Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Something Old…Made New

Over the last couple of years the Fort Worth Children’s Museum has been being rebuilt.  It finally reopened just about a month ago.

Today, we decided to go and take a look at the

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new facility.   I think

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everyone in town was there today as well.  But, we still managed to

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shoot parachutes up through this wind tube and

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turn all the big wooden gears and wheels.  Then we were

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off to find the dinosaurs.  Who ever knew they had

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such big feet?

The fun didn’t stop there, and soon it was our turn to view the 3-D movie about energy.  But, everyone had to

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wear these silly glasses.

After the movie, we

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enjoyed some water activities.  Andrew had no problem shooting the water really high in the sky!

Caden found

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roads to build and

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ambulances to drive.

Kourtney was more interested in

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walking on the balance beams and

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checking out groceries in the

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miniature grocery store.

We had a great day at the new Children’s Museum and will defiantly go back for another visit because in the same facility is the I-Max which was showing 3 different movies, and the Planetarium.  And, if you get your fill of this museum, you can go right next door and take in

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The National Cowgirls Hall of Fame.

Again, what a great day we shared with the kids in our beautiful

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downtown Fort Worth.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

On The Third Day of Christmas

This afternoon the

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gang arrived and these five were ready to tear into

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all of these gifts that for the most part all belonged to them.  They had a great time…

Andrew got

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hats and shirts, and

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a car that goes fast.

Lauren loved

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the cute shirts and

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two new dolls that were welcomed with love.

Zachary made out with lots

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burnt orange….and in a house full of Aggies that’s a hoot.

Caden

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loved his big green friend and lots of Thomas trains...while

Kourtney

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was excited to unwrap her very own motor home…just like Poppa’s.

What an exciting time to see Christmas through the eyes of little children.  Tonight we spent precious time with our five reasons to be in Texas for the holidays!

And this concludes Christmas 2009!

Friday, December 25, 2009

Three Days of Christmas

Yesterday was Christmas Eve and the first of our three days of Christmas celebrations.  We woke to a cold rain that was soon mixed with snow.  What…a white Christmas in Texas.  That is almost unheard of.  But, as promised, by afternoon when it was time to head out for my mom’s house, this

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was what it looked like.

Mark and I stopped to pick up his mom and then it was on to mom’s.  From the den window, I found mom’s

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backyard looking like a winter wonderland.

One by

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one everyone arrived.  Greg and Kate

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drove about 25 miles in this frightful weather.  Thank goodness the temperatures were in the 70’s the day before or this would have been a real mess.

Now, for a few hours, we were all snug and warm, and together and

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dinner was waiting.

During the evening, I was able to catch a few group pictures…there was

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Caden and Kourtney.

I found

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Kate and Zachary hanging out waiting for present time.  Soon the kids

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tore into their gifts, while

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my nephew, my sister, and my mom were waiting for their number to be called so they can choose a

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gift card from the table. This is a game we play on Christmas Eve.  Choose a card and hope it doesn’t get stolen by the next person, especially if you get a really good one.  Lots of fun and laughs during the evening.

By this time, the weather was getting so bad that we all decided we should head home.  It was a slow go, but everyone made it home safely.  And soon all were tucked into bed to await Santa’s arrival.

This morning, Christmas morning, we were awakened with a phone call from Kourtney.  Santa had visited her and she was calling for us to come in from the bus to the house to see

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her new red tricycle.  And, then there was all the goodies

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in her stocking.

We spent the morning with her before Karen and Kenneth headed out to his mom’s house.  Greg and Kate would be spending the day with her family. Scott came by for a little while this afternoon, but for the most part, Mark and I have have a quite Christmas Day.

I actually enjoyed the last of the

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snow from inside the motor home while getting ready for tomorrow which will be our third day of this year’s  Christmas celebration.

  Tomorrow will be a big day as all of the kids and grandkids will be with us.  And when they arrive, they will be anxious to see what

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has been hidden in all these presents for so long.

As we continue our celebration, we hope each of you had a very blessed and Merry Christmas!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

A Christmas Treat

With all the shopping and wrapping done, Zachary had a great idea.  He wanted to go the ice exhibit at the Gaylord Hotel in Grapevine, Texas.  This is something the Gaylord has done for several years it is amazing.  This year Pop and I had the opportunity to go and what a treat it was.

We arrived at the

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Gaylord to find the lights had all been hung with care.  And the

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the Christmas tree was shining bright.  And, if you look up, this

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is what you see.

We found this old sled and stopped

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for a picture or

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two.  Now, Zachary was here for only one thing and that

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was to find our way to the ice show.

Our tickets were for 7:30 and we had a little wait, but soon it was our time, but first we were given these

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beautiful blue coats to wear.  Yes, we paid money to walk through the ice show where the temperatures are kept a 9 degrees or below.

  Now, remember as you journey through with us, that all you see is made of ice…and

if you haven’t already guessed, this year’s theme

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was all about the Grinch.  We soon found

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that we were right in the middle of

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Who Ville and all

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the who’s that live there.  Of, course…

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we found the Grinch was everywhere.  He even had

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disguised himself as Santa.

Right in the middle of Who Ville, we found the

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all took a turn sliding down.

After a time or two on the slide, we walked through

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an ice cave only to find more

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whos who were dancing and having a good time…because as we all know the Grinch

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actually had a change of heart.  He even had a great

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Christmas lunch with all the whos!  And, like all stories we came to

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the end and it was

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Thanks Zachary for a great fun evening!  Pop and I loved it.

Now….before I end this adventure…

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Mark and I would like to wish you all a very blessed Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

And…in the mist of all the Christmas hustle, bustle, and fun we stop to remember

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the real reason that we celebrate this season.