Dec. 1 – Dec. 23

Shep still believes or is at least humoring us, and I don’t care. I’ll take whatever I can get! He still has one more year of elementary school next year, and I refuse to have that conversation with him until after that. Aaaaand it literally just hit me that we only have one Christmas left with the elves and Santa magic. I’m sad that milestone will be reached soon, but know we will keep most of the traditions going regardless. I can’t say I’ll miss these darn elves, even though Ellis completely took them over, thank goodness. I will, however, miss seeing the fun and creative stuff she’d come up with! Shep is lucky to have such an awesome big sister that wants to keep the magic alive for him for as long as possible!

I swear our main/real tree keeps getting bigger and taller every year, and I love it!

Candy Cane Lane Post Season Mixer was a blast with my tennis team and a few others!

There was a prize for the biggest winner and the biggest loser. I’ll let you guess with one I won, lol! Hey, I still got a $150 gift card!!!

Ellis has pretty much lost touch with most of her school friends, so I jumped at the opportunity when she asked if she could have a secret Santa gift exchange and sleepover! I’m so grateful for the few that continually show up for her, it’s not often, but it’s when it counts. I still have faith that this is just a season and we’ll get through to the other side of this stronger and better!

Our annual Gift of Christmas tradition did not disappoint. Unfortunately, Ellis only made it about 5 minutes and then had a panic attack and begged Adam to bring her home. It was too loud and overwhelming for her. Her anxiety is definitely better and she’s able to leave the house now (for the most part), but she’s for sure still struggling.

Santa flying out on his sleigh is always one of my favorite parts!

Santa landed his sleigh right by where we were sitting, so Shep got a candy cane from him!

Nancy was trying to get a video of Shep and Connor singing along and dancing, and this happened, lol….

Drummer Boy is another favorite performance. I told Brooks and Shep they need to volunteer for this part when they’re older!

For the past several years we’ve been going to the same performance as the Stolarski’s and Smith’s and getting seats near them. We finally got a pic of all the kids together!

We couldn’t get a pic of all the adults, but Nancy and I were able to snag this one together as we were leaving!

#36, I know him!!!!

Brooks always finds a way to score a couple of points almost every game!

Our elves brought us gingerbread houses for us to decorate again!

I’m going to be REALLY sad when he stops sticking his tongue out like this to concentrate.

Ellis crocheted this adorable little skirt for her elf, Snowflake!

Ellis and I decided to surprise Ms. Nancy with lunch one day in her classroom!

Our baby coming down the stairs in the morning before school as an official teenager! I genuinely have no idea how we got here so fast

I could go on and on and on and on about how amazing this kiddo is. He makes me proud every single day, and I truly feel so blessed to be his mom!

He wasn’t supposed to get a big gift from us since we got him the new iPhone a few months ago when he broke his, but of course Adam couldn’t resist…

Such a sick custom bat that even has his name!

Books and bats! Gosh I love this kid!

AAAANNNDD he’s good looking! He’s definitely the complete package!

Seriously, we are the same person. His favorite restaurant is even Pappadeaux, which is where he requested to go for his birthday dinner!

Happy 13th birthday Brooksy Bear, we all love you so much!

Not gonna lie, I was a little sad Memaw and Papa Joe said he was too old for a silly bday song now.

Ellis made the elves go fishing! She’s so much more fun than me!

Second generation of a baseball moms night out!

Nothing better than getting your infusions next to the fire in the comfort of your own home!

After the bad reaction in October, we took November off, and then decided to go with a different brand of the medication to see if that would help. Ellis was super anxious about getting the IV, and Adam and I had to literally hold her down while she was screaming. It broke my heart in two and had me questioning everything, but then I was soooooo hopeful after she did awesome both days with no reaction. Just when we thought we were in the clear though, that third night, almost 24 hours later, the migraine and vomiting came on with a vengeance. I completely forgot we were on a roller coaster for a brief moment, and this drop took me for a loop.

So super duper beyond grateful for this incredible human though. He has 4 kids of his own, and comes to our house 2-3 days a week (after working all day), to teach Ellis and keep her up to date on all of her school work. He does get paid by the district, albeit, I’m sure it’s pennies. He has her laughing most days, and I truly don’t know what we’d do without Mr. Perkins!

Have I mentioned how much I love this kiddo that always eats his salmon without complaining, and loves reading so much he couldn’t even put his book down for dinner!!

How handsome is he all fancied up for his winter band concert!!!

If you can dress up, you better believe Brooks will be wearing his Santa hat!

So much talent having to switch between all the percussions instruments!

Big drum time!

Good job boys!

Enough about Brooks, it’s time to brag on Shep now! Every month one kid for the entire grade gets the Longhorn Legend Award. It’s a huge honor and I’m so proud of Shep for getting recognized. He hasn’t had a teacher yet that hasn’t told me how much they love him or that he’s their favorite. You can tell from the cheers of his classmates after his name was called how loved he is!

So proud of you Sheppy! Love that everyone else loves you as much as we do!

