Holiday Recap Part 2: Christmas Festivities

Let's be honest.  The real fun of Christmas is the anticipation.  I know my childhood memories of the holidays involve decorating, choosing a tree, making cookies, and waiting for Santa.  This is the first year the kids have sort of grasped the concept of holidays and this is also the first time in 4 years I have actually been motivated to do anything Christmasy {pregnancy and lots of young babies can suck the spirit right out of you}.  Of course, I have done Christmasy things the last few years, but I wasn't into it.  This year, I ran with it.

The greater Houston area actually has tons of activities going on in December, so I had to narrow it down.  I know they're not old enough to remember, but I will remember, and I wanted to check these places out while they're still young enough to be free at most of the events!

At Home
There was plenty of fun to be had around the house this year!  We decorated toddler style {ornaments only on the top half of the tree} and the kids loved checking out the tree and pointing out every baby Jesus, Santa, Rudolph, and snowman.  We made Reindeer food (oats and glitter) and sprinkled it in the yard Christmas Eve.  We listened to kiddie Christmas music {they learned Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Jingle Bells} and read Christmas books and learned all about the REAL reason for the season- Jesus' birthday!  We went on walks to hunt for lights and bows.  They got SO excited every time they saw a big red bow decoration or any sort of Christmas light.  I'm sure anyone who could hear us was amused.  If anyone was watching closely, they may have seen them trying to eat the candy canes and lollipops in peoples' yards!  Complete with a "yummy yummy Mommy".  And they've never even tasted a lollipop or candy cane!

me and my rice krispie snowman

Andrew showing off the group's creations

Santa
I am glad we have a great place to see Santa for free near our home.  They go all out with a Winter Wonderland set up.  We went last year and I made the mistake of assuming Santa would be there all day everyday in December knowing we went on a weekday morning the year before.  So, we load up, get there on time, and no Santa.  Major disappointment!  Luckily, we could still do all of the fun Winter Wonderland stuff and go up and down the store elevators, so a fun field trip was had.  After I double checked Santa's schedule, we made a second trip and it was well worth it!  Everyone sat on Santa's lap, got to actually eat a mini candy cane, and we had individual pictures and a group picture.  The Santa was so sweet with Leah, just cuddled up with her and sang- she loved it!

Leah at her favorite spot on our field trip

Picture of our picture with Santa

Dickinson Festival of Lights
I worked in Dickinson for 4 years and never went to the Festival of Lights.  Not sure why, but it may have had something to do with wanting to get home and not hang around.  But now with a bunch of littles who love Christmas lights, I had motivation.  And did I mention it's a FREE event?!  Even better!  We met some friends and walked through the whole park which was decked out in 2 million lights {or so we were told}.  The kids loved all the scenes, decorating and eating cookies, but hated sitting on the Santa's lap.  Granted, this Santa had much to be desired.  All the Santa drama was quickly forgotten and Caroline even cried when it was time to go home.

Gammy and Alli at the UT longhorn (there was no Baylor Bear)

Leah with the light version of Santa

We tried.

The whole gang!

They loved decorating and eating cookies!

Zoo Lights
I was really looking forward to this event.  It did not disappoint.  Again, brought some friends along and met a few more there.  We walked all through the zoo which was covered in lights along with several special set ups {Can you say Thomas the Train??  My kids were mesmerized!}.  It was all truly spectacular!  Dave and I loved it as much as the kids.  Worth the money and planning to go again next year!  One of my favorite moments was when a firefighter came up to Andrew and told him his fireman hat was on backwards.  Ha!  Andrew always wears it backwards like a baseball cap.

One of the tunnels of light

Us  and our friend Clara checking out the train

Hi Ben

Hi Levi

Christmas Train
Another local event I had been waiting to try out!  Had family, friends, and even a few of my buddies from Houston Moms Blog meet us there.  A church and camp way out in Alvin country go all out with this Christmas train!  The train runs around the property and there are lights everywhere with fun scenes AND it tells the whole story of Jesus.  You can also see Santa, hear a story from Mrs. Claus, send letters to the North Pole, view an entire Christmas village and train set up {again, my kids were mesmerized}, and buy concessions.  We had a blast!

I think she liked it

Group selfie waiting for Mrs. Claus to begin

Andrew and Caroline staring at the Christmas village

Neighborhood Lights
For Houston Moms Blog I wrote a post about the best neighborhoods in Houston for Christmas lights and I had been to all but 2.  One is way far on the other side of town, but the other wasn't too far.  SO, once I got the idea in my head, I had to do it.  My parents came along with us and we ALL went to Chick Fil A for dinner.  {YES!  Everyone at a restaurant and they did great!} Then we headed to Pecan Grove in Richmond and all the hype was true!  The whole neighborhood was full of lights and some homes were down right incredible.  We all thoroughly enjoyed driving through Pecan Grove.

