Christmas 2013 was so much fun! I talked a little about it here, but I now have pictures!
I'll start off with the Austin Trail of Lights. I went this year with my husband and sister - and we had a blast! Our transportation to the park was via a school bus that was decorated on the inside for a contest through the school system. Pretty neat! However, it didn't feel quite like Christmas. You see, the night we attended this, it was 80 degrees outside. It's just not Christmas when you're sweating!
This past Friday, although it was after Christmas, we decided to go through the Round Rock's Rockin' Holiday Lights Tour - it's a drive through trail of lights, which was awesome!

Well, it was awesome up until my genius of a husband decided to lose his shoe. Yes, you read that right. Redneck much?! He was driving, and we had the windows rolled down to take pictures of all of the displays. Well, for some unknown reason, he decided to put one of his crocs (shoe) on top of the car. That's right, on top of the car! Well, it wasn't a problem until he sped up and seemingly lost his shoe. After the gorgeous tunnel of lights (as seen above...super cool!), he checked, and his shoe was gone. Well, there were cars behind us, so we had to just finish out the tour. Then, we went back through again! We attempted not to have to pay a second time, but for some reason *rolls eyes*, they just didn't believe him when he said he lost his shoe on the trail and wanted to go back through to retrieve it. Y'all. MY HUSBAND LOST HIS SHOE AT A DRIVE-THRU TRAIL OF LIGHTS! Seriously! I can't make this stuff up! I was a little upset pissed at the time, but then had to laugh it off. So, we paid the entrance fee again and went back through. Luckily, we had an idea of where he lost it. Of course, just driving through wasn't enough for us to locate a BLACK croc in the dark...go figure! He pulled off into a parking lot and then walked {barefoot} with his phone for a flashlight until he located it. Get this...apparently, the shoe was underneath a car that was going through, so he nicely asked the gentleman to move his car. I can only imagine the look on that man's face! Ahahahahaha! Priceless, I tell ya! Priceless. And now, we have an everlasting joke - he's never going to live this one down! He ultimately paid for his shoe twice. Once when they were bought, and again to retrieve it at the trail of lights! Never a dull moment...
We spent Christmas Day with Colten's parents: lunch at his mom's and supper at his dad's. We got lots of goodies - Colten cleaned up with all things Duck Dynasty from his mom and step-dad, including shirts, a hoodie, pants, a cup, etc. I got a matching necklace and ring from Kay's {black diamonds, I'm in love!}, a handmade scarf from Colten's 3rd grade teacher {that thing is gorgeous!}, and a cross for my cross wall at home. :) We also got Starbucks gift cards from his sister - score! We then enjoyed some Fruit Ninja on the Xbox and took a walk after eating a huge lunch!
My absolute
favorite gifts this year came from my aunt and uncle. We did 'couples' gifts this year: each couple drew another couple's name and had to get a gift for said couple. It ended up being a lot harder than I thought! Regardless, the gifts from my aunt and uncle, who had our names, were just amazing!
So, the above may look like just a piece of wood with some knobs on it, which it is. However, I later learned that this piece of wood is
special. It's from my grandparents' barn on their property! My aunt and uncle grabbed it up and added the hardware to it to match our decor! It's seriously such a special gift, especially having to experience Christmas this year without any living grandparents. It was
hard, to say the least. When I learned of where this wood came from, I cried. I will cherish this piece forever! Thank you so much Aunt Loretta and Uncle Dan! As you can tell, I had to hang it up
right away! I just love, love, love it!
So, overall, this Christmas was hectic and we drove all over the place, but we spent it with lots of family and love, and it's one I'll never forget!