The Hopkins family thought that camping would be a fabulous and relaxing way to spend the Thanksgiving holiday. On Monday Dean and I headed to Livingston to spend a few days with my family before heading out to the campsite. We enjoyed fun times with Granny & Pop, Mom and Dad and Leslie, Emma and Travis. Dean enjoyed his first escalator ride (AKA Bumpy Stairs), lunch at Pappasitos, seeing Grandma & Grandaddy at Autumn Grove and spending the night with Emma. It was an action packed few days before we headed to Inks Lake for a weekend of camping.
On Thanksgiving morning we picked up Matt from the airport and set out for Austin. After enjoying a leisurely drive we arrived at Inks Lake State Park and rendezvoused with Ronny, Carla, Adam, Genie and Mason. They arrived early and scored a fabulous camp site. We enjoyed 30 hours of the great outdoors! Carla fixed a yummy turkey chili for our Thanksgiving dinner and we played a heated game of Texas Hold Em before turning in for the night. On Friday morning the boys were eager to play. Mason and Dean LOVED being outside and having the freedom to play in the dirt, with the leaves, and run. After breakfast the guys loaded up the boys and took them fishing and to feed the ducks. Dean and Mason had a great time on he pier with Matt, Adam and Ronny. Dean learned how to feed ducks and was surprised by the boldness of many of the birds. They were not afraid to eat right out of Deans hand. All of the fishing fun brought back tired and hungry boys. They enjoyed naps in their tent while we began to break camp. Unfortunately the weather report was predicting severe thunderstorms for Friday night and Saturday morning so we decided to seek out other accommodations for the evening.
After breaking camp we headed into Marble Falls for dinner and a trip through the city lights. Dean enjoyed looking at all of the Christmas lights on the river. It was a great way to get us into the Christmas spirit. We spend the night at a fabulous hotel in Marble Falls – completely opposite of our camping accommodations! Dean was very confused by the hotel. He wanted to know if they would have beds and pillows for us to sleep on and towels for our shower. He was too cute. After Dean went to sleep Matt and I spend the evening playing Left, Right, Center with Ronny and Carla while Dean snoozed peacefully.
We had a great time playing in the hotel on Sunday morning. Dean and Mason ran, played and jumped on beds while the rest of us relaxed. After we were all dressed we headed out to a nearby state park for one last sight seeing tour before we headed home. I was sad to see the trip come to an end. Dean really loved camping and I enjoyed watching him play. Matt and I have decided that we should plan a spring time camping trip and I feel that the Hopkins Thanksgiving Camp out will be come a tradition. Cheers to the holidays and a great time with the Hopkins family!
Each year Dean’s school hosts a Thanksgiving dessert party for the parents and students. I enjoyed attending this year and sharing a yummy dessert with Dean. It is a great way to move into the Thanksgiving break. Dean’s class sang a few songs for the parents (video coming soon) before enjoying their yummy treats. We are continually thankful for the ECDC!
I look forward to the Nutcracker Market every year. This year Miranda, Glenda and Jennifer joined me for the journey. After spending the night at my mom and dads we enjoyed breakfast at Humble City Cafe on Saturday morning. Lesley met us there and joined in on the fun. After we had full bellies we journeyed to the Nutcracker. Hours of shopping fun followed. After shopping all day a dinner at Pappasitos concluded our fun. There’s nothing like recovering from a shopping trip with a frozen margarita and some tasty Mexican food! I love how the market symbolizes the start of the holiday season. It always puts me in the Christmas spirit! I had a great time shopping with these ladies and look forward to the trip next year! Until Then!
I am struggling with writing this post. I can’t believe that you are three years old! My heart breaks thinking that you are truly not a baby anymore. You are such a big boy! I often find myself wishing that I could go back to when you were 6 months old, just to hold you for a few hours. I am so thankful that you enjoy cuddling. I enjoy this sweet mommy and Dean time.