CFA awesome as always!

Fun Outings for Mom and Dad
With a little planning, Dave and I had our own fun too.  We went to his work Christmas party- seeing the Rockettes and a fancy dinner!  So. much. fun!  I had my own parties: Houston Moms Blog Favorite Things party with the other contributors.  We girls had a great time chatting and racking up the free goodies.  And my annual SNL Christmas with my college BFF.  Love any time we get to spend together.  Then I got a little crazy and ran a half marathon with my sister-in-law.  The Santa Hustle in Galveston was as Christmasy as a race could get with huge inflatables, cookies and candy everywhere, and people dressed up as Santa.  And for not being very prepared- AT ALL, I had a great race!

At the theater

Well, that was all we did leading up to Christmas.  It was quite jam packed!  Busy, but fun.  Next up will be the actual holiday.

Holiday Recap Part 1: Thanksgiving

I know.  I'm behind on posting as always.  This year the whole holiday season was so busy I was just trying to keep up!  Not that things will really slow down now that Christmas is over, but hopefully I can catch up on a few things- like blogging!

Now I'm taking it way back to Thanksgiving.  The saddest thing about our Thanksgiving was that somehow I took ZERO pictures the entire weekend!!  I had great intentions and we even discussed getting a picture of the whole extended family, but it never happened.  Regardless, you get to read all about it.

We spent Thanksgiving at Dave's parents' house in Austin.  We had previously deemed this the last trip of 2014, because I need a break from packing/unpacking and general travel stress.  Back to Thanksgiving.  For the first time we traveled at night.  Put the kids in their jammies, loaded the van and left about bedtime.  It worked out great!  They slept the entire ride and didn't fuss too much when we moved them to pack n plays upon our arrival.  The way home we traveled at nap time and they did fine- either napping or quietly looking out the window the majority of the ride.  Can't complain!

Thanksgiving Day was spent at a family friend's home.  The kids ate the dinner like everyone else except they had plastic plates, utensils, and cups.  They really did well sitting at the table and playing nicely while adults prepared and served food.  The rolls were by far their favorite item!  After lunch they napped and ended up getting pie for dinner (they napped way late and it just seemed appropriate for the occasion).

The rest of the weekend was spent hanging around the grandparents' home.  They loved running around the backyard, chalking up the patio, playing with trucks, blocks, and babies, jamming on the piano, reading, and going up and down the stairs.  One time we did take them to a local playground and, of course, they had a blast there!  My favorite moments were the cartwheel contest amongst the adults with the kids doing their version (rolling on the ground with legs straight up) next to us and Ashley and I creatively disposing of Allison's inconvenient poop at the park.

Even Maggie had a great time!  There were 3 other dogs there to keep her company.  And Dave and I both had mini-breaks from the kids.  I went shopping and to a movie with a sister-in-law and Dave saw a different movie with the guys.  We even had a date night!

Just one more story.  Perkins tradition on Thanksgiving is everyone has to say something significant they are thankful for before the feast begins.  I practiced with the kids all month asking them what they are thankful for.  Every time they all answered "MaMa, PaPa, Jeanie" (my grandparents and great aunt).  If they kept going you'd hear anything from friends or grandparents names to cookies.  On the actual day Ben and Allison were too shy to answer, Caroline said "MaMa", Levi said "Daddy", and Andrew said "Pop" (my dad).  So proud they actually participated and had reasonable answers :)

Happy Halloween

This Halloween was especially fun as the kids actually trick or treated for the first time!  Technically, it was their 3rd time to trick or treat, but in years past they were either carried or pulled in a wagon and never let out.

Between all of our  fall activities, I tried to prepare the kids for Halloween as best I could.  We read Halloween books during story time, watched a few Disney Junior Halloween themed shows, made ghosts from cotton balls and construction paper, colored pumpkins and wooden Halloween characters, and ate banana ghosts and Reese's witch broomsticks. I thought about carving a pumpkin, but then decided we needed a witch pumpkin instead.  

Wise decision, right?

But, in the end, Halloween is nothing without costumes and trick-or-treating.  The costumes this year were quite the international feat.  The pants we received from Dave's Thai coworkers (same ones worn for the 2014 TCH Bad Pants Day) and the tops were creations by a good friend of mine.  I described my vision and she just winged it on the design and sizing of the tops.  Amazing!!  Not only did they fit, but they were completely perfect and adorable too.  I called them genies, but you could also go with Thai/Arabian prince and princesses.  Whatever.

