What we've been up to lately...

I can't say that I've been very good at taking pictures this past month or so, but I have been better than other months! Things have been fun, crazy and busy. But I thought I'd let y'all know what we've been up to.
Of course, living on an island in the gulf has its perks! One of those things is the beautiful beaches and one of the others is the warm weather in the fall and winter months! Gotta take advantage of it! We love going for walks on the beach and so does the little lady! She just wishes we'd let her really get dirty in the sand more often! And let her put all of the seaweed into her mouth! Ick!


The firemen came to storytime at the library one day. Lydia could have cared less about them. But she did enjoy the truck!


We had a bonfire with some friends out at Crystal Beach (for those who aren't familiar with the area, Crystal Beach is on a peninsula that we get to ride a ferry out to from Galveston.) That was by far the best bonfire I have ever done! The wind was blowing in the same direction off the water all evening and kept the smoke from the fire going in the same direction! So, we could sit around the fire without getting blown by smoke and smelling like it for days afterwards! It was amazing! Plus you can't beat ditching the group for a little bit to take a moonlit stroll on the beach! Amazing! And Lydia loved getting dirty in the sand (and taking a few handfuls of it to the mouth)!

Lydia went on her second plane trip to Washington for Thanksgiving. This is her on one of the better flights! She loved playing on the tray! Luckily we got the whole row for 3 out of 4 of the flights.

Lydia slowly warmed up to the cat during her time at grandma and grandpa's. At first she enjoyed looking at him from a distance, but would cry when the cat made any sudden jumps that scared her. But by the end of the trip she did not let the cat rest in peace! Luckily the cat was very patient with all her poking and prodding!

Washington was sooooo cold! I could have gone without seeing snow this year! Lydia didn't know what to think getting bundled up so much! (Do you like our way of bundling her up since we are from an island?!!! We don't really have snowboots and heavy coats! But we had already gotten her a warm hat and gloves.)
Lydia discovered fallen leaves! She picked a favorite one and carried it around with her.

We were fortunate to make it up to my grandma's house while we were in Washington. We went for a walk around my grandpa's grave. I think it was good for me to get to visit and try to find some closure. I still have a hard time believing that he's not physically here sometimes. (This is a picture of us with grandpa's grave and my Uncle Mark and Grandma Matthews.)

Three out of Four of the generations. Mom, you need to come up with us sometime so that we can get all 4 generations! Lydia loved her great grandma though!

After coming back from Washington, we thawed out and enjoyed some time outdoors. Lydia is a big fan of the swings and even tried out the slide on her own! I'm not sure how much she liked it. She smiled at the top and then smiled when I caught her at the bottom. But all in between was a look of terror!

We went to the Festival of Lights at Moody Gardens. It was such an amazingly beautiful night! And the lights were so original!

And there you have it. That's some of the things we've been doing the past month. Also mixed in is David studying like crazy. He has 2 more tests next week before Christmas break. And also trying to get everything ready for Christmas. It's been fun though!