Happy Birthday Gigi!

After Avery's first basketball game we drove down to Comanche to celebrate Gigi's 90th birthday! It was so fun to see our Waggoner family and celebrate this special grandmother and great-grandmother!

The newest basketball star!

Avery just started playing basketball and had her first game on Saturday! She did GREAT! She didn't handle the ball a lot, but she earned the defense star for staying on her man. Before her game I took a picture of her, and then I realized I had taken a picture of Aidan before his very first Upward game exactly five years ago...and the uniform and pose was nearly identical! It was so much fun watching her (and Sage, who is on her team!) and we can't wait for the rest of the season!

New Year's Eve!

We spent a fun New Year's Eve at our neighbors Mark and Ashley's house with a bunch of families from our block! It was so great to just walk across the street and not have to get baby-sitters! The kids wore their pajamas and played outside and upstairs, while the grown-ups chatted, ate tons of food, and played games. Then after the ball dropped we just walked home. Couldn't have been a more perfect way to ring in 2017!

Post-Christmas and Daniel's Vegas Birthday!

A couple days after Christmas we went to the Dixons' for our annual brunch and gift exchange with them and the Halls!

I also went out to dinner with my mom friends to celebrate my birthday!

For Daniel's birthday I had our neighbor Mark make these Baylor cornhole boards for him! Cornhole and washers have become a favorite pasttime for the guys on our block and luckily Mark has the talent and willingness to make them!

After opening his gift and letting us take him to lunch, we dropped the kids off with friends for a sleepover, and we headed to VEGAS! Daniel had a few miles to earn to gain executive platinum status for the year, he needed a quick trip and this seemed like a fun way to spend his birthday! And by quick trip, I mean we were there for 18 hours! We almost didn't even book a hotel but I knew I'd need a little sleep, even if it was just 4 hours. We met up with a couple of his PWC friends from the Fort Worth hours for dinner at Ruth's Chris (yum!), gambling, and fun!

Christmas

Three days before Christmas we drove to Hodges to see Papi, Grammy, Pa, Gamma, Preston, and Harriet. We drove back to our house that night with Papi and Grammy to spend a few relaxing days at home. Although we didn't get to see Jason and Kelly this holiday, they gave us the best gift ever by announcing we are getting a new nephew and cousin named Hudson Marshall next year! On Christmas Day after we opened presents, the McCaslins came over to spend the day with us. My mom made a turkey dinner, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and a pie, Uncle Reggie brought deviled eggs and his famous homemade rolls, and Avery helped me make dressing! Since it was my 40th birthday, the McCaslins surprised me with a fabulous cake complete with sparklers!! Although I got several great gifts, my favorite was a big photo book called "The Story of Lauren" that my mom had made about my whole life! For Christmas I got a robotic vacuum cleaner, and Avery got a Hatchimal (a hatching stuffed animal that was popular this year) and Aidan got his first phone! Daniel and the kids got me an Apple watch and a Kendra Scott gift card for my birthday! After an afternoon of hanging out and playing games (Watch Your Mouth was a huge hit!), we headed to South Fork Steakhouse where I had made a dinner reservation! It was such an amazing Christmas and one of the best birthdays I can remember!

PWC Fun

It had been a few years since I'd been to the PWC Christmas party with Daniel, so I was excited for the chance to dress up. I rented a dress from Rent the Runway and Daniel wore his tux. We went with our friends Nick, Katie, Brooke, and Ryan to Fearing's downtown before heading over to the Perot Museum for the party. Since dinner took forever we were only at the party about an hour before it closed, so we headed to a nearby bar for some more fun.

The weekend before that, we went to the PWC party for the Fort Worth office, where Daniel does some work. They had dinner and a casino night and it was a lot smaller than the Dallas party, but a lot of fun!

School's Out!

Aidan's class field trip was to the Dallas Aquarium, followed by lunch at Spaghetti Warehouse. I went with him and loved eating at the same restaurant I used to go to as a kid!

On the last day of school before the break, both classes had their parties and gift exchanges. 5th grade had a scavenger and I helped Aidan's team get items on their list like a picture of the principal "getting in Aidan's face" and the whole team on the playground slide. 3rd grade had a pajama/Polar Express party!

Class was dismissed early and I took the kids to Northpark for our annual Santa picture!