Christmas in Arkansas

On December 19th (our 6th anniverssary) we all packed into the van and headed north. In Dallas I dropped Keeper off at a North Carolina/Texas basketball game where he met his brother and brother-in-law with their boys and I continued driving until I got to Bentonville, Arkansas. Keeper had a blast at the game and luckily Texas won. Go Horns!!! He hopped on a plane and was back in San Antonio by that evening because he had to work in Monday. The kids and I hung out in Arkansas for a week until Keeper was able to join us on Christmas Eve. We had so much fun with Keeper's brother, Dee and his wife, Melanie, and their kids. I had forgotten how fun and easy-going they are. For the first couple of days we were there Keeper's sister Malee and her family was there also. It was a wild house but a lot of fun. Camy was pretty worn out from all the traveling and one night I realized that I hadn't seen her in a while. Melanie found her asleep in their bathroom laying on a cat toy. It was probably the only quiet place in the house at that time. Poor baby! The day after we got there one of their little girls got the flu and was throwing up all night. I hoped that it was something that none of us would get because we had just gotten there but of course the next evening Carson woke up from a nap throwing up and then Parker woke up saying his tummy hurt. A few minutes later Camy woke up throwing up too. By this time I was thinking that I shouldn't have come. How was I going to handle this while I am feeling sick myself, without Keeper. Melanie immediately had a shoulder to cry on and a listening ear (which is what I needed most at that moment.) Throughout that night Dee and Melanie helped with my sick kids even though they had another kid of their own that got sick too. Halfway through the night I got the flu too. They were so supportive and gave up their room to me. Luckily by that time all of my kids had stopped throwing up. It was hard and not something that I would like to go through again but I am so grateful to Dee and Melanie for the love that they showed me while I was at their house. Later during the week although the flu went through everyone in the house we were able to have some fun. The kids played really well together and my kids absolutely loved their cats. (I think at some point we might have to get a cat. Not anytime soon but sometime.) We went to a jump place and Carson was hard to find because he was running non-stop. He loved it! On Christmas Eve Keeper flew in and it was fun to have him with us. We had a really nice dinner and a fun night. Although we missed him, I think he missed us more. There is nothing fun about a quiet house if your family is away. Here are a few pictures of Christmas Eve and Christmas. Christmas Day it also started snowing! Hooray! We were able to do a little sledding on boxes and the kids had a blast!

After Arkansas, we all headed up to Keeper's sister's house in Missouri. We had a little reunion with all the grown siblings and their families and just enjoyed being together. We went to an indoor pool and the kids really enjoyed that. Parker was ready to go home (to our house) and he wouldn't swim but Carson and Camy had fun.


After Missouri, we headed to Keeper's other brother's house in Kansas. They have cows and chickens and this was where Parker was the happiest by far! He is my animal man and would live with animals if I would let him. He was out helping feed the animals and anytime anyone had to go outside he was right with them. Keeper's brother's oldest, Mikenna, took Parker under her wing and was so nice to him. He talks about her all the time and he can't wait to go back. We built snow forts and just hung out. I think we were all pretty tired by this time and it was REALLY cold outside so we kinda just hung out and enjoyed being together. Lee and Traci are really easy-going and their girls are so helpful. It was a great way to end the trip.