We have had a full week of Christmas fun celebrating with Ty's family this year. He has a large family with lots of extensions which calls for much celebration this time of year. We spent a good deal of time last week in Marshall with Ty's dad and stepmom. It's always great to be outside at their ranch and just let the kids run and play. Ty set up his Quick Start tennis and played quite a bit with our brother-in-law, Jose. The kids took lots of rides on Pop's Rhino and saw the cows, played in the hay, went fishing, and played in the leaves.
The kids with Pops on the Rhino
Gracie girl
Jake caught his first fish (and then 5 more!)
Pops and Nonnie kept the kids one night and we had a nice dinner with Jason and Jolie, and then one day we all kept Elsie Jane for the day while they worked so that she could play with her cousins. She is so hilarious! She and Jake sat on the Rhino today and she said they were on a date to the Macaroni Grill. After lunch, they watched Finding Nemo and ate popcorn to end their "date." Never mind that she is just 4 and that they are cousins. Grace was enamored by her big cousin and followed her around constantly.
Miss Elsie Jane
Gracie with EJ
Aunt Casey and the girls
The four youngest grandkids
We also got to spend great quality time with Mark, Destin, and Nash. Grace and Nash were so precious together. They would fight and then quickly hug, kiss, and make up. It was so neat to see them so close developmentally and see the things they do similarly. Grace fell in love with her Uncle Mark and declared that he was her favorite person to play with.
in the hay
in the bath…
Cousin kisses
We also got to see Eric, Jill, and the boys and spend time with them. We're blessed with a wonderfully big family.
Matt and Zach
Casey, Destin, Nash, and Ty
Lots of family!
The night before Christmas...
Christmas day we headed over to Louisiana to spend the day with the Cochran's and celebrate Cochran Christmas. We had a nice dinner and then participated in the 5th Cochran Fear Factor. Ty's parents and Aunt and Uncle put it on for all of the cousins and their spouses. The first part was fun with competing in the XBox virtual river rafting game. Ty and I came in an impressive second place. Then we had a fishing event in which we didn't quite fare so well. I'm not the best fisherman :) The last event was the unfortunate part, the eating competition. Each couple had to feed each other sardines, twinkies, and a habanaro pepper without using our hands. It was utterly disgusting…Ty and I finished our plate and there is a video of it, but I'll refrain from posting it! Ty's cousin Klint and his wife Tonia won again for the third year. I'm pretty sure that we will all revolt in the future and this may be the end of Fear Factor. Or, we would gladly turn the tables and let the older adults play next time :) We all love the competition just not the food! It was great to spend time with Ty's cousins and their kids…it's fun to see how all of our families have expanded over the last few years.
Aunt Kaye and Grace
Kennedy and Jake watching Dora on Katie's iPhone
We came home late Christmas night and Mark and Destin came to Conroe for a few days so we had some added bonus time with them and Nash. We had Christmas with Jonesa and Al on Monday and enjoyed letting the kids play together more and then had a relaxing day at our house on Tuesday.
JoJo and the three grands
Family is indeed a blessing and this time of year it's wonderful to spend quality time with them as we count our blessings and think about the ultimate gift of Jesus. Merry Christmas to all!
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