Taking advantage of the Christmas holidays and time off school and work Dean and I made plans to meet up with my friend Courtney for lunch. I was excited to take Dean downtown and let him enjoy the sights and sounds of the city. The Wells Fargo building that Courtney works in was totally decked out for Christmas. It was beautiful and the Christmas tree in the lobby was HUGE! I just had to snap a picture of Dean next to this amazing tree.
We enjoyed lunch at Mi Cocina and loved getting the opportunity to catch up with Courtney. After lunch we headed over to KXAS to see Matt and catch a glimpse of his new office. Dean loved meeting all of Matt’s co-workers and I enjoyed seeing the new set that has consumed so much of Matt’s time. Our visit to KXAS was brief but fun. I’m glad Dean was able to check out the studio and see daddy’s office!
I am thankful for the holiday break so Dean and I can enjoy fun trips like these! Now we are gearing up for our big trip south for Christmas! I can’t wait!
We enjoyed the Grapevine Parade of lights with the Mclarens and Glenda again this year. Dean and Gavin were so much fun! They were excited about the lights, the floats, Santa and Baby Jesus. The parade was about an hour and a half long and the boys were troopers. Deans favorite were he high school bands. He loved the loud music but more specifically the drums! The evening was a great start to our Christmas season! Merry Christmas!
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!
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!
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!
