Christmas '22

 Our card this year..my absolute favorite!

We spent the holiday in Texas visiting family and staying at the farm. 

Since we got in late, my sister was gracious to invite us to her place for the holiday meal. Her sweet family made it truly special with one of the best beef fillets I've ever eaten along with so many side dishes and desserts.

The cousins all ate at one table as if time stood still from when they were younger.

Then they decided to recreate a photo from many years ago in birth order. Precious!

Before we left, Ashlyn wanted to see her godmother's wedding dress since we're now on the search for that perfect style. My sister was thrilled she even asked to see it!

Our vacations at the farm are simply the best. Nothing fancy, just good family time.

It's one large space where we eat, sleep, and relax. When it's cold or rainy, there's always a classic movie to watch (Sound of Music) or card games to play.

When the weather is nice, there's plenty of chores to do...

Exercising to stay in shape...

Skeet shooting....

And fun things like exploring, fishing, or flying a kite.

But wait, where's Ashlyn? Oh yes, talking to Alex again.

There's also a park nearby where we often go to play disc golf, stretch our legs, and enjoy a picnic.

The ducks and geese kept following us around.

Then we headed down south to see Eric's brother on their ranch. On the way, we stopped at a cute bridal shop.

This was one of the highlights as we got the full experience of dress shopping! I'm sorry I didn't post more pictures here, but I can't reveal which one she picked.

Back at the McConnell ranch/vineyard, we learned how to play pickball on their dedicated court. Super fun!

And what post about Texas wouldn't be complete without an armadillo? I spotted this cutie along one of my walks down their country road. 💙

Going Grey

 As we embark on the close of 2022 and embrace new beginnings of 2023, I saw this post:

That post embodied my feelings exactly about going grey. I just needed the confidence to go for it. Here's my before picture so you can see the roots exposed. I shouldn't be this red, so that's part of why I'm ready to stop coloring.

The family gave me a perfect window to schedule a hair appointment as they headed to Texas early for Christmas. We decided to add some highlights, then a toner to help blend the greys.

A cut was included, so I decided to chop several inches off and layer it to help my natural color grow out and blend.

The family didn't like it too much, but I love it! They say to expect at least a year for it to fully grow out. I may need one more highlight/tonor treatment to blend everything again before Ashlyn's wedding in August. But overall, I'm super pleased.

Sweet 16

Not a lot to post here with so much going on this month, but we can't forget the birthday girl turning sixteen!

We continued her celebration in true Christmas spirit at the Holiday at Peace. 

Arnold's Visit

We were excited to have our nephew, Arnold, around for about 5 weeks as he completed some training in a nearby town. The constant rain made it tough to do as much as we wanted, but there were still plenty of chores to keep us busy.

Arnold joined us for our big Thanksgiving meal then helped us move Luke's furniture into his new house.

He helped his Uncle Eric fix a few vehicles and gave pointers on making YouTube videos more visible to his audience.

He was willing to try SC foods, like Carolina-style hot dogs (cole slaw & chilli on top), pork BBQ sliders, and BoJangles (cajun fried chicken) with it's own version of Mountain Dew.

We took him to a hockey game and showed him where I work while walking two miles to save $5 for parking.

He entertained Eric by hopping into the vehicles with him, like this one below, and showing him all the gadgets that were similar to big rigs.

Arnold completely blew us away with his expertise in technology. He replaced our phone batteries, screens, and screen savers as well as installed a SSD drive on our home computer. Wow, it's so fast!

We also took him to a Christmas parade eventhough it was quite chilly. I think Eric just wanted more pockets to gather the candy.

And the one place we had to go twice was a local brewery called the Silos. Not only did they let us sample every beer on tap (all 12), but they sold such a variety of food options. Along with our beers, we enjoyed pizza, Indian cusine, and donuts. What a treat!

Arnold, we miss you already. You're welcome back any time.

Nat'l Guard Family Day

It was the first family day at Luke's National Guard unit. We couldn't wait to see where he goes once a month! We met him on the outskirts so he could drive us in.

Once inside their large hanger, tables and chairs were set up for the luncheon with military helicopters line up on the opposite side. Eric went straight to the air power like a little kid. Notice that no one else was over there. 

Eventually other families came over to look as well, but that only encouraged him more as he climbed up into it. Actually, we all did!

Next was a walk out to the air strip.

It was fun being escorted by Luke everywhere. 

Then on to the refueling tanks. 

I don't think we passed by any military vehicle that Eric didn't climb in. Here he's pretending to give hand signals to the troops.

Let's not walk past the machine guns! Sign that guy up!

Luke started getting nervous with all the questions Eric asked about night goggles. I think at this point the food ready, and that was a good distraction. 

I'm guessing on the next family day, we may not get invited.

Luke's House

Our son made the decision to have a place of his own. Although he's not far, it was still emotional watching him officially move out of the home he grew up in.

His close friend from high school was also looking for a place, so it worked out well having a roommate he knew he could get along with. The two were so funny in making sure the couch and gaming system were set up first!  

The new place has 3 bedrooms, so the 3rd room was turned into an office. 

They did a nice job fixing up the kitchen, too. They might need to learn how to cook, but neither seems picky as long as it's edible.

The final result! Not too bad for a pair of bachelors.