Texas, Our Texas

I'm a Texan.  I love, love, love being from Texas.  I also love talking with people who've never been to Texas... you know, to really help them understand what it is about the place that makes people from there so proud. 

Oh, I'm sorry.  Some of you out there don't know what I'm talking about?  Well, let me explain. I'm sure those of you from Texas can bear to hear yet another explanation of what makes us so great. :)

Ask anyone, and right up there with the fact that everything is done BIG in Texas, they'll tell you it's the people that make the place so grand.  Over the Christmas break, we had the opportunity to visit a good friend's ranch for a day of fun and good eatin'.  No wait, actually, let's go ahead and call them what they are: family.  In Texas, you actually call your acquaintances your friends.  But the real friends get lumped in with family.  And when this fun family gets together, we like to call it "circling the wagons." 

This particular "circling of the wagons" over Christmas captured everything I love about where I'm from.  I'll just let the pictures tell it all:

See what's behind us?  In Texas, I love the rolling hills and the trees that grow wide and low to the ground.  Perfect for sitting under.  

(And hello, Bella's snarl face.)

And in Texas, I love watching kids do exactly what kids were meant to do.

 In Texas, I love how the men push the boys on tire swings that hang from oak trees in the backyard.

 And I love how the adults teach the youngin's how to fish off docks.

Oh, how I love the fine lookin' family men one finds in Texas!  Especially the one that belongs to me.  

Did you know that Mike is an honorary Texan?  Perhaps someday I'll blog about the crazy initiation he underwent during one of our engagement parties.

Hey, there's another fine lookin' family man!

Nothing beats family chats around the Gator.

Or even better, how about family chats while sittin' on the back porch?

And if nothing else convinces you, then the fact that these three faces were hanging out in Texas recently makes the State pretty grand to me!

 Like I said, everything is bigger in Texas... including hugs.

And finally, to close my whole "Texas is great" rant, I would like to point out that the adorable girl you see above lives in Texas.

Need I say more?

Christmas in Texas... Finally!

It's been quiet on the blog since Christmas.  We've been just a little busy.  Our ten days of traveling to three different homes came to an end on New Year's Eve, and we immediately had to move out and back in to our home for some new carpet installation.  It's actually not so bad now that we're on the back end of it.  Let's just say spring cleaning came early for us this year.

I've also been working on this here blog of mine.  I figured it needed a new face for a New Year. 

Oh, and then Bella decided to get three molars these past two days.  Sleep, where are you?

So I realize most Christmas trees have already been taken down, and most people have already broken a New Year's resolution or two, but I still have a Christmas story to tell.  So, here goes:

If you want a quick snapshot of what Christmas looked like at the Davis house, then I think this picture captures it perfectly. Christmas was full of fun and family and excitement and giving and warmth... and it whizzed by!  (By the way, that baby doll in Bella's hand was totally thrown in to the toilet today.  Nice.)

It whizzed by so fast, that we really stunk at getting good pictures of Bella and Kate.  Take these shots, for example:

A poking war gone picking.  Gross.  Sorry, Kate.

But Bella loved the gifts... er, boxes.                    And Cole's reactions were priceless.

And the boys loved being, well, boys.  

And the kids loved lovin' on their GREAT grandmothers.  Yes, that makes for four generations in one house this Christmas.

The adults loved having the kids to make things extra crazy and extra special. After the kids had opened presents on Christmas Eve, Papa read passages out of Isaiah and Luke to everyone, and then he read a special rendition of "The Night Before Christmas" just for the kids.  Well, minus Kate... she was already nestled, all snug in her bed.

And then came Christmas morning: 

The girls loved all the toys (and vitamin bottles) that had magically appeared.

And Bella loved sneaking some snacks from Papa in the pantry.  Isn't this what grandparents' homes are all about?

There are so many special moments that our cameras didn't capture, so I'll stop there and leave you with the classic Davis family pose under the mantle crowded with stockings:

What a second.  That's not the classic pose.

There.  That's much better.  

Here's to Christmas 2011!

Speaking My Love Language

Last night, we abandoned this sad face...

... for a date night!!

Actually, if I was being honest, she wasn't sad at all.  In fact, I think she was glad to have a new friend to play with.  But I just like to imagine she was at least a little sad to see us go.  But no, she wasn't even a little sad.  This picture was actually taken on Bella's birthday after she had opened her presents, and Mom didn't get her act together and assemble one of the toys fast enough.  I'm such a kill joy.  Geez.

So back to date night.  Mike was a little nervous on the drive over.  You see, where we were going is not what many would coin as a romantic date.  No candlelight.  No quiet atmosphere.  No white table clothes.  Oh no!  When we stepped in to Hill Country Barbecue, I knew we had left DC and headed straight to the very best part of Texas, the Hill Country- complete with all it's barbecue wonder and live music.

Last night, we dined on lean brisket, ribs, cowboy baked beans, and mac & cheese.  We drank Shiner Bock out of a mason jar.  I dragged my white bread through bbq sauce.  I licked my fingers.  I hardly used my fork and knife.  I ate off of butcher paper! 

Does it get any better??

My face in this picture says, "No, it does not get any better."  I was literally surrounded by Texas flags and pictures from small town Texas.  I felt like I was home, and Mike's anxiety about avoiding a stuffy, white table cloth dinner quickly melted away.  For heaven's sake, they even serve Blue Bell at this place!  

After dinner, Mike and I headed out to pay homage to the National Christmas Tree on the South side of the White House.  It's about half the size of last year's tree, a gigantic tree that met it's tragic end during a random storm that hit DC this past year.  Very sad.

But Baby Tree was still cute.

A park ranger, complete with hat and all, took our picture.  I love that.  And then Mike debated with him about whether or not they had moved the tree 20 feet over or not.  And I just stood there. Yeah.  Oh, and that's the White House on the left, in case you're wondering.

All to say, it was a great night with Mike, and it definitely left us excited about our upcoming trip to celebrate Christmas in Texas!