Book club favorite things party time!

Going on 7 years now with this awesome book club!

Grinch themed school party time for Shep!

Just have to add that I helped hang that fireplace decoration and set up for the party!

It’s not a pitching contest, bro! It’s called a snowball “toss”, lol

It’s Shep’s turn to wear the pants now…

The very first day of Christmas break our best friends drove into town!

These two cracked me up with their crazy elf shenanigans!

Maddie is obsessed with and is such a good baker!

The real reason our BFF’s came into town was because we were doing a mommy/son trip to Branson, Missouri for Brooks’ 13th birthday! All 8 of us…me & Brooks, Jodie & Jackson, Nancy & Hunter, and Julie & Gavin piled into my car bright and early at 6am on Saturday, December 20th, and made the 6 hour road trip together!

We stayed at the cutest boutique hotel right off the main road called The Grand Victorian. We got two adjoining rooms, all four moms in one room and all 4 boys in the other!

We quickly dropped our luggage at the hotel and made it just in time for the 2pm Reza Edge of Illusion magic how. Reza was on the show America’s Got Talent and Penn and Teller’s “Fool Us”. Branson is know for having top tier Broadway level shows, so of course we had to check out one that 13 year old boys would be interested in!

We went to Reza’s instagram page and tagged Brooks in a birthday post, and at the very end of the show the entire audience sang happy birthday to him! It was so cool!

The moms enjoyed the show too!

You weren’t allowed to have your phones out during the show, but Brooks took his out at the finale when the helicopter appeared on the stage out of thin air!

During intermission we got to go back stage and meet Reza! He looks like a teenager, but he’s actually 39!

Directly across the street from our hotel was this awesome Branson Coaster that the boys begged to ride! There were so many cool museums, shops, and activities within walking distance, but unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to do it all. It’s crazy how many Trump souvenir shops there are!

It’s pretty cool because you got to control your own speed on this coaster!

That evening we checked out Branson Landing for dinner. Everything is decorated so beautifully in Branson for Christmas!

The next morning we begrudgingly got these teenagers up somewhat early to go on a golf cart tour at Big Cedar Lodge through the Ozarks!

Jodie was the driver for our cart!

If we ever go back we’ll have to do this tour at night. They have so many Christmas lights lining the path! The night tour was sold out until next month it’s so popular!

These pics and videos don’t do the beauty of these sights justice!

Nancy was the driver of the other cart!

Heading into the mountain! I love how they have a bar right as you enter, lol

These exclusive and custom cocktails were seriously delicious!

Such a majestic and beautiful waterfall inside the mountain!

Such a cool concept being able to drive a golf cart through a mountain!

Moms and sons photo op time…

Hunter and Nancy

Jodie and Jackson

Me and the birthday boy!

Julie and Gavin

After the golf cart tour it was time for the main and real reason we drove all the way to Branson, Missouri….it was finally time to go to Silver Dollar City!

Jodie was brave and did a few of the roller coasters with us at first! Time Traveler was my favorite!

That last roller coaster got poor Jodie with one of her migraines, so she had to sit out the rest of our time. She was a trooper though and enjoyed relaxing! It was a bit chilly, but not near as bad as I was expecting for December. It was snowing there two weeks before, so we really did luck out!

On top of the good weather we had one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen!

I’m kicking myself for chickening out on this roller coaster. Nancy said it felt like she was flying. I promise it looks WAAAAYYYY taller in person!

You can hear Gavin yell “Julie Cisneros” at the beginning so that we knew it was them on this roller coaster. I swear it looks WAAAYY faster in person too!

That gorgeous sunset though!

Love my Brooksy Bear!

Had the best time traveling with these easy going and laid back mommas!

Such sweet and good kiddos too!

Silver Dollar City goes all out on Christmas lights and Decorations!

They even had the cutest parade…

Best trip with the best of friends that I hope Brooks remembers for the rest of his life! If anyone is worthy of a big teenager celebration, it’s him!

Drove straight home bright and early from Missouri to a house full of more kids, and wouldn’t want it any other way! We actually drove home early because Ellis and I were supposed to go to our annual moms and daughters Nutcracker Ballet. Unfortunately, Ellis only made it to the parking lot. Her anxiety is still too high. Not gonna lie, I was pretty exhausted after our 6 and a half hour drive, so I wasn’t too upset.

The next day, I was able to talk her into going to the movies though!

Such an awesome movie with our best friends!

I love that Shep humors Ellis and does these silly trends with her. Sponge Bob dance for your entertainment…

Nancy and Joe weren’t able to host their annual Christmas Eve Eve 7 fishes dinner due to a busted water pipe and their house being under construction. We pivoted and went to a fancy dinner in downtown McKinney instead!

Matchy matchy in green!

Guys were there too, lol! We ate at the delicious Rick’s Chophouse

I just love our little town and this amazing friend group!

What a December to remember and it’s only Christmas Eve Eve! The next 7 days were such a whirlwind they needed an entire post all to their own, so stay tuned….