Christmas in Orange Grove

Our first family Christmas was this past weekend. We headed down to Orange Grove on Friday afternoon, arriving about 5. About 6:30, we joined a group of friends in a party bus to go to Corpus to look at Christmas lights. It included the Powells (Derek, Mandee, Beck, and Ben), Raymond and Judi; Vance and Mary; Scott, Sarah, and Colton; Larell; Steve, Janice and our little family. It was a fun night of seeing some amazing lights and nativities as we drove around, although Grace was a wiggle worm for the first hour or two of the trip. She has hit that age where she is not always content to just sit in your arms, but would rather be crawling around instead. It was easiest when she finally took a nap in my arms!

The next morning, Jill & Geoff arrived and we opened presents. It was a fun year for the kids, as they got some cute books, animal legos, blocks, a Mother Goose that tells nursery rhymes, clothes, the Little People A to Z zoo, a soft alphabet book and Grace got her own toy remote control! Atticus even got a bike with a funny story behind it regarding Toys for Tots, but to clarify- he was not on the Toys for Tots kids list. Among other things, Vic got a dust buster that I really plan to use the most, and I got the Pioneer Woman holiday cookbook! The day was filled with playing with toys, lunch, naps, and then having Vic's grandparents and aunts and uncle over for dinner to eat shrimp quesadillas. Sunday we attended church, then headed out to Joe and Cassie's house to eat hamburgers, visit with them, Josh, and the Powells and let the kids play. I am so excited that Cassie is expecting in June and can't wait to find out the gender soon! Atticus had fun playing with Wesley and Beck and all of Wesley's toys, including a John Deere gator! He was hilarious as he learned to hit the pedal to make it go; the problem was he didn't always let up on the pedal to make it stop meaning he just squealed and I waited very impatiently for Vic to stop him before he crashed. It might be a little longer before we get him one of those, although I'm sure he would love one! After that, we headed to the lake house for the Winsauer Christmas that includes Vic's grandpa's side of aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. Atticus loved walking down to look for the ducks and seagulls (although I don't know that they ended up seeing many at all) and playing with the only other two little girls there - Kylie and Payton; he chased and fetched washers and had a great time! There were about 30 people there to eat, play games, and have their annual $10 White Elephant Gift Exchange. This gift exchange includes good and funny gifts. We went more with the funny route with a package of batteries that had a note to say "gift not included" (this is the perfect gift for us - parents with kids toys that ALWAYS need batteries) and a toy dog that barks incessantly in a high pitched voice. This gift was really intended to possibly steal back for Atticus. Although it may not last long, it is a funny little dachshund dog that we have seen in the mall a couple of times. The first time Atticus saw it, he thought it was real! Anyways, he loved that dog and we did end up taking it home. This gift exchange was tough for him though; as each person draws a domino and opens gifts, Atticus kept asking "wheres my pwesent?" Grace was perfectly behaved as always and dressed adorably. That has been a fun part of this Christmas season, as she has so many cute outfits to keep her festive for Christmas!

We got up early to leave yesterday morning. Although only a 4 hour drive, it tends to take much longer with the kids. We made it home in 5 and a half hours. Had to stop a couple quick times, including lunch because they just don't last that long in the car. It was a really fun weekend and the 1st of 3 Christmases!