Parker's 1st Birthday

We made the long trip out to West Texas this past weekend to celebrate my nephew, Parker's 1st birthday! Because the trip is so long and Brandon had to work, I was lucky that my mom and sister Tory could come and ride with us so I had help with the kids and probably also a shorter trip since I would have had to stop a lot more to feed Marjorie and tend to her. Tory was the great baby whisperer of the weekend and took on that job and visited with the kids in the back of the van so we could keep going.

We went out there on Thursday evening, so we got to spend Friday with Katy and Parker before the party. Our eventful day was eating out at Dairy Queen and playing at the city park. The kids loved it!

Then Parker had an awesome "Up" themed party on Saturday. He had lots of people there to celebrate. He got some great gifts and loved his birthday food and cake. It was fun getting to see him with all the "ball" presents mostly since he is obsessed with balls right now. My mom got him a tent ball pit and the kids all went crazy jumping in the balls and throwing them everywhere.

It is so sweet getting to see Marjorie and Parker together too as they are getting bigger and more aware of each other. They just grin so big at each other and Marjorie would be playing in the exersaucer and Parker liked coming up and showing his toys to her. They have many many fun years ahead playing together.

Happy 1st Birthday, Parker! We love you and were so happy we could be there to see you turn the big 1!

Weekend in Rotan

We drove out west to my sister, Katy's house in Rotan, Texas this weekend. We haven't been out there since June, so it has been a while. Brandon hadn't been to Katy's new house yet either, so he got to see it.

We had a really good time hanging out with Katy and Clay. Clay made some good food and we helped Katy decorate her new Christmas tree. Then we all loaded up and went to the neighboring town of Roby for their Christmas parade. Katy's neighbors had a float they were putting in the parade, so they asked the kids to join in on the float, so my kids along with Brandon and Clay rode in the Roby parade! Katy and I enjoyed the kidless moment and got hot cocoa and a funnel cake while we waited for it to begin and then cheered them on as they passed. Lillian had a ball waving at people, but Andrew saw me and started crying! Poor boy! It was very chilly too, but a fun time!

So begins the Christmas festivities! More to come tomorrow as St. Nick comes to see us tonight!

First Visit to Rotan

Brandon, the kids,and I made our first ever trip out to Rotan, TX to visit my sister this weekend. She moved out there this past summer with her husband. He is from there. We had a great time visiting and seeing and learning all about Katy's new "city."

On Saturday morning, we bundled up. It was a nice 15 degrees out with a windchill of 0. We wanted to check out the ranch where Clay works now. Andrew loved seeing the cows. And the fun part was watching Clay doing his fun job this weekend of giving them their drugs for artificial insemination! Never thought I'd see that in a lifetime!

Then we went up and took a tour of the ranch and the beautiful gazebo up the hill. Lillian called it the "tower." It had a beautiful view. And they had lots of old wagons that the kids just had to climb in!

Lillian also loved seeing all the huge windmills out there generating energy for the surrounding areas. She called them pinwheels! And we got to see the last of the cotton harvesting going on, but got stuck behind the trucks on the road...oh, the fabric of our lives!

Then we had a visit from Katy's mother-in-law, Lisa with Katy's nephew, Cooper. He and the kids had a fun time playing. He played ball with Lillian and then just liked picking up Andrew to show how strong he is.

Then in the evening, Katy got out her Just Dance game for Wii and we played a little. Andrew jammed out while Katy and Clay played. Then Brandon was nice enough to video Katy and I...ha ha.

Then today, we just had a relaxing morning hanging out with Aunt Katy before we left. Thanks for having us, Katy and Clay! We had fun and hope to see ya'll again soon!