Enjoying the Snow

Maggie LOVES the snow, and has her full life. I just knew that Christmas in snowy Utah would be her thing. We had to wait until we got to Grandma and Grandpa Matthews's house to play in the snow because we don't have snow gear. Mike took her just in to the backyard at first. They threw snowballs and rode around in the sled. Maggie kept saying, "fast, fast" even when Mike ran out of steam to push her around. The next day, we met up with some friends at the park to go sledding. She really enjoyed it until Mike and her accidentally went over the jump and crashed. It didn't take too long though to jump back into it.

She didn't want to keep her mittens on-just had to experience the whole thing.

Too intrigued to take her eyes off the snow.

Even after being out there for a while, she was begging at the door for more.

Hard to see, but there's a smile somewhere in all that bundle.

The snow was really icy and hard to walk on, not her favorite.

Watching a pregnant lady trying to get on a sled while icy is entertaining for everyone, but embarrassing to the pregnant lady.

I think we got ourselves a little Eskimo princess.

Santa

This has been Maggie's experiences with Santa this year. We started out the month writing a letter/drawing a picture for Santa. A few weeks later, he writes her back! She was really excited to get her own mail (I was thoroughly impress with the Lubbock Post office for knowing where to send his letter). 

Then last night, she gets to meet him for the first time this year. She did not want anything to do with him, until. . .

he mentions Ariel. That catches her attention.. .

for only about three seconds. Then she remembers that she is sitting on an old, crazy, man's lap. Oh well. Every kid needs a screaming photo with Santa.

Christmas Dress

Here are some pictures of Maggie modeling the dress I made her for Christmas. She would not give me an honest smile, even when bribed with chocolate. Oh well. I was nervous about making this dress because the fabric was more expensive, so I couldn't mess up. The skirt is a sheer fabric with glitter. Even though it has been two weeks, I still have glitter all throughout the house. 

Before and After

Mike and I have been working on Maggie's Christmas gift since August. I knew that Mike's schedule was busy, so we started early to give us plenty of time. I am so pleased 1. that I actually finished it and 2. it actually looks pretty cool.

Before:

 After: It did cost a bit more than I had originally planned but it was still a lot cheaper than buying one. I am so excited about the faucet. Our maintenance man found it for us. I also love the phone on the side and the apron I made for it.

San Antonio

This Thanksgiving break, we wanted to take a vacation just the three of us. San Antonio has always been on our "While in Texas" bucket list, so off we went for three days. Friday was spent downtown visiting the Alamo and the Riverwalk. We picked one of the busiest days of the year (San Antonio's big Christmas River Parade) which made it fun to be part of the festivities but also really crowded. 

On Saturday, we went to Outdoor World in the morning. Maggie got to see all the stuffed animals and fishes while running around playing with all the toys. The rest of the day was spent at Sea World. They had decorated the park for Christmas-a first for both Mike and I. We watched the pet show, Shamu, the dolphins, and the sea lion show. Maggie's favorite was the dolphin show. We went on a few kid rides and Mike went on the roller coasters (I was a bit bummed that I couldn't go on them). Maggie loved the rides. We tried to convince the worker to let her go on the kiddie roller coaster, but she was 6 inches too short. Maybe next time. Mike has high hopes for her to be his amusement park buddy.

On Sunday, we spent the morning at the drive through Safari. They had a mini zoo at the entrance with monkeys, birds, and giraffes. There were goats that you could pet. In the Safari part, you drove your car around the loop with food. The animals would come up to your window and eat the food. The scariest was the ostrich. It kept eating at our window because we couldn't get the food to him fast enough.

We had such a blast. Maggie loved spending so much time with Mike (the first night, she ended up sleeping next to him in the bed). Maggie will not remember this trip, but it meant the world to us to share fun times with her, laugh a lot as a family, cuddle up on the hotel bed together, and sing lots and lots of primary songs in the car. I am in love with my little family of three, soon to be four.

At the Alamo. We actually went to another place thinking that it was the Alamo. It was closed, so we were bummed. When we were about the leave, a family informed us that it was just a church. I would have felt really stupid posting pictures of us there, calling it the Alamo.

The whole downtown was lit up in lights for the parade.

Maggie messing around in Outdoor World.

Sea World!!

The Coke Cola polar bear commercial will always be a classic along with Bill Cosby's Jello Jigglers.

Riding the Carousel at Sea World.

 Honking an Elf nose while Mike goes on a roller coaster.

Taking a "choo choo" ride as a family.

Feeding the birds and flamingos.

This was Maggie's favorite ride, sort of a little kid version of the rocket.

At the drive through Safari. Maggie was excited to show the goat her belly button. The goat was excited to smell her diaper.

The zebra stuck his head in the window to try to get to the food.

You were suppose to just drop the food on the ground, but the animals had other plans.

Don't let that bird fool you. He would have chomped Maggie's head off. I had to throw food across the car at him because Mike had ran out and the bird wouldn't stop eating at the car.