Over the past six months you moved into the Early Preschool room at the ECDC. Your time with Ms. Elaine has been a wonderful gift. Ms. Elaine truly appreciates the active boy you are and has taught you so much this first semester. You can identify some letters and numbers, have memorized numerous songs, and you are working on fine motor skills. Your daddy and I enjoy looking at the art work you bring home and have a blast playing school with you. You enjoy playing the role of teacher and never hesitate to tell your daddy and I to “hush friends” when we get a bit too loud.
This summer you really grew in your swimming abilities. You had no fear when it came to exploring the pool and swimming. Your daddy and I were so proud of your eagerness to try something new. We definitely see swim lessons in your future.
You are quite the talker! You are always eager to strike up a conversation and spend a lot of time asking “Why?”. Your Daddy and I have decided that the best way to tackle your inquisitive nature and to feed your desire to know is to provide you with a lengthy answer. Sometimes you fully grasp the concept and learn something other times we just plain overwhelm you and you move on to another topic! You also enjoy quizzing strangers when you mean them. Your typical conversation begins with, “What’s your name?”, “What do you do?”, “Where do you live?”. Three questions is usually the extent of your questioning because most people try to make a quick exit from this conversation with a 2 year old!
You can easily entertain yourself and will play independently although you love it when Mommy and Daddy play too! You typically sing to yourself while you play. I LOVE sitting and listening to you sing bits and pieces of songs through out the day. You always have a song in your heart! Your imagination has also kicked in full force! You are always pretending you are someone or that your toys are something different than they are. The other day you built a pipe yard in our living room complete with two generators! You also love cooking yummy food on your grill and feeding it to us and our friends.
Another big milestone of the past six months… you are fully potty trained! You rarely have an accident and are pooping on the potty. You have come a long way! We are so proud of you.
Your faith has grown in the past year. You have learned that “God keeps us safe” and will remind me frequently. In the past six months you have also begun saying our dinner time prayer. It warms my heart each time I hear your sweet words. I am so thankful to have a little voice reminding me of the faithfulness of our God.
Your last visit to Dr. McCoy was an easy visit. You didn’t need any shots and happily participated in the exam. You weighed 35.4 pounds – 84 and were 38.25 inches tall- 61%. You are a growing boy for sure!
Dean, you are the light of our lives. I am so thankful for you and all that you bring to our family. I look forward to seeing what the next six months brings for us! We love you little man!
For Dean’s third birthday everyone was invited up for Camp Hopkins. There were a ton of activities going on this weekend. Hopefully this post won’t overwhelm too many of y’all!
On Friday, November 4th Dean celebrated his birthday with his class at the ECDC. They have a party the first Friday of each month and celebrate with ice cream, party hats and fun! Dean enjoyed spending this time with his special friends as well as Addison and Leslie Walden.
After Dean’s school party we headed home to see Uncle Layne and Logan. In addition to celebrating Dean’s birthday there were events planned to celebrate Layne. One part of Layne’s birthday celebration was the NASCAR truck races on Friday evening. Matt, Logan and Layne met up with some friends and enjoyed watching the trucks run in circles. A second day of races were enjoyed on Saturday with the entire male family – Layne was in heaven! While they were enjoying the races Dean and I spent time with Granny and Pop. Granny and Pop came up early on Friday in order to go to the Winstar with Glenda. After a full day of fun for them we enjoyed Babes chicken and a relaxing evening. I was thankful for the time with my grandparents and their help getting things ready for the party. I know Dean enjoyed having them here for the night.
At exactly 5:00 PM Camp Hopkins began. Dean enjoyed having his friends from church and school over to play in our backyard and enjoy a performance by Mr. David. The birthday celebration was a blast! Matt and I were able to enjoy the party and hang out with Dean’s friend’s parents thanks to our awesome servant team of grandparents and Glenda! I think Camp Hopkins was my favorite birthday party. I’m sure they will continue to get better and better but for now, this was the best! Happy 3rd birthday Camper Dean!
