- We headed to Sanger on Saturday, the 27th. We stopped at Rainforest Café in Grapevine for a surprise lunch for Atticus and Grace. After an HOUR wait, we finally had lunch and it was so much fun for Atticus, who loves all of the animals.
- We got to Sanger and immediately headed out to see the 6 week or so old goats. It was SO cold and windy that we didn't last long.
- on Sunday, we hung out at the house, played with the goats, while it was nice and sunny, and played with Grandma and Pop's toys. Later that night, went to see Stormy & Tabatha's new house! It was just finished and beautiful! It was also so much fun to see them and see Adley, who is so precious. She is just tiny and petite like her mama and has the curliest blonde hair. She just played and played with Atticus and was so sweet to share toys and tell us things. Another reason to move to North Texas...for the McCuistions!
- On Monday, the plan was for all of the Erwins and families to meet at Melbo & Pa's at 5:30 to open gifts and eat dinner. The boys (Vic, Daddy, and Charley) went to Denton to drink a few beers, visit, and play darts. Ana came over so she and I could visit while the kids napped and then we all met everyone else at Melbo's about 5:30.
- We had potato soup and taco soup and fiesta soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner, plus the wonderful Christmas sweets! Then, we opened gifts with everyone. I think we definitely need more time next year. It goes so fast and I know that I can't really open and look at my gifts very long while trying to make sure the kids are opening and taken care of as well. But, it was lots of fun!
- Before we opened gifts, I asked Atticus to sing Away in a Manger. At first he said he didn't want to but I reminded him he needed to if he wanted to open gifts. Then, he looked at me and said he wanted to sing Away in a Manger AND Go Tell it on the Mountain. He did Away in a Manger first with the hand motions and then he just lit up as he started singing Go Tell it on the Mountain and clapped his way through it while everyone joined in. Adorable!
- I was also really proud of Atticus. It's got to be a lot of stimulation for little ones at Christmas - especially when you get 3 Christmases like our kids do that last an entire week! There's a lot of expectations that he will keep getting presents and it's easy to forget to be happy with what you have and to show your thanks in person and not be greedy. He did not act appropriately at the McCuistion's house the night before so we made sure we had lots of talks with him about what Christmas is really about and about how to be happy with what we get and not to ask for more. So, when it was time to open presents, he was SO helpful to pass out whatever Charley gave him to pass out. He, on his own, would tell someone thank you and even give them hugs after he opened a gift (and without me even prompting him!) I was so proud of him. At one point, he was about to say "where's another present for me?" when I started to stop him and remind him of the correct behavior. But, he stopped himself in time and told me "if someone says "Atticus I have another present for you" then I can open that present!". He got it completely!
- Grace, on the other hand was adorable. She was not completely interested in sitting in my lap or opening presents one after the other. She preferred checking out what was going on in the living room and then going back to GG's room to watch a few minutes of Paw Patrol and then coming out for a snack (which at one point meant her eating a cupcake at the table in her chair all by herself). She would open a gift here and there but otherwise she was happiest doing her own thing. And, thankfully everyone was ok with that too.
- For Christmas, Atticus and Grace got so many fun things! Grace got lots of Frozen things like memory, her first plate, a pillowcase and coloring pages. She got a bath baby doll, shopping cart, books, Doc McStuffins memory game, food for the kitchen and puzzle. One of her big gifts were 4 of the Paw Patrol pups (which she carries around the house to play with all the time!). Atticus got the game Eye Found It, superhero memory, a knight and horse to go with his castle, his own shopping cart, Chutes & Ladders, books, puzzles, a fantastic Animal book that has over 300 animals and facts in it from Grandma and about 10 new animals from GG. He also got this great book from Charley called The Book With No Pictures and it's super funny and he laughs out loud every time! THey also got more food and dishes for their kitchen and a cash register. They made out like bandits at Christmas this year!
- A super special gift that GG gave the kids was a bench. It was found by Pa's brother, Joe, on the side of the road with the wood rotted out. He replaced the wood and cleaned it up and sold it at the family auction at Thanksgiving. Well, GG just had to get it for the kids because it has iron animals on the back of it. And it is really super cool! I love it for their reading area in Atticus' room.
- Vic and I were spoiled as well with hardware for our bathrooms, candles, lots of house shoes and double sided tape for me, some great scrapbooking supplies, jewelry, exercise trackers, cookbooks, a bracelet holder, tape measure, gift cards, a handmade tablecloth, new cd's, garment bag, kitchen supplies and money!
- It was a very generous Christmas from our family. And it was a fast night.
- Good thing the next day was Family Game day so we could spend more time together. We gathered at Mom & Daddy's at about 3pm to start games. We played fishbowl, and two new games - Headbanz and A Ticket to Ride. Both wree great games and kept some of us going until midnight. We had lots of fun food to eat and lots of family time. I think the best part was having Melbo and Pa play Headbanz with us. The game consists of 6 people wearing headbands with a card in each one. When you have the headband on, everyone but you can see your card and you have to ask questions that everyone else can answer to help you decide what it is. However, they can only answer yes, no, could be, or I don't know. So, it is tough! Well, Pa would occasionally help someone out by giving a clue such as for the word "bedroom" he said " you can have a lot of fun in there". Oh goodness! He is 88 years old but boy was it funny and even he couldn't stop laughing. And Melbo would get side tracked or stuck on one way of thinking about her card (which is really easy to do anyways in this game) and he would give her hints to help her or we would all have to help her remember. I was SO glad they wanted to stay and play and it was so much fun with them.
- On Wednesday, we hung out with the kids for awhile and then took them to GG's to spend the night so Vic and I could spend New Year's Eve with Ana & Charley. It was really fun as they had great wine and appetizers and then took us to Twelve Stones, a restaurant in Flower Mound. It was delicious! And then back to their house to play more Headbanz, drink more wine, and wait for midnight! We got up early Wednesday morning to two delicious breakfast casseroles that Ana made. Then, we went back to Aubrey, got the kids, loaded the car, and drove back to College Station in the first REALLY cold weather we've had this winter.
- It was just a really fun, relaxing trip. The kids behaved well because they were not sick, had plenty of toys to play with that are only at GG's or Grandma and Pop's and just did their own thing part of the time. Here are about a million pictures below!
On Saturday, we went out in the cold to play with goats and fed them.
On Sunday, we had a prettier day to play with goats, play with toys and go see the McCuistion' new house! Grandma also taught Grace to feed Sam, who is temporarily staying at their house. She loved throwing food to him and then laughing hysterically at the event. Although he got tired of it, she also loved throwing toys for him the entire time we were there.
On Monday afternoon, we got dressed up and headed to the first part of Erwin Christmas.
So, at the end of the night, I asked Melbo and Pa, who have been married 67 years, for a picture. Then, I asked them to give us a kiss! Well, Pa put up a fight and not because he doesn't kiss her all the time (we've all caught them around the corner at one time or another), but because he has to pretend like he doesn't want to kiss her. He always claims he has a "weak stomach"! ha! He can't stop laughing in these pictures either!
On Tuesday, we started our day off with checking the goats outside in our pajamas and coats and boots. Then, Pop drove us down to the marina to walk around. It was really cold! Atticus LOVED not having to ride in his carseat. Grace was needing a nap, but really liked pushing every button she could find in the truck.
Then, everyone came over and we had family game night! And amongst the noise, Grace took a nap on the couch. And, at the end of the night, Ana had dance party with the kids!
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