Best Christmas Presents Ever

And what you ask, may they be? Why, presents made by my grandchildren, of course.

Aedin, Dylin, and Olsin collaborated on this beautiful Christmas Tree painting

Burke lent his hand when he was 4 months old to make this plaster keepsake

Christmas in Sugar Land

As we were on our way to Sugar Land this morning, the phone rang in the car. Seems our 'sleigh' isn't as fast as Santa's and some wee ones were getting quite anxious for us to arrive so they could rip into their presents. Terry made omelets to order, some nice crispy bacon and hot coffee. The children weren't too interested in anything to eat as they wanted to do some unwrapping.

Olsin really liked the 'goo', Annemarie! Aedin and Dylin were quite happy with their gifts as well.

Dylin wearing her new pajamas and riding her new scooter from Santa. Annemarie made pillowslips for all of us.

Aedin, ever the reader, devours the new Harry Potter book...Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey. She was also busy making some fancy cake pops.

Dylin exhibited her prowess on her new scooter

 We watched the movie "Elf" whilst the children played with their new acquisitions - which weren't exactly 'toys'. Started watching an Indiana Jones movie and it was time for lunch. Had an excellent ham with sides of stuffing, macaroni and cheese, and cranberry sauce. A nice relaxing, fun-filled day.

Aedin and Dylin Shine in "Babes in Toyland"

Aedin and Dylin played multiple roles

Dylin in her role as Simple Simon

Aedin as Nadia, then as Grumio, assistant toymaker

Erika's cast photo after the performance

Jourdanton - McAllen

It was quite serendipitous that we spent the night in Jourdanton after all. As we were leaving town headed for Tilden, the first county seat on our list, I noticed that we were passing a courthouse. A quick look at our records verified the fact that we had missed the courthouse in Jourdanton. Fast thinking saved us from having to come back another time.

Sometimes, I try to take photos in the side mirror. This time, believe it or not, I was shooting the flares waaaaay off in the distance behind us. Fortunately, we passed some more flares further down the road that were easier to photograph.

Have you ever heard of the King Ranch? Well, it's located in Kingsville, duh, and was established in 1853 when Capt. Richard King purchased 68,500 acres from Mexican and Spanish land grants called Santa Gertrudis. Yep, the Santa Gertrudis cattle were  named after the grants.The breed was developed here and was the first strain of beef cattle originating in the Western Hemisphere. The ranch now encompasses 825,000 acres....larger than the state of Rhode Island. A hawk rests on a tree branch. We saw lots of hawks on this trip.


An unfurled flag mural on a wall caught my eye. The bottom photo is the six flags that have flown over the state of Texas. Spain, France, Mexico, Texas as a Republic, Texas in the Confederacy, and Texas in the United States.

There are several bootmaking shops in Raymondville. All have made boots for King Ranch cowboys, some state officials, and royalty. Looks as if at one time, they even had their own restaurant.


San Benito, near Brownsville, is the home of guitarist Freddy Fender ~This restored 1928 Southern Pacific depot now houses the Brownsville museum ~ Interesting billboard for the season

Merry Christmas sign on a very busy street ~ I was amused that this Hamburger King proclaims it has the best chicken-fish-shrimp. No mention of beef.

Beautiful Sunset outside of Beeville, TX

We're off on another courthouse photographic trip for a couple of days. Our first day on the road, we left when Sneed got home from work. Originally we had planned on staying in Victoria and then starting out in the morning. Well, we got to Victoria a lot earlier than anticipated so kept driving. The sunset was beautiful as evidenced from the following photos; however, motels/hotels were few and far between. The ones in Beeville were already full. The sky darkened and we were in unfamiliar territory. Getting a bit desperate at this time. Sneed decided to get on I-37 thinking that would be our salvation. The GPS didn't show anything for miles and miles. Finally a Holiday Inn Express showed up but off the interstate by 10 miles. We didn't have any other choice so off we went. Thankfully there was a room available - at $150!! After we got back from dinner, people were being turned away from this motel. Whew, we got here in time.

Interesting signs in Beeville whilst Sneed went inside a gas station store for a few snacks.

Joy Cheer Noel

A most welcomed Christmas card received today.

Christmas is around the corner but is it Fall or Winter?

Had a few things to help Erika with re Queen Theatre. So I was headed down to Sugar Land this morning. Just as I left the side driveway, I noticed that we had some Fall foliage in front of the house for the first time.

The colorful trees are Crape Myrtles

 When I reached Sugar Land and entered Erika's house, Winter had definitely arrived.

 Aedin and Dylin made winter houses in their art class.

Olsin's house. Their teacher certainly provides them with great creative outlets.

Then again, it might be SPRING????

Flower on the Crape Myrtle on the left in the photos above