Long post for our first week of Christmas Vacation!

So I have been MIA for about two weeks during Christmas and New Years! I hope you had a great Christmas season. We had a blast! On the way home from Mobile, Andy and I were talking about how different it was last Christmas with Savannah only being 3 months old. She was a ball of energy for most of our vacation and made us laugh every day! I can't wait to see what the future Christmas' bring as she grows up.

If you aren't interested in our crazy fun Christmas you can stop reading now because here goes!

Christmas Eve at the Oasis for the 2nd year in a row. This year we were in the large room upstairs. It was snowing just a little bit and it was so COLD!! Savannah loved the service. As soon as Andy started singing she started clapping and dancing. I almost started crying because I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate Jesus being born than to see my child so innocent watching her daddy sing!
Celebrating Jesus!

After the service was over we planned to hang out and eat with fellow church members and then head home, pack the car, and get a couple hours of sleep before we left at 5 am for Dallas. Well, my dad called and informed us that it had been snowing all day and the roads were getting bad...we all thought that if we waited until morning than we might not make it for Christmas. So Savannah and I left for home, I got her ready for bed, packed the car, and waited for Andy. As soon as he got home we unloaded his guitars and we were off to Dallas.

Let me just say that it was a very scary drive. From Austin to Hillsboro it was great...we were talking, Savannah was sleeping, and the roads were clear. Well, once we got off I-35 we could tell we were going to have trouble. We could see snow on the ground and ice on the road. What normally takes us about 20 minutes took us almost an hour. I was driving and so scared. We saw three accidents and saw a couple cars spin out in front of us. When we finally got to the hotel at 12am we were just glad to be out of the car. We both agreed that next time we wouldn't drive and if that meant staying in Austin just the three of us than that is what we would do.

Once at the hotel, we were trying to get Savannah out and put her in her bed without waking her up. WRONG! She saw Papa (my dad) and was wide awake. Andy and I were up until 3:30 am with her. Needless to say it was a test of patience and dicipline. We finally all went to sleep around 4 am just to be up at 7:30 to head to my brothers house. Once we got over to Ryan's house we all ate breakfast, opened presents, and then let the girls play in the snow. Savannah loves her cousin Addisyn so much and thinks she is a big girl.
On Addisyn's bike...BIG GIRL

A WHITE CHRISTMAS MORNING (well at least Texas style)
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After Ryan's house we headed to my Aunt Karen and Uncle Steve's house for Christmas with the Carlton's. This is my mom's side of the family. We have a lot of traditions on this side and I love it. My husband however thinks some of them are cheesy but deep down I think he likes it too. This year is was a little bit smaller because Rick, Paula and the kids headed to Colorado to see Lory, Phil, and Hunter. And my Great Aunt Diane and Uncle Bill were sick. But Roxanne and Tucker joined us again this year which is always a lot of fun. Andy, Savannah, and I were very tired by the time we got over there but we still enjoyed our time.

Some of the Traditions are:

- Mexican food

- Reading of the Christmas Story

- Singing 'Come on ring those bells' with our own bells (ask and I can tell you)

- Playing some sort of game and usually singing the 12 days of Christmas

This year we played Beatles Rock band! Lots of fun but I am horrible! Here are some pictures b

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On the road again

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After about 5 hours we headed to the Kinnan family Christmas at my Mama's. I was looking forward to this but also a little bit nervous because this was this first Christmas without my Papa. We ate ham, mashed potatoes, rolls, and lots of food! Then we have a white elephant exchange and hang out. We wished we could have stayed longer but all of us were on our last leg so we left around 10 and headed for sleep. Thankfully my parents said Savannah could stay with them so Andy and I slept!

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The day after Christmas we woke up and took family pictures with my parents, and brothers family. They turned out so good! Then we ate lunch and headed back to Austin. Once back we unloaded the car, took down all our Christmas decorations, cleaned house, did laundry, put away Christmas gifts, packed our bags and car, and went to sleep. Sunday we were headed for Alabama. More on the 2nd week of vacation when I eat lunch! :)