take it, she asks to see the picture. We generally end up taking a second picture because either one of us does not like the way we look (according to her she always thinks she looks terrible). This time was no different. As I am taking the second picture, my mother is watching and just cracking up. When I look at the picture, I see why. I am telling Grandma to smile and she gives this half sided cheezy grin. We were all laughing so hard after we saw the picture - Grandma included!! We finally took the third picture, as we were still trying to recover from our laughter - I must say I love that third picture of her. A truly genuine smile/laugh!

Cheese!!!!

Since it was cold, we spent a lot of time indoors, which meant the boys spent a lot of time watching their iPads, or reading. On Friday, Casen and I headed back to see Grandma Key to visit and play some cards with her. Casen enjoys playing Crazy 8's so we played that and Rummy. Seems as though I need to brush up on my card playing because I got whipped by Casen and Grandma. Casen was the grand winner when we played Crazy 8's and Grandma won when we played Rummy. Some things never change . . . .

I can't tell you how much I love that Casen wants and likes to go play cards with Grandma. I have sooooo many fond memories of my grandma, but one memory all of her grandkids share is of playing cards with her (and getting beat). I am so glad that Casen too will have that memory. He was so sweet  and gentle with pushing her in the wheelchair and when the other residents, who love seeing kids, talked to him, he would kindly oblige and carry on a conversation with him. 

Casen pushing Grandma to the dining room.

When Casen and I got home from seeing Grandma,
we found Camden sound asleep. 

As usual, we had a great time and were not ready to go home. We all agree that we definitely can not wait another 6 months for another visit.

Christmas 2018

I guess the boys must of been good this year because Santa visited our house, yet again. Camden was thrilled to receive the Hexbugs he asked for as well as the camera he wanted so that, according to him, he can become a 'YouTuber'. Casen's big surprise from Santa was a ping pong table. Don't you know I just got rid of a big basketball thing upstairs only with it to be replaced with a ping pong table. I keep telling myself to treasure this time in the boys lives, because I will turn around and they will be off to college and there won't be any toys to be found upstairs.

The boys couldn't wait to see what Santa brought.

Camden was THRILLED that Santa
brought gum for his stocking.

The boys had a great morning opening up their gifts from Shane and me. After we opened gifts and played for awhile, we all got dressed in preparation for Shane's family to come over so we could celebrate Christmas with them.

My happy boy!

My loving boy!

Today was my Grandma's 101st birthday and one of the highlights to my day was being able to FaceTime her on the phone. She looked and sounded great and told me she didn't feel any older than 80. I just love her!

This afternoon, Shane's family came over and we enjoyed a nice meal and then we all opened gifts.

After asking Nana what her favorite colors were,
Camden made Nana a bracelet. 

After we opened gifts the boys played Beanboozled which is a game with jelly beans. Some are great tasting, and others will make you want to vomit. It was fun to watch the expressions on the boys faces as they anticipated what they were going to bite into.

And of course, we had to take family pictures before everyone left to head their separate ways.

 

It was a fun day and the boys had a great time playing with all their new toys and their cousins. 

Cookies for Santa

As is our tradition, which has been carried down from my childhood, we decorated sugar cookies today. I always love seeing the boys creativity come out. Camden is very methodical with where he places all his sprinkles while this year Casen was all about the red hots.

The final products!

Later that evening, we all got ready and headed to the Christmas Eve candle light service. I always love the songs we sing and the reminder of the true meaning of Christmas and our dear Savior's birth.

 

Once we got home, the boys took their showers and then got Santa's cookies and milk ready for him. They knew Santa had a big night ahead of him and would need some good cookies to help sustain him.

Better to See You With

For several months, Camden has made comments that he can't see very clear far away. I knew that he must have passed his eye exam at school at the beginning of the school year because I never received notification otherwise. One day we were at our favorite local Mexican restaurant when he made the comment that he could not read a sign across the restaurant. The sign clearly had big enough letter s that he should have been able to read, so Shane had his school nurse check Camden's vision and it was 20/30, which is considered passing. But, I know all too well how much I love to see very clearly, so I made Camden an eye appointment, which we went to last Saturday. Well, he was only able to see the 20/40, but was able to see up close. The doctor suggested that he wear his glasses as needed in the classroom to see the board or other things far away. To say he was excited to have to get glasses was an understatement. He was sooooo excited and couldn't wait to go pick them out.

After his appointment he and I went and he picked out what he felt was the best pair of frames - blue of course!!!! He was told that they wouldn't be in until today. Since picking out his glasses he has prayed about them, talked about them all week and couldn't wait for today to arrive to go and pick them up!

Once he tried them on, he was so excited to be able to see everything clearly and does not even want to take them off. After trying them on, his comment was that he thinks he looks good with them on. :)

Welcome to the Four-Eyes Club!

Christmas Party Fun

Today the boys had their Christmas parties at school. Since tomorrow is a half day for them where they get to wear pajamas and watch movies, they had their parties today. Per their request, I first went to Camden's classroom and spent sometime with him. The kids played games, ate, and decorated cupcakes.

In Casen's room, they decorated gingerbread houses. I must say I was quite surprised with the time and effort Casen put into decorating his house. He did a great job and had fun eating some of the treats while decorating.

Shane went to Camden's room and visited him and then
brought him back to Casen's room before it was
time to head home. 

Two boys ready for Christmas break!