Holiday round-up

Brett goes back to school this week so that means the holidays are officially over. Here's a round-up of our adventures this holiday break!

Christmas Lights in Austin
Angie, Brett & Ellie ~ Kathy, Tyler & Ron ~ Ellie checking out the lights from the car

On Christmas Day in Austin, we went out and saw Christmas lights with Kathy, Ron, and Tyler. First, we drove down to San Marcos to this hilarious place called Santa's Ranch where they basically covered several acres with millions of lights and you drive through them and check out all the little scenes they created. From there we went back to Austin and headed over to a neighborhood that is full of hippies who decorate their yards and houses with lights and other crazy props. Both of these places define the slogan "Keep Austin Weird".

The Texas Paulsons
Jake ~ Jesse ~ Kai ~ Kris & Theresa ~ Julian & Brett

On Friday, the day after Christmas, we hung out for most of the day with Kris & Theresa and the boys. After a great lunch out to eat, we came back to their house to exchange gifts and play games. It was great to see all of them. The boys are getting so big now - big enough to beat Brett and me at HORSE!

On Friday night, Brett and I snuck out on a date and had tapas and just enjoyed being in Austin again. After dinner, we were able to drop by Emily and Joe's for a little while. We haven't seen them since they visited us in Palo Alto over a year ago. I didn't get a pic of us on my camera. :(

The Dallas Family
Brett & the boys ~ Courtney ~ Pearce, Angie, & Ellie ~ Lisa & Luke ~ Mom ~ Pete

From Austin, we went up to Big D to spend a few days with my side of the family. We had a big Christmas dinner and exchanged gifts and watched the boys play with their new toys. Thanks to Santa for giving Brett and I the Mexican Train Dominoes. We played that for a few hours that night and we've played it several times since!

New Year's Day in Carmel
Pic taken with camera phone - can you believe I forgot my camera?

On New Year's Day, we headed out to Carmel to be hosted for a night by Adam and Rachael. We had a great time with them as we walked along the beach, ate fajitas and efficiently watched football using the DVR. Who knew you could watch a football game in an hour and a half?!?

I'm always a little sad when the holidays are over - I am not taking the tree and decor down until tomorrow so technically it's not over yet - but I know this new year is going to be filled with so many things to look forward to!

-a