As usual, we had quite the entourage going around the block.  Three other families, my parents and grandparents, and a couple close friends.  Yeah, you could see us coming.  I started out carrying 5 of the candy buckets and 3 of the kids being carried.  Within a few houses, I was down to 3 buckets and only 1 kid was being carried.  They really caught on to the concept quickly!  But, candy does that to people.  They made it around the whole block and racked up some serious candy.  I have allowed them to eat some in very small portions as dessert.  They think it's amazing.

Caroline was the most entertaining trick-or-treater.  Several times she rang the doorbell and walked right on in when the neighbor opened the door.  Luckily she was bribed out with the candy bowl!  Speaking of, when the neighbor held the bowl for the kids to get their own candy, Caroline eagerly put both hands in every time trying to grab as much as she could.  Did I mention we have a ton of candy at our house right now?

Fall Bucket List

I have never done a seasonal bucket list before.  But I'm sold.

I made quite the ambitious list of outings and at-home activities for the Pack to do this fall.  And thanks to the trusty list and my master planner skills, we got every single item done!  {Even with a lovely week of stomach bug thrown in there to make things interesting}  I know you are on the edge of your seat waiting to read ALL about the fall bucket list fun... so without further ado...  here goes it...

Zoo

The zoo is nothing new for us, but this fall we went twice.  One time during Zoo Boo {a fun Halloween event with pumpkin patches and candy stations and cool decorations} and one time during a school field trip day {I have a knack for picking those days}.  Both visits I let the kids WALK the whole time- no stroller, no wagon.  Just the walking rope and plenty of helping hands to hold.  And it went surprisingly well!  Allison and Andrew were carried most of the time, Ben walked along slowly, Levi stayed with us but was pushing to go quicker, and Caroline was ready to go off and do her own thing so her hand had to be held.  Of course Leah was fabulous the whole time.  What has been most fun is that they're more into the animals.  They really like the aquarium, sea lions, elephants, giraffes, petting zoo, and the playground.

Barnes & Noble

We did a retry of this one since our last visit coincided with Batman Day.  Glad we did!  It wasn't crowded at all so we had full reign of the coloring sheets and train table.  Unfortunately the train table only had 2 trains, so next time I'll bring a few extra.  The highlight was snagging this cute pictures of all 6 together:

Visiting Friends and Family

We made the long trek to the other side of Pearland {kinda joking kinda true} to visit one of our great friends and regular helper at her house!  The kids had a ball exploring the new environment and eating special snacks.  My grandparents came too and I think my grandpa wouldn't have minded if we left him in the media room.

Also on the list was to visit my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew who live in another area of Houston. We all had a great time playing ball, bubbles, hide and seek, and exploring outside!  The kids gobbled up pizza for dinner {I'm talking some serious pizza eating here} and we ended the fun with a dance party!  You know that's my jam.

Children's Museum

This was our first visit.  I have been avoiding it due to the price, but thanks to Groupon we were able to swing it this once.  On this particular day I had decided Andrew and Allison had to use their legs and walk- no crying and being carried around all day!  Unfortunately for my helpers and I, Andrew put up quite the battle.  It took us 30 minutes to get from the car to the toddler area.  But we got there.  And he wasn't carried.

Once we were inside, they all had a blast!  It really is a neat setup for little ones.  Once we got the cues they were hungry, we headed to the cafe for lunch.  They were all wonderful eating in the cafe!  I was surprised/impressed myself.  The best part?  They ALL walked back to the car with no big meltdowns- took 10 minutes.  HA!

Brazoria County Fair

My grandparents volunteer at the fair every year and have been waiting for the kids to be old enough to enjoy at least one aspect of the fair.  This year I knew they'd love the animals!  So one morning we loaded up and headed to the County Fairgrounds.  We started out in the learning center with a fake cow to milk, stick horse races, and a petting zoo with goats, bunnies, sheep, and a donkey.  Then we made our way around the show animals: pigs, rabbits, cows, horses, chickens, and turkeys.  They really enjoyed seeing rows and rows of animals.  We ended our visit with a picnic lunch and a special treat of funnel cake!  I mean, what kind of trip to the fair would it be without funnel cake?!  And, surprise, they couldn't get enough.

Pumpkin Patch

Last year I debated a visit to a pumpkin patch and decided against it.  This year I decided we could handle it.  Especially with my parents in town to help :)  We chose to go to a small patch at a nearby church.  Great decision!  Plenty of pumpkins to choose from, a couple of cute set ups for pics, an enclosed playground, a train ride, and a huge pumpkin chunkin catapult were all there.  We spent most of the time at the playground, but the girls were pretty interested in picking out pumpkins.  Caroline was getting quite frustrated that she couldn't lift most of the pumpkins.

