Christmas 2021

We had a really nice Christmas season this year! We kicked things off by going to the same Christmas tree farm in Mineola where we cut down a tree last year. This little farm is adorable and makes choosing a tree way more fun!

I think this may be a new tradition!

My four younger kids all had class parties at school. All the party times overlapped, but I managed to make an appearance at everyone's party. And I captured some oh-so-flattering photos of myself with each child. (Side note: The fact that we live in an era where lots of people post selfies all the time befuddles my mind! Ha!)

Could Asher possibly look any more thrilled?!

We went to Ruidoso the week before Christmas to celebrate early with the Wallace side of the fam! The weather was so beautiful and we enjoyed spending lots of time outside.

the whole gang

Some of us went on a pretty hike on a trail that is right behind John and Shelbi's house!

Here are all the grandkids at a park in downtown Ruidoso that was all decked out in Christmas lights.

For Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, it was just the seven of us. This is the first time ever that it had ever been just us with no extended family, and although it felt a little strange, it was also really nice to have such a low-key Christmas at home!

I love this photo of the kids before Christmas Eve church!

I did not take a single picture on Christmas day. Instead, I chose to relax and just "be" for the day. It was nice! We ate simple but yummy food, took our time opening gifts, and just hung out! 

Asher's Eleventh Birthday

Asher turned eleven on December 8th! His birthday is one day after Naomi's third birthday, so we had a joint birthday party with family at the park. It was simple and sweet! And aren't these two December birthday babies the cutest?!

Halloween!

The day before Halloween, the boys, Allie, and I carved pumpkins with a few of their friends. (The big girls were away at a church retreat for the weekend.) We had fun, and their jack-o-lanterns turned out cute!

On Halloween, all of us but Nora trick or treated with neighbors. (Nora went to a party with some of her friends. Why does she insist on growing up??) I managed to get a pic of each kid in their costume!

Allie has a thing for dinosaurs lately. She was a very cute T-Rex, even though everyone kept calling her a boy all night! Ha!

Bennett choose to be a banana!

Asher and a couple of his friends had matching costumes. I don't think Asher actually knew what he was dressed up as. 

Jazz was Stitch!

I was not a fan of Nora's costume. She and her friends dressed up like characters from some scary movie. I'm not about bloody costumes, but hey, I pick my battles!

Bennett's 8th Birthday

Bennett turned eight on October 1st! We celebrated by taking a few of his buddies to Urban Air for a couple of hours and then coming home to enjoy ice cream sundaes. (The birthday boy requested that we only have ice cream, no cake. Easy for mama!) Bennett had a really fun day and declared that it was "the best birthday ever!'

Here are Bennett and his friends (and Allie and Asher) at Urban Air. From left to right, his buddies are James, Robee, Kash, and Hendrix. 

Bennett is pretty fearless and did everything at Urban Air multiple times. Here he is on the ropes course.

I love this photo of him blowing out his birthday candles!

Bennett grew and matured a lot in his eighth year of life! He has come out of his shell quite a bit, tried a lot of new things (even some new foods, yay!), gained confidence, and is just seeming like an older kid to me! He loves chicken nuggets, soccer, Dogman books, the YouTube channel "Unspeakable", roller blading, helping Dustin build things in the garage, running around causing a ruckus with his friends, and snuggling with his mama. He's pretty great, and I can't wait to see what year nine brings! Happy 8th birthday, Benito!

Nora's 13th Birthday

Going out of order with this post, but I had to document Nora turning thirteen!!! We have a teenager in the house as of April! Very hard to believe! We celebrated her birthday by taking her and seven of her friends to the ranch for the weekend. It was a really fun time!

our teenager!

The girls had a picnic one day!

We also went roller skating one day at the little roller rink nearest to the ranch.

from left to right: Bryleigh, Lola, Ava, Jolie, Nora, Lia, Laila, and Hannah

Now that our oldest has entered the teenage years, I can definitely attest to the fact that the saying is true: The days are long, but the years are short! Time is flying by!

Girls' Weekend!

Last weekend my mom, my sisters, and I went to Muenster for a little girls' weekend getaway! We stayed at a bed and breakfast where we did a lot of relaxing, ate good food, and talked and talked and talked. It was really fun and so special to make memories just the four of us! Thank you, Mom, for treating us to such a wonderful time!

On Sunday, we went too a wine tasting at a winery that was once an ostrich ranch!

Cheers to kid-free time away!

Love these ladies to pieces!

 

Kicking off a New School Year!

In August we kicked off another new school year! And we are THRILLED that our district is not requiring face masks this year. Things feel mostly back to "normal". 

A few days before school began, our four younger kids got to meet their teachers:

Allie is in school FULL TIME this year! She is attending Pre-K and LOVES it so far! She was assigned to a different school than our other elementary kids, which isn't ideal. But she has great teachers and is excited to go to school every day, so I can't complain! She even gets to ride the bus home. It drops her off right at our front door each afternoon!
In this picture Allie is meeting her teachers, Mrs. Crownover and Mrs. Le.

Bennett and Mrs. Nieto

Asher and Mrs. Russell 
(Mrs. Russell was also Asher's teacher in third grade and Jazz's teacher in fifth grade. We feel spoiled to have her as a homeroom teacher for three straight years!)

Jazz and Mr. Reynolds

All of our kids' teachers are exceptional and we feel so blessed!

Here are some photos of the kids on the first day of school! They were all excited and ready to go!

Allie: Pre-K

Bennett: 2nd grade

Asher: 5th grade

Jazz: 6th grade

Nora: 8th grade