"Where's the talking dog?"

Those were the first words out of Taryne after her short nap in the car. We were going to the Bush's Baked Beans Museum and Visitors Center and all Taryne cared about was the talking dog.

Watching the video of the "talking dog" Duke.

Taryne was checking her weight...in beans!

Different beans eaten around the world

Vintage labels

Of course we had to visit Bass Pro on our way home....

And Joe's for dinner....

 It was a pretty neat museum. We got there about 15 minutes before the museum part closed, so we didn't take a lot of time going through, but it was pretty interesting. The visitor's center had lots of "bean" type products so we picked up a can of beans and a bean chili mix. I have never seen the chili mix in the grocery store before...but then again, I have never really looked.

After our trip to the bean place, we had to stop by Bass Pro to see the fish. I think we visit Bass Pro at least twice a month. Oh well, Taryne has fun and it gives us a chance to walk around and be "entertained".

We ended the evening with a trip to Joe's for some yummy seafood. You should have seen the look on our waiter's face when Taryne ordered celery to go with her hamburger instead of the fries. Priceless.

Christmas in Texas

We got a lot of "you are CRAZY!!!" looks when we told people we were going to drive straight through to Texas and do it overnight. Yes, in some ways it was crazy, but it worked out pretty well. We left Knoxville around 6:30 pm on the Friday before Christmas and drove to Charlotte's in Grapevine. Lucky for us, about 30-45 minutes outside of Knoxville, we crossed into Central Time and quickly gained an hour. We managed to stop in Nashville, just outside of Memphis (because we did NOT want to stop in Memphis around midnight!) and then somewhere outside of Little Rock before we got to Texas. There were a few stops in Texas, mainly because it was morning by then and Taryne insisted that we stop to use the bathroom in almost every town. The highlight of the night was the 3 1/2 hour window that was my "rest/sleep" time. Taryne talked NON-STOP from 1-4:30 am...A.M.! Kyle was going crazy and I was exhausted.

After a stop at Shipley's and then Charlotte's for breakfast, we made our way to Llano. Those. Four. Hours. Were. Long. We were all ready to be out of the car and all I wanted was a shower. After a shower, we shuttled ourselves to the first of many activities planned for the week. No time to rest!

We managed to get in 2 trips to Mamacita's (well I got in 2, Kyle only got to eat there once) and 2 trips to Inman's and we found a taco truck for a breakfast taco. Yum!

I have a random assortment of pictures from the trip. I guess I wasn't in the "camera carrying" mood the entire trip. It gets old after a while.

After spending several days with our immediate families, we made the trip to the Houston area to visit my grandparents and aunt/uncle/cousins. And of course on our way back to Tennessee, we stayed with Joy in Alabama. Everywhere we went, Taryne was quick to note that we must see the cows and any other animals that may be around. Our trip home was uneventful (which is good) but it was long. I think I almost prefer the overnight driving versus the 2 long days of driving. But I require sleep. I am not a late night person, so maybe it is best to do one of each of these on a trip instead of both ways overnight.

Going for a ride to check the cows...

Little Miss

Checking out the cows with Daddy

Pixie was being VERY silly!

Taryne and Hayden finally were able to meet their cousin Reagan

Taryne all dressed up as Belle and giving Hayden a check-up with her new doctor's kit

Checking out the cows and Grandma and Grandpa's house

Hayden, Grandpa Clarence, Taryne and Grandma Milady

We made one other stop on our way home...we took a mini driving tour (with no guide) of the University of Alabama campus. Really I just wanted to see Bryant-Denny Stadium, but pictures of that next time.

Happy 9 Months!

We celebrated Hayden's 9 month birthday in Texas, right before Christmas! Just a few weeks before he hit 9 months, he FINALLY started crawling. Taryne crawled late, but walked early and it looks as if Hayden will follow suite. He is cruising and crawling everywhere and loves to touch everything. One of his favorite things at Christmas time was touching the Christmas tree and our fresh wreath on the front door. Every single time we were at the door, unlocking or locking the door, he had to examine the fresh wreath. I was particularly excited that he was at this age for his first Christmas. He could interact with everyone and open (well sort of, anyway) his own gifts. Taryne was almost out of the "bump on a log" stage when she had her first Christmas.

We haven't made it to his 9 month check up yet. I failed to get an appointment made right after we returned from Texas, then school started and now he has been sick. We are scheduled for that appointment in a few weeks. But at his sick appointment he was 22 pounds. Down a little from before, but he is a very active little guy now.

This little boy absolutely adores his big sister!! He can be the fussiest little boy and if Taryne aka "Sister" comes in or sings him a song, he is all smiles in no time flat. This was very helpful on our return trip to Tennessee. There were a few dodgy moments where the car ride was getting to us all! These two spend lots of time together playing with Hayden's new toys and laughing and rolling a ball together. Really anything Taryne can find for them to do, they are doing it. It is going to be awesome once he is walking and not trying to eat everything!

Happy 9 months sweet little boy!

Here Comes Santa Clause

As previously mentioned, we did not have our normal family Christmas morning festivities on Christmas morning. But, Santa still visited Taryne and Hayden on Christmas....he just has to travel to Texas instead of Tennessee.

I like to get a picture of them with the milk and cookies they leave out for Santa, but that proved to be a bit difficult this year with a mobile 9 month old (and I still need a post for that "birthday" too, wow, I am behind).

Finally a good one of them together!

Hello Kitty!! (sleeping bag)

Leap Frog play table!!

It is a good thing we have Pixie. I know she let Santa know that we were in Texas for Christmas this year!

Our Little Christmas

We have had a rule the last  few years since Taryne was born: we spend Christmas morning at home for our own family Christmas. It has worked the past few years, but this year would be different. Since we were going to Texas, there was no way we were going to be able to spend Christmas morning at home as our own little family. So we had our little family Christmas the night before we left.

We had our Christmas breakfast: waffles, sausage and eggs. I decided to make the waffles a little more festive and incorporated an idea from Pinterest. What on earth would we do without Pinterest these days?

I took some pics of Taryne and Hayden and one big group picture earlier in the month with the tree and our snazzy Christmas jammies. Normally we have a group picture after church, but I think we might start the Christmas jammies pic tradition instead. Then it can be silly!

And then it was time to open gifts...

She is all about using the "safety" scissors

Stickers!!!!

Can I just keep the ribbon?

So...FAIL on the stocking photo this year!

I am so glad we were able to have our own little Christmas, even though it was not on Christmas morning. Hopefully in a few years, we can talk our family into having Christmas at OUR house (where ever we are living) and we can get back to our little tradition. For now, the time we get to have Christmas as our own little family is priceless...no matter what day it happens.