Then and Now 2010

I posted these photos a year ago. I wanted to recreate this photo again. We miss you Jack. 

Christmas 2008

Christmas 2009

Christmas 2010

Say Cheese!

Sweet boy!

Christmas 2010 Part 3

We arrived at my parents house Christmas Day around 4:30 p.m. We were so hungry and my mom had all the food ready for us. We had a yummy traditional Christmas meal. My favorite is the dressing with gravy and sweet potatoes! I think I ate the leftovers 3 different times. My aunt Sondra, my cousin Shannon, my cousin Sabrina and Danny Joe all came over. Granny also spent the afternoon with us. Hodge opened gifts and he was very excited about his new cowboy boots that Memaw and Pawpaw gave him. They did not fit, they were to big. He was so sad when we told him we would have to take them back and get another size. He wanted to wear them that day. On Sunday we just stayed home and relaxed. I visited with Granny while my dad and Matt took Hodge to the ranch. My mom and dad had a big birthday cake for me when I got to their house. I had a bite of it on Saturday but I didn't blow the candles out until Sunday. Hodge had fun singing happy birthday to me and helping me blow out my 35 candles. He was funny when we blew the candles out, there was a lot of smoke and he was so funny about it. On Monday mom and I went shopping at La Cantera. Matt was working in San Antonio that day visiting with a few of his customers. We meet Matt for lunch at P.F. Chang's. This was Hodge's first time to eat there and he loved it! His favorite was the Chang's Spicy Chicken. After lunch Matt had a few more customers to see and mom and I did a little shopping. I did the shopping, Hodge and mom hung out and enjoyed the beautiful weather. La Cantera is such a great mall for kids because it is an outdoor mall. We went back to Devine and Hodge took a long nap after our day of shopping and eating good chinese food. When he was napping I went to find Hodge some more cowboy boots. My dad bought Hodge's boots from Mumme's in Hondo. My dad called them and they did not have a smaller size. I went to Morales in Devine and they had some children's boots but the lady working there told me to go to their store in Lytle because they have a bigger selection. Mom and I went to Lytle, Hodge was still napping and Matt was home by then so we went without Hodge. Well, that was a mistake because I found a great pair of boots for Hodge that I thought would fit. After getting home and trying them on him they did not fit. I think they size kids boots different then other children shoes. I felt so bad for him, he was ready to wear his new cowboy boots. Once again the boots did not fit and we had to hide them so we could take them back. Poor kid he still has not got his pair of cowboy boots. Memew and Pawpaw are going to look for some in San Antonio and I am going to shop for some here in San Angelo. I am sure we can find a smaller pair somewhere. He wears a size 8 in Nikes and a size 8.5 in Stride Rite so I guess in cowboy boots he needs a 7? Hodge will have to go shopping with me the next time so we can find a pair and try them on at the store. While we were in Lytle that evening shopping for the second pair of boots that did not fit we picked up some Bill Millers and went back to Devine to get Granny. Granny spent every day with us while we were in Devine. It is so much nicer that she is living in a nursing home in Devine and not in Pleasanton which is 30 miles away. Granny loves to play with Hodge. She aggravates the dicken out of him. I love to watch them interact. She is 96 years old and he is only 2 years old. She has seen so much in her lifetime. I love it that Hodge can spend time with her.  The next day we headed home. Hodge fell asleep on the ride home and then slept some more after we got to San Angelo. We put him in the bed and he woke up very upset that he was not in Devine. He kept asking me where is Pawpaw and he would tell me that he wanted to go back to Devine, Texas! I felt so bad for him. I guess he did not realize we were going home. He woke up in his bed and wondered what happened. I guess that is a good indicator that he has a lot of fun in Devine or as he says Devine, Texas!

Hodge, Pawpaw, and Memaw

The cowboy boots! 

Pawpaw and Hodge watching Nick Jr.

 I took this photo with my camera phone but I had to take it. Granny was giving Hodge cookies. This is so Granny, she always feeds everyone. Still at 96 years of age and in the nursing home she manages to have cookies for her guest.

Hodge helped me blow out my candles on my birthday cake.

The smoke from the candles was to much for Hodge. 

