Christmas on Misty Valley Lane

We celebrated Christmas on Misty Valley Lane tonight since we are headed to Florida in a few days. It was so fun to see Joaquin open his stocking and OUR stockings! :) He also helped daddy open his presents. It was a sweet little family time!

Weekend Getaway!

This weekend was wonderful. Carlos and I finally got a getaway weekend ALONE!! No one but us!! I'm pretty sure that this has not happened (except for work related or wedding getaways) since Joaquin was born!!! Mom and dad let us use their cozy little cottage in Kingston, AR and Aunt Betsy and Uncle David offered to let Joaquin hang out with them for the weekend! It was so quiet and relaxing. There is nothing nearby, so we didn't even leave once! We watched Lost, Carlos went for a long walk, we played Sequence and we SLEPT IN! :) Thanks everyone who made this weekend possible.

Playing with daddy!

Joaquin loves his daddy more than anything in the world!! He especially loves it when his daddy gets down on the floor and plays with him!!

Feel the rhythm!

Joaquin was very excited tonight about listening to some Carlos Vives and dancing around the living room. He really likes to dance with his arms.

New Tradition

This is such a fun tradition that we would love to do every year!!!! Thanks Shelley for introducing us to such a fun and yummy hobby!!

Icing on top

After we baked a million cookies, it was time to ice them. This, again, is one of Shelley's specialties!! Amazing. I learned so much. Joaquin even got in on the action...although he really liked tasting the icing more than decorating the cookies!

YUMMY cookies!

Shelle Belle, Joaquin and I made a million Christmas cookies today. Shelley loves to make them and is AMAZING at the whole process. She was so cute letting Joaquin help her with some of the process. He loved it and felt so big and helpful. If anyone needs to know how to make the best Christmas cookies ever, contact Shelley Jo!!! :)

Christmas Cookie Making

Today, sweet Shelley Jo came over the make a bunch of Christmas cookies!!!! We had a ton of fun and got really dirty!! Here is Joaquin getting in on the action!!!

Joaquin's singing time

It is really hard to catch these frequent singing concerts on video because he is just so busy, but I finally was able to get a small video of my little singer. He was watching Sound of Music, which always inspires him to put on his own concerts. :)

MORE Trout Lodge

The Trout Lodge "77"

This was a red letter Thanksgiving week for us!! We got to spend the beginning of the week with immediate family and then the second half of the week, we headed to YMCA Trout Lodge in Potosi, MO to visit with 77 of our relatives on my dad's side. SO SO fun! The accommodations were fabulous, the food was great, but most of all, the fellowship was unforgettable. Joaquin met A LOT of people and I even met a few folks that I had not met. We got to hang out, watch football, play lots of games, have good prayer time and CRAFT. We loved every second. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for a great time!!

Aunt Jayne

So...this "Thanksmas" was extra special for all of us because Aunt Jayne got to come for the day to spend "Thanksmas" with the whole family (besides Joel....we missed you!!). Joaquin and Mae hadn't had a chance to meet their special Aunt yet and so it was really fun to have her. We really wished the rest of her family could have come, but we will take as many Larson's as we can get! :) It was also so fun for Gigi Lu and Gigi Rich to come. The kids LOVED getting to see them, as usual. It was a delightful meal and a delightful time!! I wish it could have lasted days!!

Celebrating Christmas on Thanksgiving

Lights of the Ozarks

Kim, Brax, Thomas and Mae came to Fayetteville for a few days before we all headed to Trout Lodge for the big family reunion. Every year, Fayetteville puts on a parade and turns on the lights on the square for Lights of the Ozarks. We all got to get together with Gram and Pops and watch the parade and see the lights!! We enjoyed going as a family even though it was a little bit cold.

Won't you be my neighbor??

We discovered an amazing jewel a few months ago. This discovery was that the Hamricks lived a few houses down from us on our street. What a gift from the Lord!!!! We have loved getting to know them and hanging out with them. They have the sweetest little boy, Joshua, who will hopefully one day, be a good buddy of Joaquin's!!!!

The animals

At the fall carnival, they had a full petting zoo. Joaquin rode the pony, petted goats and most importantly, talked to the baby chicks (which were his favorite).

Fall Carnival

Our sweet neighbors invited us to their churches fall party. It was a ton of fun. Joaquin loved the playground (and has no fear) and clapped for himself as he was swinging.

The little frog loves his great-grandparents!

This weekend, Grandma Lu and Grandpa Richard agreed to come to stay the night Saturday, to babysit Joaquin, so Carlos and I could go to the Razorback game (Thanks mom and dad for tickets!) Joaquin was so excited to see them and thinks they are a blast!! Thanks so much GiGi Rich and GiGi Lu for taking care of our little frog!!