Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Christmas in TEXAS!

Well, Christmas came and went...and a few weeks later, I still feel like I'm recovering from it. I know my laundry is still recovering anyway :) Madilyn got EXACTLY what she wanted...which was Squinkies...and thankfully those babies only cost $10, so Mom and Dad could provide this year. No disappointment here :)
We had such a nice time seeing family and a few friends while we were in town (though we would've loved to see lots more friends). Time literally flew by. It is nice to be back in Erie, PA but I seriously miss being close to family.
We have a lot of cute pics from the trip, so I'm just going to save some time explaining each one and just show them to you. I found a pretty sweet little editing site, so I was able to caption the pictures for your viewing enjoyment :) Go with me here...
We had a nice time seeing family in Amarillo and opening presents. Madilyn got SO MANY GIFTS that she literally had to stop and take a break in the middle of present opening. She is a very blessed, loved little lady.
Madilyn also took the time to enjoy a good story with Poppy. I'm pretty sure she told him the story because she kept interrupting while he was reading. After all, 3 year olds know pretty much everything :)
One night, while in Amarillo, we went over to Tyson and Jenny's (my brother's) home, and they made us some delicious, spicy potato soup and we played Scrabble. Madilyn loved getting to spend more time with them, and I'm pretty sure she talked their legs off. The girl loves a captive audience of those that adore her.
Cameron and I got to visit some of our favorite places while in Amarillo (i.e. Trinity Fellowship Church, Thai Arawan), and we had lots of great meals from various spots. My mom made my favorites (enchiladas), and we enjoyed mostly relaxing and taking it all in. One of the days there, we were able to drive to Dalhart (my hometown) and eat at LaEspanola and see my Gang Gang and Anna.
Madilyn got to read stories with Anna, and she almost fell asleep. I have vivid memories of always falling asleep at my grandparents houses...I think the combination of quietness, loads of love, and the fact that house is always warm makes it easy for any kid to relax. Hmmm...maybe I should take note of that :)
While in Amarillo, we were also able to visit the Discovery Center with my family, and Madilyn had such a wonderful time. We saw an IMAX movie about the weather and it had aliens (Ach-ew-onns, as Madilyn says). Her eyes were as big as they could be during the entire 20 minute movie :) They had lots of fun experiments and gadgets to play with. I'm pretty sure Cameron and I had as much fun as she did!
Next, we drove 4 1/2 hours to Abilene with Cameron's grandmother "Grandma Patsy." I wish I had gotten a picture of her this year, but somehow she didn't make it on my camera...but she was there, and we enjoyed the car ride with her! She told Cameron to drive 55 so he could save gas. She said it only took an extra 45 minutes to get there. Cameron told her that 45 minutes could be life or death when it's concerning a car ride with a 3 year old. He drove 70. We still got great gas mileage. She said we must've had a tail wind. I said thank you to Cameron because another 45 minutes would've done us in! :)
While in Abilene, we visited the zoo. Weird, but we actually get in free with our Erie Zoo Membership. They're in the same network...so we enjoyed it quickly because it was FREEZING COLD that day...like literally not above freezing. I think we must've brought the cold to Texas when we came. When we left it warmed up again. Ugh. Oh well.
We had nice family time with the Smith side of the family. Aunt Melissa played the guitar and she even took the requests of the 3 year old of the house. Madilyn enjoyed getting to know Uncle Colin and Aunt Melissa even more this year! She got a book from them, and when we got home, she was reading it and said, "Mommy, they love me. Colin and Melissa love me." Very sweet.
She even let Uncle Colin take a picture with her, which doesn't happen very often.
And, Madilyn got to decorate cookies with Papa and eat all the frosting she wanted. She loved being in control of the decorations, and she did a great job telling Papa what to do. She didn't want to decorate. She wanted to eat frosting and tell Papa how to decorate. So, of course, that's exactly what happened :)
What an exhausting, exciting and fun trip! We came, we saw, we conquered, and now we sleep...and sleep...and do laundry...and sleep :) Blessings on 2012 to all of you friends and family! Much love from the Erie, PA SMITHS!

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