Matt has been on a project deadline at KXAS and has worked 7 days week. Dean and I were thankful that the project finally wrapped and we were able to enjoy the weekend with him. I wanted to fit in a few family Christmas activities before we headed to Houston and hopefully score a Christmas-y picture or two! We headed to the Gaylor Texan early Saturday morning and enjoyed looking at the decorations and watching the trains. Gavin and Miranda joined us. The two boys really enjoyed running through the large atrium of the hotel. What a fun morning for all!
This was my conversation with Dean on the way to school one morning. Such a sweet boy. I hope we can help him focus on Jesus and not presents or Santa in the coming years!
Me: Dean what do you want for Christmas?
Dean: Cake
Me: Really? What kind of cake?
Dean: Birthday cake
Me: Oh, who’s birthday is it?
Dean: Jesus’
Me: That’s right. What kind of present do you think Jesus wants for his birthday?
Dean: Um, a front end loader…just like mine.
Me: A front end loader? Do you think Jesus wants to build a job site?
Dean: No. He’s too little.
Right before our Christmas break Dean’s school blessed us with a Christmas carol concert. It was precious! I love watching all of the babies sing. Of course, just like last year, Dean was more concerned about me than singing with his class. Once he located his “number one fan” he happily started singing with his class but chose to sing his carol to Ms. Molly instead of the parent audience! Oh that boy is something else!
Miranda was sweet to share her video.
I arrived at the concert a little late and wasn’t able to get the best seat for pictures with my camera. The low light and distance were not the best combination. Note to self: Bring Matt’s Nikon next year!
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!