Sadly, Mike's grandma, Gladys, passed away the end of November, so her funeral was held the first part of this month. It was a bitter sweet thing. Very sweet lady, but she was ready to be with her spouse in heaven.
I had a fun girls night, Christmas party!
Sydney had some more soccer games, and did great! This one was a tournament.
I helped organize Brooke's school party (since I'm her class's "homeroom mom")
We decorated for Christmas.
Which led to Mike and the girls dancing to Christmas music. It was really cute!
We also decorated outside.
Mike helped me make some cool candy cane stakes to hold lights.
Then for Christmas, we decided to go on a family vacation with Brent and Jody and their family. We drove to Ruidoso, New Mexico, to play in some snow. Who knew they got snow!? It was so much fun! One of my favorite Christmases!
Which led to Mike and the girls dancing to Christmas music. It was really cute!
We also decorated outside.
Mike helped me make some cool candy cane stakes to hold lights.
Then for Christmas, we decided to go on a family vacation with Brent and Jody and their family. We drove to Ruidoso, New Mexico, to play in some snow. Who knew they got snow!? It was so much fun! One of my favorite Christmases!
Of course, we had to get a picture in Roswell for David!! Too bad we didn't see any of his alien relatives! lol
It was fun caravanning with the Lanes.
Really our 12 hour trip didn't seem like 12 hours!
We rented a really cute and cozy cabin. The girls loved it, because Livia and Sydney each got their own room (Brooke took turns sleeping with them) and they geeked out having their own queen beds and a TV in each of their rooms! :)
Brooke's favorite place was right in front of the fire! ;)
It was cool seeing deer all over the place. Livia even got close enough to feed and touch one! (But she didn't, deer don't like snickerdoodles I guess) :)
We all got to go tubing, sledding, and ice skating. It was fun playing in the snow again!
The ice rink had a cute fireplace where the girls liked roasting marshmallows.
We also went tubing at an actual tubing place, which was a lot of fun. But, honestly, I think the free little hill we found was more fun and everyone liked it more. But this place was fun too. Brooke didn't like it so much though. It was a little too fast for her.
Mike insisted on cutting down our own tree, which was a blast and made the cabin more festive!
Mike insisted on cutting down our own tree, which was a blast and made the cabin more festive!
I even strung popcorn!
We played a lot during our visit, but we also made time for puzzles.
We build "log cabins" instead of ginger bread houses. lol
I don't even remember what we were doing here, but I just really LOVE this picture of Sydney!
On Christmas eve we went skiing! It was Livia and Sydney's first time! Jody insisted on staying at their cabin and watching Taylor and Brooke! It was super cold and windy at first, but then it cleared up and was a great day! I wish I had more pictures of us actually skiing, but those were mostly on our Go-Pro, somewhere. :) Liv and Syd did a great job!
Our Christmas eve jammies.
We build "log cabins" instead of ginger bread houses. lol
I don't even remember what we were doing here, but I just really LOVE this picture of Sydney!
On Christmas eve we went skiing! It was Livia and Sydney's first time! Jody insisted on staying at their cabin and watching Taylor and Brooke! It was super cold and windy at first, but then it cleared up and was a great day! I wish I had more pictures of us actually skiing, but those were mostly on our Go-Pro, somewhere. :) Liv and Syd did a great job!
Our Christmas eve jammies.
Christmas morning was so beautiful! We even got fresh snow!
The girls got one last surprise gift that they all loved! I finally agreed to getting a kitten when we got home. They've been wanting one ever since we moved to Texas. :)
Sydney trying to figure out her new bow and arrow. She hit her target, that's a good sign! ;)
Christmas dinner at Brent and Jody's cabin!
BFF's!
Then, sadly, it was time to go home! Such a fun (and short) week!
I had to get a picture of this really cool, and wicked looking cactus on the side of the road!
We also stopped at the Carlsbad Caverns before leaving New Mexico. It was really cool inside! But we weren't able to go all the way inside because of a bad storm that was coming in. They let us go in for free to see what we could see in 30 minutes, then they closed it early. Still a cool thing to see.
Then, because of the snow storm that came, we decided to stay an extra night at a hotel, which ended up being a lot of fun! We ordered pizza and went swimming and saw snow one more time. :)
After getting home, the girls were eager to cash in their surprise Christmas gift, and we found a cute little kitten. She's super sweet and only 4 months old! The girls finally decided on naming her Kendra.
For New Years, we just kind-of hung out. Sydney got to go ice skating with her good friend, Lacy, and we said hi to the Lanes, but other than that, we just had a quieter evening.
I had to get a picture of this really cool, and wicked looking cactus on the side of the road!
We also stopped at the Carlsbad Caverns before leaving New Mexico. It was really cool inside! But we weren't able to go all the way inside because of a bad storm that was coming in. They let us go in for free to see what we could see in 30 minutes, then they closed it early. Still a cool thing to see.
Then, because of the snow storm that came, we decided to stay an extra night at a hotel, which ended up being a lot of fun! We ordered pizza and went swimming and saw snow one more time. :)
After getting home, the girls were eager to cash in their surprise Christmas gift, and we found a cute little kitten. She's super sweet and only 4 months old! The girls finally decided on naming her Kendra.
For New Years, we just kind-of hung out. Sydney got to go ice skating with her good friend, Lacy, and we said hi to the Lanes, but other than that, we just had a quieter evening.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!
