Christmas 2015 | Austin & San Antonio

After celebrating with our little family at home in Dallas, we packed up and headed southbound 35 on Christmas night.

On Saturday, we spent the day at Grampsie and Nana's house with the Bratton side of the family.



Starting with puzzles and mimosas (my kind of morning), we cooked, ate, drank, opened presents, and played all day (my kind of day).

In case you were wondering, it is possible to drink a beer whilst wearing oven mittens.

It is also possible to build a Barbie tower of terror using Lincoln Logs.

Such a wonderful Christmas celebration at the Bratton house.

The next day, all six of my siblings plus Josh, Nello, and Bru went to see the new Star Wars movie.

In 3D!

After the movie, it was time to celebrate Christmas at Bunny and Nello's house (more presents + more delicious food). My Mom attempted prime rib and yorkshire pudding for the first time. And it was amazing.

Monday morning, we hopped in the car again for a trip down to San Antonio to visit with Josh's parents. 

His Aunt Jeanne stopped by as well and was sweet enough to take a bunch of photos...

After our Christmas marathon, Josh flew back to Dallas on Tuesday, but I stayed down in Austin with the kids through Thursday morning. They got in lots of play time at Bunny's house.

I was also able to enjoy two nights out with some of my best girl friends.

Tuesday night I joined Lauren at Launderette, which totally lived up to the hype. The food and service were both amazing, and the atmosphere in the laundromat-turned-restaurant was so fun...and so Austin. We were even able to sit on the patio due to an abundance of heaters. Highly recommend.

On Wednesday night, Lolly joined me after dinner for a wine flight at The Grove.

It was such a wonderful week visiting with family and friends. And to top it all off, my Mom kept the kids for two extra nights so Josh and I could enjoy a little New Year's staycation in Dallas.

We had such a wonderful Christmas break. And needless to say, heading back to reality after two weeks off was rough.

Christmas 2015 | Dallas

It may be late-January already, but I've still got to get these Christmas recaps up here for posterity. Plus, it adds a little holiday cheer to an otherwise cold, boring, and slightly depressing month.

We spent the week leading up to Christmas at home in Dallas. 

We got a new tree-topper this year…a cross-eyed angel that I just couldn't pass up.

Unlike years past, I managed to wrap all the family presents a week early (thanks to a marathon wrapping session made possible by Adele, Love Actually, and lots of wine).

The kids' school was closed for two weeks, and I saved up enough vacation days to join in on the Christmas break fun with these two little monkeys.

Luckily the weather was amazing, so in addition to completing our advent activities, we were able to spend lots of time outside.

Josh got to join us at home on Christmas Eve, and we enjoyed another relaxing day. Ava and I were even able to slip off for a mani-pedi date, complete with snowman nails for her...

And an iced coffee for me (there is something very odd about enjoying cold coffee whilst celebrating Christmas...only in Texas.)

Since it was just the four of us, we outsourced our Christmas Eve dinner to Chuy's, which may be one of the best decisions I've ever made. Especially because, even though we were good about getting all the other presents wrapped well in advance, Santa had some work to do!

I thought that Ava "got" the whole Santa thing last year, but the anticipation and excitement this year was even greater. After waiting patiently for Ry to wake up, she made a beeline for the living room.

"Whoa" :). 

And while he didn't really understand that it was coming, Rylan was more than happy to participate in the Christmas-morning gift opening bonanza.

In addition to the joint soccer goal gift, Santa brought them each a book with a "matching" toy...

One other book each...

 And a few toys…

Rylan got a bubble mower, remote-control car, vehicle magnets, and monster bowling. 

And Ava got a LeapPad along with a case and headphones, art supplies, and a kitty.

And, of course, the stockings were also full of goodies (my favorite part).

Josh and I got each other stockings full of fun gifts as well, but I clearly didn't manage to capture any of that on film.

Ava and Rylan also got a few things from us (Santa couldn't get all the credit), and we kept with the "something you'll wear, something you'll read, something you want, something you need" mantra.

Ava's favorite gifts were definitely the LeapPad, glow-in-the-dark stars (which are already displayed proudly on her ceiling), kitty, and "jewl-ry" kit.

Rylan's favorites were the bubble mower and the remote-control car, which emits some sweet, dance-provoking jams...

But I think he would have been happy with just an orange roll.

That smiling face totally depicts our Christmas day. And we weren't even close to being done with celebrating.