Christmas 2010 Part 2

We arrived home on Christmas Eve afternoon. Matt and I decided that this Christmas we would start some traditions for our little family of three. I wanted to start the tradition of having Mexican food for dinner on Christmas Eve. My grandmother, Granny, would have all of my family over on Christmas Eve to have dinner which consisted of tamales, enchiladas, rice and beans. I have restarted this tradition for my family. The big difference is that I am not cooking the food like my Granny did all those years. She would buy the tamales but she made the rest of the dinner. Yes, we are white but when you are a white women, born and raised in South Texas you can cook good Mexican food.  Well, really it was Tex-Mex food. I guess I should learn but the Corner Stop on Ben Ficklen Road in San Angelo has really good tamales and beef gorditas! So when we got back to town Matt and I wanted to go visit Matt's grandmother, Nana, but she was sick. Hodge and I stayed home and got things organized for our Christmas and Matt went to visit with her. Matt came back with our Christmas Eve dinner from Corner Stop. We had a great takeout dinner and I even enjoyed a Big Red. I never drink them but what the heck it was Christmas Eve! I even gave Hodge some, he loved it! I grew up drinking Big Red like it was water. That night after our Tex-Mex dinner we hung-out and relaxed. We also sprinkled reindeer food on our lawn. Hodge made it at his school. As we walked in the house after sprinkling the food he yelled, "Bye bye reindeer, bring presents!" The next morning Hodge opened a few gifts, he had already received his big gift earlier in the month (his Rainbow Play System). After opening gifts we had a big breakfast cooked by Matt. This is Matt's new family tradition for us. His family would always have a big breakfast after opening their toys so we made this one of our new traditions. After breakfast Hodge played with his new toys some more and Matt and I got ready for our second trip of the Christmas Holidays. We headed south to my parents house after lunch on Christmas day. We had a fun Christmas in our new house and I really enjoyed our family traditions that we are carrying on to our little family. 

The boys enjoying their Mexican food, notice my Big Red!

I set the timer on my camera for this one.

Hodge's Magic Reindeer Food.

Getting ready to sprinkle the Reindeer Food.

Hodge throwing the reindeer food in the yard, you can see it sparkling in the air!

Hodge waking up Christmas moring. When he opened the door we told him that Santa had come to our house. Hodge slammed the door shut. I guess he thought Santa was still at our house. 

Hodge opening his gifts.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas 2010 Part 1

Our Christmas vacation started December 21 with us heading to Midland to spend the next few days with Matt's family. Matt went early that morning so he could work in Midland and Hodge and I went later that afternoon. Hodge was so happy to see his cousins. He also had a new bed to sleep in at Yaya and Teadaddy's house. Matt's mom got him a toddler bed and it was all decked out with Cars bedding. Hodge loved his Lighting McQueen and Mater pillow. He kept saying, "My pillow!" We celebrate Christmas with Matt's family on December 23 which is my birthday so I decided this year that  I would celebrate my birthday a day early. The whole month of December I have been telling Hodge about Baby Jesus and how we are going to celebrate his birth. Then I spring on him that it is my birthday. I would say to him "Whose birthday is it?" Hodge would say, "Baby Jesus!" I really confused him when I told him it was my birthday. So on Dec. 22 I celebrated my 35th birthday with a little shopping then I had lunch with Matt's family at Reyna's. I love their brisket enchiladas with green sauce and they have awesome guacamole. They also make the best horchata. Rayna's is my favorite Mexican food restaurant in Midland. It is my kind of place, a hole in the wall on the south side of town! After lunch I got a manicure and pedicure then I headed back to Matt's mom and dad's house to get ready for our Christmas celebration. The kids had fun playing with each other and I always have a good time with my nieces. They are funny girls! We woke up the morning of the twenty-third and had a big breakfast, then we started opening gifts. Debbie and Herb gave us their gifts first. We all went upstairs while they got the gifts in the house. To our surprise the couples all got the same gift and we would have never guessed what it was. We got classic arcade games. Matt and I got a Ms. Pac-man game straight from 1981! This game takes me back to the 80s and my childhood. Mark and Mandy and Mikel and Aaron got Gold Tee. We had fun playing are arcade games. Hodge got a Wiggle Racer, little trampoline, and a GeoTrax Cars set from his Yaya and Teadaddy. We all played with our gifts from Debbie and Herb then each family gave out their gifts to the cousins and grandparents. We played all day then we had a great dinner. We had a wonderful Christmas in Midland and it was so fun to watch Hodge play with his first cousins.  Matt, Hodge and I loaded up Christmas Eve morning and headed back to San Angelo.

Maggie and Kaylee 

Hodge and Clayton


Alissa and Summer

Hodge singing Christmas carols

Hodge singing with Santa

Coming downstairs to find our gifts. I screamed MS. PAC-MAN!

Kaylee got a doctor outfit and kit. Notice Hodge in the background. He really liked her gift.

Hodge playing with Kaylee's doctor kit. 

Teadaddy and Yaya with their grandkids.

Hunter family photo. We took this late in the evening after a long day of celebration. The kids were real troopers. 

Family Photo on my 35th birthday.

Hodge and Clayton playing Ms. Pac-Man the next morning. They finally got to play.