She eventually found some smaller ones she could handle- then put them in someone else's wagon!  Our attempted family picture has much to be desired, but we survived it, found the perfect pumpkin to keep, and got out with only one meltdown.  Success indeed.

Parks

We LOVE parks!!!  Especially in glorious fall weather.  One day Dave and I were feeling ambitious and took all the kids and dog to a close by tiny park (I call them pocket parks) in our neighborhood.  Perfect for our kids!  The right size equipment, enclosed, and no one else there.  On one visit there was another child there, but it didn't take long for us to scare the poor kid away.  Pretty sure he was overwhelmed.  We have also discovered a not too far away big park that has plenty of stuff for little ones to do.  They have a blast, burn tons of energy, and we enjoy watching them and sometimes joining in too!  Even Leah gets in on the action- I take her down the slides with me.  Seeing her face light up is priceless!

Fun Around Town

Going back in time to do a little catch up here.  Like before Florida and before I started in on the fall bucket list of fun.

The Little Gym

I couldn't pass up this Houston Mom's Blog play date!  Much closer than the last one we traveled to AND Chick-Fil-A was the snack sponsor.  The play date consisted of an hour long Little Gym class (we attended the 3 and under group) followed by a Chick-Fil-A lunch and a craft!  They started out on the timid side when the class began and were quite clingy during the Mommy & Me part (in our case it was Mommy/whoever Mommy convinced to tag along & Me), but they warmed up as the class got going.  The boys really got into it and enjoyed the inflatable jumping, bar swinging, balance beam, and climbing on whatever they could.  Allison was clingy to us unless the teacher was with her one-on-one.  Then all of a sudden she could do what was asked.  Caroline stuck to herself and did what she wanted to do.  She particularly liked this one apparatus she could climb and slide down.

Of course they all dug into the lunch and really liked their first tasted of Chick-Fil-A lemonade.  The craft was a little much for my crew, so they just colored instead.  And if you know my crew, you know they LOVE to color.  We ended the play date by picking up our favors: stuffed Chick-Fil-A cows and coupons!!  This event was so worth the $5/kid!!

Bad Pants

Another fun event!  This one is near and dear to our hearts as it supports the Texas Children's Hospital NICU.  Their big fundraiser each year is the Bad Pants Open Golf Tournament.  Leading up to it, they have hosted a Bad Pants Fashion Show in the past.  We participated in the fashion show last year.  This year they changed it up a bit: Bad Pants Day!  Rather than a fashion show highlighting the NICU graduates, they honored the NICU nurses with a break in their schedule.  We were honored to be the featured family and it just happened to be on the 2 year anniversary of Leah coming home from the NICU!  

We donned our bad pants (the kids' pants were gifts from Dave's Thai coworkers when we visited last spring), gathered up our entourage, and headed for the hospital.  They were so sweet to provide toys for the kids and lunch for everyone.  We had a great time playing and visiting with our old nurses and doctors.  No one could believe how big they have gotten!  Hopefully they keep inviting us back :)

Birthday Parties

We were able to attend 2 birthday parties recently.  The kiddos are sort of kind of getting the concept.  But really I think they just get excited to eat lots of cake.  

The first party was at a fantastic park.  They loved the playground and the play doh and coloring stations.  Then ELMO showed up!  Ben and Levi were fascinated, while Andrew and Allison were spooked, and Caroline was off doing Caroline things.  Typical.  After Elmo photo ops, it was cake time.  They wasted no time digging in!  They had a great time and it was hard getting them to leave!

The second party was a Frozen themed swimming party.  You better believe the second Caroline saw that pool she was getting in it.  Andrew was right behind her.  I just keep those 2 in floaties when water is nearby.  Actually, all 6 got in the pool at some point!  They had a blast swimming and of course dug into the cake and snacks.  We left with an invitation to come back anytime, so I guess they were fairly well behaved.  Again, another fun party they did not want to leave!  

Color Fun Fest 5K

It's no secret that I'm a runner.  And it's no secret that I can't wait to get my kids involved in the running community (2 more years to Kids K domination).  One type of event is definitely on my bucket list: a Color Run!  I see pics of my friends doing these all of the time and they look like a blast!  But, unfortunately for me, the kids are too young and my schedule's too crazy for me to attempt a Color 5K just yet.  BUT, that doesn't mean you have to miss out!!

The Color Fun Fest 5k is coming to Houston Saturday November 1st at the Sam Houston Race Park!!!

So... What's the Color Fun Fest?

