It really starts to feel like Christmas when we meet at Champions for our annual family lunch, and that we did last Saturday.  We had our wedding reception there almost 6 years ago, and it's always fun to go back and take pictures in front of their gorgeous trees.






Last Saturday night we already had a babysitter (for Jeremy's company party which was then cancelled), so Jeremy got us tickets to see the Nutcracker.  We had dinner at Hearsay and walked to the Wortham, and our seats were amazing - 5th row!




Sunday night we marked another Christmas tradition off the list - we went to see the crazy house is Briar Grove Park.  It was probably 80 degrees and 100 per cent humidity, but I'm glad Sawyer got to see it!





We've been busy online shopping and wrapping over here... I am ready to get my final packages via UPS on the 24th and packing my wrapping stuff away until next year.  Our dining room table is a wreck right now.  We'll be going to church tomorrow afternoon and will see Jeremy's family for dinner, then should have a relaxing morning at home on Christmas Day and dinner at my dad's, and will see my mom on the 26th (after she and I go shopping at the Container Store first thing that morning!).  I found out I got 10 days vacation effective December 1 (we're not allowed to take vacation for our first 6 months my company) so Jeremy and I will both be off work until January 2 - yahoo!

Wimsgiving = Wimberley + Thanksgiving

This year we rented a house along the river in Wimberley with Jeremy's family for Thanksgiving.  It was beautiful scenery and so much fun to spend time with our niece, Lauren.  We drove up Wednesday, celebrated birthdays we'd missed and settled in.  Thursday we had Thanksgiving lunch and took long naps, and the boys went to Austin for the TCU game.  Friday us girls spent the day in Gruene shopping and eating - I forgot what a cute little town it is!  Saturday we  went to the Salt Lick and packed, and Sunday we parted ways until Lauren's birthday in March.

Some pictures...

We took Sawyer to his first UT football game in November.  The weather was decent and it was an 11AM game against Iowa State, so we figured it was as good a time as any!  We made it a quick trip and drove up and back same-day, and we also got to attend the SRD (my mom's, sister's and my college dorm!) 90th Anniversary party.  The game part was a little stressful for me... and so not totally enjoyable.  Sawyer and I stuck around until almost half-time, walked down and had a snack with daddy, and then we took a leisurely walk back to the car through campus and waited for the game to end.  We walked all around the Art School and Law School, and Sawyer napped in the car while I enjoyed an iced chai and some quiet time.  Daddy and Pops got to watch the game in peace until the end - win/win!  After the game, we picked Jeremy up and headed to SRD to meet my mom, sister, her boyfriend, and my brother.  Seeing SRD brought back such great memories!!  We had BBQ outside and got to indulge in their famous CCB (chocolate cookie balls - ice cream covered in crushed Oreo cookies and topped with hot fudge!).  So a stressful morning turned into a very fun afternoon, and we were home by dinnertime.

Sawyer's opinion on going to his first football game... he loves his Longhorns, so he was excited to see everything.  He was very upset he couldn't go on the field and play ball - we had some tears in the stands.  It was lunch and nap time, and with all the noise, I think it was overwhelming.  But when he looks back at pictures he still tells me that was the day he got to see the Longhorns play football so I guess we made some good memories!

Here's to getting the blog caught up before the new year! (Also: this post brought to you by Zyrtec for keeping me awake all night and able to find some blog time!)

Last year Halloween was a little sad with no trick-or-treaters and a sick kiddo.  This year we tried to have a lot more fun!

Sunday afternoon before Halloween the whole family met at my mom's house for our traditional pumpkin carving.  Sawyer wasn't hugely interested, but he was a good sport and I had fun!




Tuesday night, October 30, Sawyer and I met my dad and family at Champions for a family fried chicken dinner.  They had some special Halloween things outside - little games and activities for the kids, and then some kid-friendly treats to go with dinner.  It was good to take the costume for a test drive, and fun for some family to see Sawyer all dressed up!  (No pictures... I was single parenting!)

Wednesday night we took Sawyer up to church/school for the Fall Festival.  It was too warm for his costume and really overwhelming with people, so we didn't stay too long, but I'm glad we went.  Trick-or-treating doesn't really happen in our neighborhood so it was a good option for us this year.







As you can tell, we lost the costume halfway through our time at the Festival.  We found the "preschool" area and it was much more Sawyer's speed.  He loved the large, open bouncy thing and a table full of rice.  We stopped by Lolly and Pops' house on our way home to get a little more use out of the costume!






We had fun celebrating, despite the warm weather.  I'm hoping for lower temperatures next year! :)

A Halloween craft with mommy

Playing with stickers

New favorite gel nail color - OPI James Bond 'Skyfall' Collection

New nails + new magazine = happy mommy.

Sawyer has been fun leading up to Halloween - he's understanding holidays and the activities that go with them more and more.  It makes me very excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas!  He has been talking about going to see pumpkins non-stop, so we took him to Dewberry Farm a couple weeks ago.  It was crowded and hot (I got a sunburn!), but we did some fun things.

This tire provided much entertainment while Dad waited in line for tickets!

Slightly unimpressed with the pumpkin patch

Fireman Sawyer

My guys! I love this picture!

Proof I was there.

The only way he'd take a picture with the pumpkins.

He is still talking about this "Longhorn" tractor-train.

Sawyer and Daddy on the giant slide!

Last night, Jeremy and I were able to attend Feast with the Beasts, an event held at the Houston Zoo with 60 different food tents serving small bites followed by a Blues Traveler concert.  We had so much fun!  My sister and her boyfriend came with us, and we met up with our friends Tracy and Kevin (this was their 4th year to attend - it helped having old pros!).  We didn't see many animals out, but they did have a few special animal feedings we could watch.  We watched a cougar feeding with a chicken on a string (no lie!) and a piranha feeding with squid (gross!).  We heard they were going to feed hyenas a goat on a zipline, but we missed that one.  Our favorite food stops were Taste of Texas serving beef tenderloin and a little square of pecan pie, The Bird and the Bear serving shrimp and grits, RA Sushi serving our favorite sushi roll - the Tootsie Maki, The Glass Wall serving smoked gouda mac-n-cheese with beef short rib, Sambuca serving some sort of goat cheese and artichoke concoction, Merlion on 4th serving very spicy Thai shrimp curry, BLU Restaurant serving a lamb samosa with pineapple salsa, Local Foods serving truffle egg salad, and Nothing Bundt Cakes serving the most amazing red velvet mini-bundt I've ever had.  So much food, so much fun!  Blues Traveler was pretty good - I know Kevin, Wilson and Jeremy enjoyed them.  They provided decent background music for Tracy and I to chat.

Skinny John Popper

Proof we were there!

A few more random pictures:

Our favorite Sunday afternoon activity - riding the train around Hermann Park

Relaxin' before bedtime

Sawyer - Super Longhorn/Lumberjack

Even more relaxation before school

We have been enjoying the cooler weather (some days!).  A few other fun things we've done, with no pictures:
-Emily and I went to the Biscuit store opening and got to meet Bailey!
-I met up with Pam and Sarah for a post-wedding and honeymoon debrief, dinner at Torchy's Tacos, and seeing Pitch Perfect
-Lots of zoo trips and train rides
-I went to a work away-day with our group and we toured a capping stack facility (incredibly interesting technology - it was so cool!), then had lunch downtown and bowled at Lucky Strike.

Happy Fall, Y'all!  It's here!