The Perkins

I spent my Christmas vacation at my sister's house.  It was so much fun hanging out with Mason and getting to know Tucker better.  They were gracious hosts and I hated to leave.  Mason kept asking when I was coming back to HIS house to visit.  (He was not interested in knowing when I would be in Dallas.)  I took a TON of pictures, so here comes the long train.

Lightening the Queen

Mason got the movie "Cars" for Christmas.  He has not been introduced to a lot of movies (of any kind).  He is in love with "Cars".  We watched it two days in a row while I was visiting.  He kept call it Lightening the Queen.  He finally asked his mom why he was a queen, because queens are girls.  Rae told him that it wasn't Lightening THE Queen, it was Lightening MCQueen.  He is so funny!

I love that he has his own little container of popcorn, like he is at the movies.

Musical Family

It never fails.  We always seem to get together for a sing a long at every holiday family gathering.  Usually we get the church hymnals, but this time Uncle Todd and Curtis decided to play Maw-maw's guitar and ukulele.  They found music to "She'll be coming around the mountain"...it was the easiest to teach themselves to play.  They didn't do too shabby!  Curtis' fingers began to hurt on the ukulele strings, so Maw-maw took over the guitar and Todd played the ukulele.  It was a fun way to spend the late afternoon of Christmas.

Christmas Morning

There is no other way to describe Christmas morning...it was a ZOO!!  Santa was SUPER generous as were the grandparents and Aunts and Uncles.  We had a great time watching all of the kids excitement from opening up the gifts.  This is all of the gifts awaiting the kids on Christmas morning.  I couldn't get everything in the same shot.

Kendall, Alexis, Ashley, Gramms (Mom), and Pops (Dad) came over to Mike and Rachel's house early Christmas morning.  Mason should have been up, but wasn't.  Mike woke him up and the kids came into the living room (aka my room) for the big reveal.

Mason got this really cool train table from Santa.  It was very neat and must have taken Santa HOURS to put together.  Mason loved it so much, that he was not all that interested in opening all of his other presents.

Kendall got a rocking horse from Santa.  You press one ear and it makes gallop noises and the other ear makes horse noises.  She was SO excited.  She just wanted to ride all day.



Poor Tucker was a little late to the party.  He wanted to sleep in a little.  He had no clue what the big deal was, but he was his usual charming self.

Here is a montage of some of Kendall's highlights.  Al and Ashley bought a big stuffed bear for the boys and a dog for Kendall.  Poor thing thought that both of them were for her.  She got a new fancy dress from Gramms and Pops, a grocery cart and play food from Taris and I, a baby stroller from Rae and Mike, and lots of books.

Like I said earlier, Mason played with his train set more than anything else, so I don't have a lot of pictures of Mason Christmas morning.  He did get plenty of other things though: a really cool helicopter, a doctor kit, and of course some play dough.



Tucker had a very nice Christmas, but he did not open a lot of gifts.  We opened gifts just about the entire week I was at his house.  I can't believe how big he has gotten.  (He is bigger than Kendall!)

Gramms asked for a Sonicare tooth brush and a carpet steam cleaner.  Pops asked for a new pocket knife and the latest Glenn Beck book.  They were both pleasantly surprised with their Christmas haul.

On a side note, it is amazing how much Tucker looks like my dad.  If you look at old photos from my dad as a baby, it is just uncanny!

All in all, I think this was a VERY productive Christmas morning!

Santa Cookies and Reindeer Food

After our all day Christmas Eve, I went back to Rachel and Mike's house to get ready for Santa coming to visit.  Rachel talked with Mason on the way home as to where we should put the reindeer food.  She asked him if they should put it in the front yard or back yard.  He said that they park in the backyard.  He then corrected himself and stated that the reindeer actually land on the roof, but definitely the backyard.  Rae asked if he wanted to put the carrots on the plate with Santa's cookies.  He looked at her and said, "Mom, reindeer are dirty and are not allowed in the house, so we need to put them on the ground in the back yard".  Rae agreed.  That nephew of mine is SO smart...I am not biased at all!  The collage below is of Mason spreading out the reindeer food and carrots, putting out Santa cookies, and of course a family picture.  When Mason was outside putting the food out, he saw his baseball laying in the grass in the yard.  He had to hurry and pick it up because the reindeer might eat it.

Christmas Eve

I flew into Abilene Christmas Eve and was greeted by quite a large welcoming party.  Mom, Al, Ashley, Kendall, Rae, Mason, and Tucker were all there to shuttle me to MawMaw's house for presents and Christmas dinner.  We had quite a gathering for Christmas this year.  Todd (my mom's brother), Nita, Kayla, and Curtis were there.  We had a great time playing games and catching up with everyone.  And to think, this is only day one!



Clockwise from left: Rae and Tucker, Kendall after pie, Al and Ashley, Mason




Clockwise from left: MawMaw, dinner table, Curtis, Todd



Lightroom

I have recently discovered a new favorite...Adobe Lightroom 3.  To say that I am diving in head first is an understatement.  Learning this photo program has been a SLOW process.  (And I would be lying if I didn't say that it is a little frustrating, but I refuse to let this program get the best of me.)  The things that this program can do to take my pictures from good to great are so exciting!  Hopefully, you will be able to see a huge upgrade in photo quality as time goes on.  I know I can't wait!

Grocery Snacker

I was unloading groceries today.  As I was putting things away in the fridge, I kept hearing this rustling.  Abbie was smelling something in the bag, but she just wouldn't give up.

Apparently, she just couldn't stop eating her buffet of grapes!



Sometimes I just don't understand these girls!

Feel the love

I guess the girls were needing some bonding.  I love when they cuddle with each other.  Aren't they too cute?

Surprise

For the last few days, I have been leaving the dogs out to roam the house while I am at work.  (It is my first time since Roxanne's accident.)  I am trying to get them ready for the dog sitter over the holiday.  The picture below is what I came home to.  Obviously, the girls couldn't wait to bust out of their kennels.

Oh Christmas Tree

Last year I splurged on a pre-lit tree and I am thrilled to report that I am still in love with it.  I actually stayed up on Thanksgiving Eve to put it all together.  I decided that since I was having to put it together and (more than likely) take it apart alone, I would go a little lite on the ornaments.  There is something about turning on a Christmas tree at the end of a long day that just brings happiness to the heart.