An amazing adventure of an event!  You run through 4 color stations on a 5k course to finish looking like a human rainbow.  Next up is the post race party!  And more color!  Color fire extinguishers and the EPICOLORTOSS (imagine simultaneous color packets thrown throughout the crowd all at the same time!) will happen.  

Why do this?

Color Fun Fest 2014 has partnered with Free Arts for Abused Children to be the primary beneficiary charity.  This organization helps children with adverse pasts overcome their past through creativity and expression.  How great is that?!  There are also several local charities involved in the event as well. And all ages are welcome!  Truly a family fun event.

Details please...

When: Saturday November 1st  between 2-10pm.  The day run is at 5pm and the night run is at 7pm.  That means you have 2 options to fit in your schedule!

Where: Sam Houston Race Park 
              7575 North Sam Houston Parkway West

              Houston, Texas 77064

And here's the best part...

If you use the discount code PERKINSPACK tickets are only $25!!!
So go register right now!

Beach Babies

I have deemed 2014 the year of travel for the Perkins family.  We have taken more trips (solo and as a family) this year than any other year since Dave and I were married.  Still a couple more after Florida, but you'll just have to wait to hear about those!

I won the trip to St. Pete's Beach, Florida from the Unstoppable Mom contest on the Live with Kelly & Michael Show back in March.  I chose to take the trip in September in order to space out our family trips and miss the big crowds since school was back in session.  I only had a couple of weeks between Montana and Florida, and as the Florida trip date approached, I wasn't very excited about it.  The thought of packing everything and doing another long road trip was wearing me out.  But, plans had been made, so I packed.

There was no way Dave and I were taking our 6 toddlers to the beach alone.  His mom rode with us in the van and my parents flew to Tampa and met us there.  We all had separate rooms at the hotel which was much nicer than in NYC when we were crammed in the same space.  We made the drive in just under 16 hours.  Like Colorado, we did it all in one day.  Unlike Colorado, the kids were about as well behaved as could be expected.  The big boys were fully entertained by trucks driving by and the rest were entertained with music and snacks and books.  They are only 2, so of course there was whining, but a tolerable amount.  The drive home was equivalent to the drive there- a success in my book.

We stayed at the Trade Winds Resort in St. Pete's Beach, FL.  They were very accommodating and I highly recommend it for a family vacation.  Lots to do for all ages!  Being there at the end of September was great.  It wasn't crowded at all- we often had the pool to ourselves and plenty of room on the beach and no wait at restaurants.  It did rain almost everyday, but only during nap times or the evening, so it never spoiled our plans.

Everyday we did the same thing, but it was perfect!  We spent the first part of the morning on the beach then switched to the kiddie pool area.  We either had a picnic lunch by the pool or ate in the room and put kids to nap.  The kids slept great the whole week.  I had intentions of doing activities on my own during naps, but I chose to just relax instead.  After naps we either went back to the pool or explored the grounds.  There was mini golf, a walking path, pedal boats, and lots of space for chase and hide and seek.  The resort had a designated dog play and walk area; it was marked by painted paw prints that looked like Blue's Clues.  So, of course we had to play "Blue's Clues" one day by finding all of the "clues" on the path.  The kids loved it!

We generally just got food to go and ate in the room, but one night Dave and I had a dinner date, and another night we took the kids to their first real restaurant meal!  With 5 adults it wasn't difficult to keep everyone under control, and the kids really did just fine.  Dave and I enjoyed our couple of hours away too.

It came as no surprise that everyone loved the pool area.  By the end of the week, Caroline and Andrew were jumping to us in the water and floating around on their own (wearing Puddle Jumpers).  The beach went fairly well.  Caroline loved everything about it- even the 2 story tall inflatable slide!  She begged to get on the slide and we eventually gave in and I held her the whole time.  Ben loved being buried in the sand- even more than Caroline!  Andrew liked the lounge chairs, but we did get him in the water the last day.  Allison and Levi varied upon the day, but we did get them in the water before the trip was over.  They all loved hunting for seashells and digging in the sand and destroying Daddy's sandcastles.  Another big hit was the balcony.  They spent lots of time watching for animals (i.e. seagulls, fish, and swans in the pond below our room).

The one thing that was NOT a hit was the elevator.  The first time they walked on just fine, looked a little nervous when the door closed, and then completely freaked out when it started moving!  I'm talking total meltdowns x 5.  Leah was fine as she's used to elevators.  A couple of days in everyone had adjusted but Andrew.  He would cry the entire time up until the last day and a half.  He graduated to quietly whimpering.

All in all we had a great trip!!  Definitely plan to do another beach trip in the future- but we'll pick a closer beach :)