Enchant!

Every holiday season we try something new.  I love me some traditions, but it's also fun to spice things up every now and then.  This year, so many people were touting the greatness of Enchant in Arlington, so we gave it a shot.

The hype claims that it's "the worlds largest Christmas light maze."  Not sure how one would know that, but there were tons of lights!  It's at the Ballpark in Arlington where the Texas Rangers play.

We brought Jackson, Maddie, Lila and Cami along with us for a night of enchantment.

While we were waiting on Scott, Lyndsie and Connor to arrive, we bought some hot chocolate.  Nothing better than some hot chocolate on a chilly night!

We walked all through the booths and finally got down to the field.  The lights were so pretty and it was even "snowing" a little bit!

It sorta felt like being inside an episode of The Great Christmas Light Fight.

Everywhere we went, there were cool things all lit up.

The No Stroller rule kept it less congested, but meant we had to carry the little guy all night!

Can you tell that Madison and Cami are two peas in a pod?!  All they wanted to do was get to the ice skating rink, so that's where we headed.

These girls started out on the rails...

while Cami held onto her daddy for dear life.

It was pretty crowded and the ice was messy, but they all did well!

After a couple rounds, they were on their own! They had a couple of wipeouts, but no broken bones and no tears.  I'll take that any day.

Ice Skating in 60 degrees...Christmas in Texas!

Connor loves his cousin Lila:)

We enjoyed our night out and the kids even got to meet Mrs. Claus at the end.

Gingerbread Houses, Parties and Carriage Rides!

 Another Christmas tradition is decorating gingerbread houses.  This year, I bought the 4 pack.  Everyone gets their own.  No fighting over icing or candy.  Genius!

Jackson was sick the day we made them, but the girls enjoyed this little activity.  They were so proud of their hard work, especially Lila.

Cami's masterpiece!  Too bad I didn't get a close up of Lila's work...  

because this guy ate the whole darn thing minutes after we left the kitchen!
But kudos to me for buying the 4 pack! 

A few days later it was the last day before Christmas break.  Such an exciting time~

Cameron just has the cutest preschool class! 
They were all so happy to take a call picture with Mrs. Brandt!

Shortly after I dropped off Cami, I was at elementary school for Lila's Winter Party.  It's been a few years, but I can still Room Mom with the best of them! The kids made these cute marshmallow snowmen...

played a few games...

and hung out with their friends.

As we were leaving, Mrs. Bhakta stopped me and told me "If there's ever been a perfect student, Lila is it.  She's helpful, stays on task, and is just a dream to be around."  Made my mama heart so happy!

I thanked Mrs. Bhakta for her kind words and then we ran over to see Cami perform some Christmas songs.

She knew every word and all the motions. Bravo, my little star!

We enjoyed cupcakes and punch...

and everyone told her what a fabulous performer she was.

She gave Hadlie one last goodbye hug and then we were out of there!

A little while later, we were at Deerfield getting ready to board our horse-drawn carriage.

This is our third annual Christmas light event in honor of Memaw's birthday. 
We look forward to it every year!

It was the perfect night--cool, but not freezing, and very clear.

Connor gave it two thumbs up!

This was our favorite house.  It won best decorations in the whole neighborhood and it was well deserved.  They even had a snowman covering the front door!

Happy Birthday to Memaw and cheers to a wonderful night with family.

Santa Claus Came to Town!

 On December 14, 2018, Santa Claus made another special trip to see us.  This time, he met us at Gigi and Boom's house.  It was all decked out and the perfect spot to host our nearest and dearest friends and family!

Who's excited to see Santa?  This girl right in front!

We didn't really get to hang out all night, but I thought this guy looked so handsome in his new VV red checked shirt.

These two families were some of the first to arrive. 
The girls all looked so precious...I could hardly stand it!

While Jared chatted with some friends out on the back porch, 

the kids and I hung out inside.  Dylan and Cami talked about how stoked they were for St. Nick.

Before we knew it, it was time to round up all the kids.  This is all I could find before the big guy made his arrival.

True to form, Miss Cameron was the first child to greet him!

Welcome to Texas, Santa!

Her new BFF.

They had so much to talk about...she asked him for a Wonder Lab, Kissing Puppy and a Comfy Critter blanket.  He told her that he'd do his best!

Lila and Santa. So sweet.

Then it was Madison's turn.  She's grown so much since last Christmas!

Jackson looked like an adult sitting on Santa's lap, though!

Miss Lilly won for best smile.  She wasn't scared of him at all.  Precious baby girl.

Connor did great as well!  He's in the prime age for being scared of Santa, but he really liked him!

After most of the other families had a chance to pose with Santa, we rounded up our five and got one as well.  No small feat...Jackson was outside playing football, Lila was upstairs playing air hockey, Cami was be-bopping around from the media room to chatting with all the guests...but we did it!

It gave Cami another chance to talk to Santa.

She just adores him!

Connor was so intrigued by his long beard:)

Happiness!  This year, Baby Mason will be in the Hays photo!

Hopefully he will be as chill with Santa as Connor was this past year...and not take after cousin Cameron!  She was terrified of him until two years ago.

There were so many friends at the party this year.  We rounded up some of Lila's group...

and then found some more friends from school!

Madison had plenty of friends there as well...

and so did Jackson.  There were a handful more that we just couldn't round up for the photo with Santa, though!

It was such a magical night...

filled with new friends, like the Denny Family...

and old friends, like the Shubzda fam.

Such a great evening with those that I love most.

Julie and her fam have been coming to the Santa party since our boys were 4 years old!

This was Caroline's first year and she loved it.

Jenny had to skip out a little early...

but these ladies all stayed to play for a while!

Love my girls!

It was chilly, but everyone really enjoyed the live music on the back patio.

Even the babies agreed that the musicians were very talented!

Cheers to such a wonderful evening...

to friends, old and new...

and to Jared and Jason closing down the party on the mic!