Holiday in the Park

What a crazy two weeks! Between the wedding, tons of family in town, Christmas festivities and some travel, there was absolutely no time for blogging. I'm sure it will take me a while to get everything up to date... but here we go...

After the wedding, we decided to take the family to Holiday in the Park. Who can resist snow hills and reindeer in Texas?

The kiddos weren't too happy about being strapped in... they would have much preferred running around to having to ride in the stroller. I'm against leashes, so this is how we rolled.


Our little monkey... always climbing. Don't worry, I was close by.

Aunt Rose and Reese doing some people-watching.

Tucker talked Grandpa into letting him out of the stroller so they hung out a lot.

Ok, so when they told me the kids could pet reindeer in Santa Land, I assumed they would be real. Dirty rotten trick.

The pink sparkles weren't enough to talk Reese into it. We tried to convince her that they were puppies, but that didn't work either.

Reese checking out the "live nativity." You got it... totally lied about that part too.

Tuck and me all bundled up.

Reese and Grandma checking things out.

Doing a little jig in front of the schoolhouse.

Reese and Tucker enjoyed the train ride to Santa Land.

Cousin Kelsey was so great with the kids... they loved her. We'll miss you Kels!

Reese and I riding the Big Rigs!

We were all pooped by the end of the night. I was pretty disappointed that we never found the snow hills. But... we ended up getting to play in the snow after all. Stay tuned.

Going to the Chapel

Well, my baby sister got married this past weekend. It's hard to believe she's old enough to do that! Seems like she should still be 13. The wedding was beautiful...

She got married at the Marty-Leonard Chapel. The grounds are gorgeous so she got some great outside shots.

You can't tell we're sisters, can you?!

You'd think Dad would be smiling... getting rid of the 3rd girl and all. Daddy Warbucks is finally going to get to spend his money on what he wants.

Her florist was fabulous... check out those bouquets.

The babies came up after the wedding so they could be a part of the family pictures. Thanks Brian and Jen for keeping them this weekend!

I just love her little dress. I'm totally going to have to find another time for her to wear it... once is just not enough.

Once again, Reese wasn't cooperating during picture time... so the snack cup had to go everywhere with her.

Amber had her reception at Ridglea Country Club. The ballroom was decorated for Christmas so it was extra beautiful.

Nick's mom used to own a bakery (now she does catering) so she did the cake for them. Turned out gorgeous... and it was soooo yummy too.

The tables looked great... the chair covers really added a lot. Totally worth the money.

The beautiful bride and groom just waiting for dinner.

Chris was looking all snazzy. I even got him to push me around the dance floor a couple times. It was torture for him... but fun for me. Sweet husband hates to dance.

Caden was an usher... he looked so handsome in his tux.

Andrea and Justin came. I wonder if it made Andrea feel as old as I did?? She's known Amber since she was like 3 years old.

It was a busy weekend... but really fun! Lots of family members came in town and we were going nonstop. Amber's in Hawaii now enjoying her honeymoon while the rest of us are rushing around trying to get our Christmas shopping done. I'm glad I have two weeks off... I'm going to need it to recover from all the festivities.

It's beginning to look...

... a lot like Christmas! Look at the beautiful snow that we woke up to this morning...

Crazy Texas weather... you just never know what it's going to do. Unfortunately, the snow didn't stick around... but it was fun while it lasted.

Nana took the kids out just long enough to get a couple pictures. They didn't know what to think. Tucker wanted to run around and play in it while Reese just wanted to hurry and take the pictures so she could go back inside where it was warm.

I wish I could have spent the morning playing in the snow with them. Blasted job... gets in the way of so much.

The Elf on the Shelf

I love tradition. I think that's why I fell in love with A&M the first time I went to visit. I am so excited about starting some Tims Family Christmas traditions. This year we're going to introduce a few... one being The Elf on the Shelf. I'm pretty sure that Reese and Tucker won't understand it this year... but that's okay. We'll just say it's for me.

Here's the way it works...

The day after Thanksgiving a mysterious Elf arrives on a shelf in your house. He's straight from the North Pole and here to keep an eye on the kids and report back to Santa each night. The elf leaves after the kids go to bed and returns the next morning, often hiding in a new spot. The kids can't touch the elf but they can talk to him/her and share what they want for Christmas, etc. On Christmas Eve, the elf leaves to go back to the North Pole until next Christmas.


I love it... so fun. The box set comes with a little elf and a book that tells the story of who the elf is and why he/she has come to your house. We read the book to Reese and Tucker and introduced them to the elf who they're supposed to name. I'm calling the elf Paco until next year when the kids are old enough to decide.


This will be the first of many fun Tims Christmas traditions!

O Christmas Tree

I'm one of those crazy Christmas fanatics who has way too many decorations and must put them all up every year. Chris says that 10 Rubbermaid's of decorations is way too many and is not at all excited about putting up Christmas lights. I think that's why he put all the Christmas stuff in storage when we put the house up for sale. I'm convinced that they were strategically placed at the very back and bottom of the heaping pile of boxes in All Storage. So sad.

Between that and having two small kids who are into everything, I decided to chill this Christmas. I opted for a skinny tree that could be tucked away in the corner of the room over my usual ginormous tree in the hopes that Reese and Tucker wouldn't notice it. And I decided not to spend 3 hours in the storage unit trying to pull everything else out. I'll just have to play lots of Christmas music and bake like crazy to get into the spirit this year.

I didn't know what to do with myself on Saturday when it only took 30 minutes to get the tree up. Reese and Tucker enjoyed helping. Tucker thought the bulbs were balls though and hurled them across the living room. Luckily no one was injured. Reese is quite the little helper and threw a major fit when we were done. She's like her Mom... more Christmas decorations please!

Reese concentrating so hard to get it just right.

Tucker on the other hand... just throwing it on there and watching it fall out the bottom of the tree.

It's been up for a few days now and they haven't knocked it over yet. I'm feeling optimistic. Christmas is going to be fun this year... I can already tell.

Parade of Lights

Friday night the Doyle Women took the kids (minus Caden who went hunting with his dad) to the Fort Worth Parade of Lights. It's been years since I've been and I totally don't remember it being as good as it was. It was really fun... and the kids absolutely loved it...

Just hanging out waiting for the sun to go down.

Tucker was completely mesmerized the whole time.

These angels were standing up on their beautiful white horses. Impressive.

Reese is way into lights right now... pointing at them everywhere we go.

Can't wait to go see ICE! at the Gaylord Texan!

Tucker just cheered and laughed. He couldn't get enough of the firetrucks. Just like a typical boy... he loved the sirens.

Reese and me snugglin.

Santa came in on the last float... just in time to go light the Christmas Tree downtown.

Christmas is going to be fun this year... I can already tell!

Turkey Day '09

We spent Thanksgiving weekend with my family this year. Each year we rotate... Thanksgiving with one side of the family and Christmas with the other... and then the next year, we swap. Since Chris' family doesn't live in Fort Worth, we can't be with everyone for every holiday. But this seems to work pretty well.

The weather was beautiful so we spent some time outside after stuffing ourselves with turkey and all the fixings. Unfortunately, Reese and Tucker are in a very uncooperative phase when it comes to pictures, so we didn't really get great family shots. They are constantly on the move and refuse to sit still long enough for us to snap a picture. Well... unless they're eating of course. Notice the pics of them with their turkey legs! Reese was totally disgusted by it... guess she's gonna be one of those "I don't eat meat off the bone" kind of girls. Watch out boys... this one is going to be high maintenance.