Fish, A Tiger and a Few Rides

When my parents were in town we all ventured downtown, with the exception of Brian who had to work, to the aquarium.





We walked through the aquarium to scope out all of the fish, sharks and tigers. Yes, there is a tiger at the aquarium. A little odd combination but I figure you take whatever exotic animals you can get.





After we finished with the aquarium we ventured outside to ride a few of the rides. Camden jumped in the bouncy octopus and rode the carousel, we all rode the train through the shark tank while my Dad, Camden and myself rode the Ferris-wheel.

My Mom, who is deathly afraid of heights, decided to stay on solid ground. After all, "Someone needs to stay with Deegan," she said. We told Camden that Nana was scared of heights and asked him to show us his scare face. I'd like to think that its a pretty accurate depiction of what my mom would have looked like if we were actually able to get her on the ride in the first place.

A Pile

Is there any other activity that says "Fall" more than jumping into a pile of freshly raked leaves. Now, I do realize that it is winter and feels that way most everywhere else but our winter days feel more like fall here.

A Smooth Shave

One of Camden's favorite Christmas gifts was a shaving kit. No, he's not sporting a beard just yet but he's asked to shave after watching Brian do so in the mornings. Its the perfect little bath activity that helps get him squeaky clean since the shaving cream is actually soap.

A Little Family Christmas

After dinner on Christmas Eve we let the boys open one gift.
Any guesses as to what it was??



After everyone had a bath, we snuggled both boys into their new jammies before heading to bed. While the boys were sleeping Brian and I watched "Its a Wonderful Life" (which has to be one of my favorite Christmas movies) while setting out presents and
stuffing the stockings.



The next morning we fully expected Camden to be up and at 'em early with excitement. Instead we had to wake him up so that we'd have time for gifts and breakfast before heading to church. Once we woke him up he sat straight up in bed and asked "Is Santa here? Did he eat his cookies?" Needless to say once he was up he was ready to go.



We all opened gifts together, un-stuffed our stockings and ate a delicious breakfast before getting dressed and heading to church. It couldn't have been a more perfect morning.

A Houst Of Ginger and Bread

On the morning of Christmas Eve we decided to breakout the gingerbread house kit and start decorating.



Honestly, I've tried to make gingerbread before and haven't had much success. It's usually as hard as a rock for some reason so the kit (which is also as hard as a rock, but already in house pieces)
is perfect.



After all, decorating the house is the most fun!



We can't leave Deegan out. He watched happily from his bouncy hair. I'm sure he was wishing he had teeth so that he could nibble on candy after breakfast just like his big brother.

Like Father, Like Son

Oh the things he learns from his Daddy.

Can He Fix It?

YES HE CAN!!
Especially with this set up.
(a little nod to Bob the Builder)



Our sweet neighbor, Regina, brought Christmas gifts over for the boys. She is such a sweetie and always has been so welcoming since the day we moved in! Deegan received a fuzzy stuffed animal while Camden opened a tool set complete with goggles, suspenders and hammer. He was so excited and couldn't wait to put the "construction worker" ensemble together.

Sea World In A Nutshell

We used the first two days of Brian's vacation to take a quick little mini vacation to San Antonio. We had purchased Sea World tickets during the summer that were good until the first of the year so we loaded up the new mini van (yes, I am a mini van drivin' mommy now)
and headed out.
Here is what we did...


First stop, a picture of the boys together in front of the Christmas tree. I knew if I didn't do it then that we may never have a picture of them together once we got going. Aren't they cute?



Then we saw Elmo and the rest of the Sesame Street Gang teach Abby about Christmas. These guys have nothing to do with sea animals but they were one of the highlights of the trip for Camden. This was his expression when the characters came out:
(messy face and all)



And this was his face when I told him to smile:



We fed the ducks and the dolphins. The dolphins, again, were one of the highlights of the trip and the entire reason we visited the park a second day. A word to the wise, if you visit Sea World, go early and head straight to Dolphin Cove to avoid what quickly turns into a LONG line to feed the dolphins.







More shots of the duo.



We strolled through the Snowman Village and the Christmas Market, ate yummy treats, saw every show possible, played games, chatted with Santa, shopped for souvenirs and had a great time together.