Santa's Santa Fe Christmas

On Saturday, December 18 we took Hodge to the Railway Museum of San Angelo. They have a Christmas celebration called Santa's Santa Fe Christmas. The Railway Museum and the Concho Valley Model Railroad Club volunteers decorate the museum and have model trains throughout the rooms. They had a craft room and Santa was also there. Hodge was not interested in making the Christmas crafts or visiting with Santa but he was very interested in the model trains. He absolutely loved it! We made our way through each room looking at the model trains and after the last room we headed downstairs. That is when Hodge lost it and started screaming. He wanted to go through the museum again.  We took him back upstairs one more time. He did the same thing after the last room but we did not take him back around for a third viewing. I think he would have stayed there all night looking at the model trains if we had let him. He had the best time at the Santa's Santa Fe Christmas until it was time to go home.

Christmas Party

Hodge had his Christmas party at school on Friday. Hodge is in a wonderful class with a good teacher. All the parents brought such great food and treats for the kids. The party was perfect and it was fun to watch Hodge interact with his friends. The kids had a gift exchange, they were so cute picking out the present they wanted. Santa also made a surprise visit to the classroom. Hodge was a little nervous about Santa but when I told him Santa would give him a candy cane Hodge was more willing to go talk to Santa. Hodge walked up to Santa just close enough to grab the candy cane and walked away quickly. Hodge is still not to sure about Santa. Overall Hodge had a great time at his school's Christmas party. I am so happy that he likes going to school and that he has a great teacher who truly cares about the children. 

Hodge enjoying a plate full of goodies!

Opening his gift from the gift exchange.

Santa giving Hodge a candy cane.

Photo with Santa in Hodge's classroom.

Christmas lights and more!

Last Sunday night we took Hodge to the Concho Christmas Light Tour which is a 2.5 mile drive on the banks of the Concho River in downtown San Angelo. It is really a fun thing to do for all ages. You can walk, ride a bike or drive through the display. The lights depict The Twelve Days of Christmas. When you drive up they give everyone a candy cane and tell you to tune your radio to a station playing all Christmas music with no interruptions. It was so much fun! After the Concho Christmas Light Tour we headed over to Santa Rita, which is a really neat, old neighborhood in San Angelo. They have a display of the Night Before Christmas for everyone to enjoy. It is a cute idea, each box tells the story of the Night before Christmas. The boxes are like little doll houses with figurines and miniature furniture. Here are some photos from our Sunday night enjoying the wonderful Christmas spirit in San Angelo.

Christmas with the Cousins 2010!

We had Christmas with all of Matt's cousins last weekend in Abilene. This is our second year to have Meme's Christmas in Abilene and to celebrate Christmas early. It was also Meme's 85th birthday last Friday so we headed up to Abilene Friday afternoon to have dinner with her and the rest of the family. Hodge was very happy to see his Yaya (Matt's mom) at dinner Friday night, he hugged her for about five minutes when we first got there. He loves spending time with his Yaya and Teadaddy! Saturday all the cousins arrived at Julianne and Steve's house. Hodge had the best time with all of his cousins. Hodge also had fun playing the piano at Julianne and Steve's house. Steve also taught him how to play the drum. Hodge kept going over to the piano and the drum and saying, "I like this!" He would play the drum and tell Zane to play the piano at the same time. We also went bowling which is a long family tradition. Matt's family gets everyone together and bowls during our Christmas with the cousins. This is the only time during the year that we bowl. This year Hodge got to wear bowling shoes and he even bowled a little. After bowling we had our gift exchange and the kids had fun playing with their new toys. We had a great Christmas with all of the cousins. Hodge has talked about it all week!

Hodge playing the piano with Zane and Kallie.

Zane on the piano and Hodge on the drum entertaining everyone!

If you notice Hodge's head in bottom of this photo, he was trying to get in Mikel and Aaron's family picture.

I really wanted a photo with all of the girls cousins.  I thought I was missing two girl cousins then I noticed my niece Summer was in this photo. She is on the floor, under a chair by the poinsettia. (It is likes Where's Waldo but Where's Summer, she is so cute!) McKenzie is not in this photo, I was one girl cousin short in this one.

The girls had fun playing Dance Central on Xbox and I have to admit so did I! McKenzie is in this photo. It is hard to get them all together. 

Look at Hodge's cute bowling shoes!

Bowling with Daddy!

Big sister Alissa helping little sister Kaylee, so sweet! 

Teadaddy, Cowboy Hodge and Matt

Hodge, Matt and Meme

Hodge and Kaylee

The only photo I got with Hodge and Clayton. It is hard to get these two little boys together for a photo.