Schlitterbahn Christmas

The kids got out of school at noon yesterday so we headed to Schlitterbahn’s Hill Country Christmas. Schlitterbahn is the biggest water park in Texas, but for Christmas they transformed it into a winter wonderland with more than 1.5 million lights. BEAUTIFUL! There was an ice skating rink, sledding, a few rides, light shows, and even falling snow (soap suds). We had a great time enjoying the beautiful lights and Christmas music. Taylor, Lexi, Morgan, Taylor (Morgan’s friend) and Rick skated for quite a while. When Taylor quit, Barret put on her skates and hit the ice…literally. He held onto the side and went all the way around the rink once and thought that was good enough! It was a fun night and we really enjoyed all the Christmas lights.

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas!

We saw snowflakes! There might have only been enough in all of Salado to make one snowball, but we saw them! The next morning the yard was kissed with frost, which made us think snow!

We have a tradition each December to go to the Salado parade. It is our favorite parade! We drink hot chocolate and eat cookies. (Wyatt and I made sugar cookies this year-yummy!) The parade is short and sweet, but this year it was REALLY SHORT! I didn't even finish drinking my cocoa! It was still fun and we enjoyed cheering for our friends from school and people we know. It made us laugh and enjoy the Christmas season even more.

O Christmas Tree~why do we have 5?

It's official, I'm ready for Christmas. I have never been finished this early! It is a great feeling. Michelle and I decorated the day before Thanksgiving and I love how we did it this year. Michelle found a 12 ft tree for me last year for 90% off! It required an 8 ft ladder to decorate the thing, but it turned out really pretty. It is done in browns, reds, and golds. She has horse feathers and glittery sticks sticking out of it everywhere. The pictures really don't do it justice. The kids each decided they needed their own tree in their rooms. With their own money, they bought the tree and picked out their ornaments. Each of them are so cute and really emulate their personalities. I have plugged in the balsam scented wall flowers and loaded my I pod with only Christmas music so it is a Christmas wonderland at the Schoenrocks!

I Have Braces!

While scrolling through pictures for Thanksgiving I saw pictures of Taylor and realized I needed to blog them~ I didn't do it right away because she wanting to surprise Grandma, Michelle and Kiley. So...November 19, Taylor had braces put on! Her teeth were pretty straight on the top, but the bottoms were overcrowed. She was so excited! When they finished putting them on, she sat up, smiled really big and said, "I have Braces!" It was really cute. I think she looks great with them and so does she. Can't wait to see the finished SMILE.

Thanksgiving

Well Thanksgiving was a lot of fun this year! Unfortunately, I didn't take many pictures. We had family come in from all over and it couldn't have been any better. Todd packed the week with so many activities there was no time for anyone to say "I'm Bored". The festivities started with a big golfing trip to Conroe and then to take a look at Amber Springs, the newest Texas Old Town. I stayed home to decorate for Christmas...I'll post photos later. The next day was a trip to a paintball course. 10 and older were involved in this battle. It sounded like a great time! When I asked Taylor where she hurt, she rubbed her entire left leg and said, "right around here". Everyone was boasting about their trophies aka bruises. Paul's back was so bruised it looked like he was wearing a polka-dot shirt! I think I made a good choice by shopping that day and not enduring the pain. Then there was more golfing, movies, shooting contests, visiting and of course, eating all mixed into the remainder of the week. Our Thanksgiving dinner was WONDERFUL! There was so much food that it literally hurt! The turkeys arrived a little late (after we were finished eating, but no one seemed to mind.) The girls decided to go shopping from 10pm -4am at the outlets. Wow! We can just say that we made some great memories. We stood in line for hours, but we had a great time doing it. We were so loud and obnoxious that at one point, we left the line at Target and the crowd cheered! Funny night! The kids had a great time too. They spent the night with all the cousins and had fun playing in the dirt, video game competitions, watching BYU games and dancing! Like I said before, a great week with the family!

Boys And Their Toys

Taylor got a mini bike for her birthday a couple years ago and never really loved it. The first day Barret fell off of it and then Paul stepped on him so...needless to say he was leery of it as well. I thought hard about selling it but changed my mind hoping that someone would like it because it is so cute. Well, Paul ordered some training wheels and Wyatt has found his new love. We have it turned down really low. You can walk faster than it goes full throttle but, he doesn't care. He thinks he is so cool when he gets on that thing and rides.

We went down to Kyle for the weekend and stayed with my mom and dad. (They are in the middle of building an amazing house.) While we were there, Paul came in laughing his head off. My dad has a new Ford F250 pick up. It is really nice and he promised everyone that he would keep this one up. His last truck, the Hombre, disintegrated! Anyway, after having the truck for only a couple months, the tail gate has a huge dent in it and the side mirror broke. Poor guy. When anyone brings it up he gets so frustrated. It is just not in the cards for him to have a nice truck. So Paul took a picture of his mirror...He fixed it redneck style with a aqua blue hand-held vanity mirror. Amazing what you can do with duct tape! Nice real Nice! ha ha (Hi"Larry"ious)

Back In The Cattle Again

This is the first year we didn't put a crop in the ground and it is a little strange to think that I don't have to worry about the weather anymore. We decided to sell off the farmland and let the leases go back. Our farm life is over. I say this with a sad heart. As a kid, I wanted to marry a farmer because I didn't ever want to ever move again. I loved my life as a farmer's wife and enjoyed all (well, most of) the little things that it included. I wanted my kids to be raised on a farm so they would learn how to work hard, but life didn't work out that way. Too many things made it impossible to keep at it. So here we are... in a neighborhood and actually loving it. We did keep 122 acres. Paul (and Wyatt) worked on the fence and and cattle pens this summer and it is finally ready to put the cows back on. Paul went to the cattle auction and brought back 22 pair to join our bull. It was a good feeling to go out and see that we still had a piece of the country.