Welcome to Texas--Where Everything Is Bigger And Better!

So I have learned a lot since I've spent 1 1/2 weeks of my life down here. Specifically, I have not made it through a day yet where no one has used the phrase, "Y'all". And everywhere I have gone, people offer to help. In fact, when we were passing through a town while journeying down here, a woman came rushing out to see if we needed anything for our kids (Ryan was changing David in the front seat of the Camry.). People talk to me in the parking lots, restaurants, in the stores, at church, wherever. It's kind of amazing! And it is refreshing to see that there are more restaurants in a town than Olive Garden and Chili's. Furthermore, there are signs a few blocks ahead to inform you of the upcoming intersection. It's wonderful!! I still sometimes have to compute over and over in my head what people are saying because of the thickness of their accent; however, most people are pretty easy to understand. If I go in public, I can count at least 3 crosses around people's necks. Anyway, tune in later for more found Texasisms.

Christmas Dinner at D'Lonna & Wayne's House

While we were at D'Lonna's, the boys decided to have a Nintendo Wii party. Most of the pictures are of Ryan and Tyler, but everyone played. D'Lonna was the biggest enthusiast (It was quite entertaining!)!
Actually, it was a lot of fun to watch too. It's really cool how the sensor works.

David and James were twinners!

After the Nintendo wore off, the boys decided to make a pile of leaves outside to jump in. Imagine doing this on Christmas day--it was very strange with the weather being so warm!

David was so excited to jump in the leaves!
This is Matthew; although, he was so light that the leaves covered him up immediately.

Christmas Morning

We had a wonderful Christmas! The boys were very spoiled! And so was their mom. Ryan sent Keri on a treasure hunt to find her present. It ended up being a GPS for the car so that Keri can find her way around Dallas. Thanks for the discount Brandon and thank you HUSBAND!!!

Both boys were extremely excited about opening their presents. It was so much fun to watch their excitement and anticipation!

Shea gave Jessica her new favorite sweater! We couldn't stop laughing!
We think we're going to keep this present.

This is our sweet nephew, Baby Corbin, Dallin's son. He is such a good baby!

We couldn't get over his darling boots / slippers.
This is Baby Corbin's mom, Stephanie.
Carter loved the extra attention! Baby James sure has grown!

Christmas Eve

We had a lot of fun on Christmas Eve. We made gingerbread houses, although we never actually finished. Barbara bought us kits, and Ryan started a frosting war. Keri, obviously, lost!

This gingerbread house was made at Keri's parents. Ryan's was destroyed by Matthew.

This is our cute shepard. Shea and Jessica (our soon-to-be sister-in-law) played Joseph and Mary. And David acted the part of Baby Jesus in jeans and a t-shirt.

Ryan played the three wise men in one.

This is a really funny story. We made cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve. By the end of the day, there were only two cookies left. Matthew decided that he wanted another cookie. Keri said, "Matthew, but those are for Santa. What will he eat?" Matthew, thinking quick, ran over to the morning's breakfast biscuits, and grabbed a half-eaten, stale one. I said, "Uh, Matthew, what are you doing with that?" He replied, "Oh, Santa likes rolls." So . . . we gave Santa a half-eaten roll / biscuit.

David's Birthday and the Polar Express

The highlight of Matthew's year came from riding on the Polar Express. Mama and Papa McLeish flew out for the evening to take him aboard the Polar Express / Heber Creeper in Heber City, UT.

Matthew & David both heard the bells.
David teamed up with the chef to bring us some hot chocolate and delicious Ms. Claus' cookies.

Who's having a better time--Mama or David?

Aboard the train, we read the Polar Express, sang Christmas songs, ate, visited the North Pole, visited Ms. Claus, and Santa surprised everyone at the end.

Here is another example of something I said my child would never do prior to having children.

Before going to the train station, Keri's parents took us to dinner in Heber City. The boys were so excited about these saddles.

We gave the boys the book, The Polar Express, the night before we left for the train. Matthew was so excited! He started dancing and jumping all over the place. It was really sweet and funny at the same time!

While Ryan was moving things over to our storage unit, the seats in the van, along with the car seats, had to be taken out. As a result, Matthew and David, climbed into them while watching a new found favorite, "Ratatoille" or as Mama McLeish says, "Rat-uh-too-lee".

This is David's one-year birthday cake. Many thanks to Stacey for allowing me to borrow the pan. I started in the kitchen, and by the end moved to four different places in order to finish it without the help of little fingers and hands. Although, it's not near professional, I was proud of myself just for finishing the project. These cakes take forever!!!

Matthew came up to me after I had finished the cake and placed it in the fridge to show me that the frosting was still wet and that he liked it. I ran to the refrigerator and sure enough, a huge chunk was taken out of the frosting. He then proceeded to wipe it all over the bathroom floor. David decided to try it at that point.

We were most surprised by David's cake-eating skills. At first, he didn't want to touch it and acted like we were crazy to give him red-frosting cake. Then he dug in and by the end, dumped it everywhere. It was really fun to watch him.

He liked it so much in fact, that when we gave him a bath, we found frosting in his ears, nose, hair, all over his skin, and down his diaper. You funny boy! Happy BIRTHDAY!!!