Hughes/Ray Christmases

Hughes Christmas

I'm sad to say that this is the only good picture I captured at my dad's house.  We had a great time with dinner, presents, and playing in the back yard.  Unfortunately Vincent took to my dad's Christmas village (displayed in the cabinet behind my dad) and I spent most of the evening monitoring his handling of the fragile pieces.  As you can see in the picture, Sophia loved her glow in the dark Doodle Pro.  Note to self:  Capture more pictures at dads next year...

Christmas at the Farm - Hughes/Ray

From Hondo we headed to Floresville where outdoor play was the name of the game.

{Walking Hanzie}

{Kickball!}

 {Score!}

{Jackson with his new favorite toy from Santa.}

{The girl can KICK!}

{Fortunately faces like this were rare while in Texas.  Someday she will appreciate her mother's ability to capture them on film the instant they did show up.}

{Turn that frown upside down, little missy...}

{Her favorite Christmas cookies}

{Brother/sister shot while looking directly into the sun - classic.}

{Mike gives Sophia a lift - always helps to have a little latitude.}

{Our traditional Christmas meal - tamales with chili}

{Tony took one for the team and sat with the children for this meal...}

{Time to open presents!}

{But not before Granddaddy reads the Christmas story}

{The children listened attentively}

{Carol time}

{Jean Jean's knitted creations}

{Vincent loves his Granddaddy!}

{CHEESE!  Anything CARS puts a smile on this little boy's face.}

{This is Vincent's classic pose right now.  It's the "I'm strong" pose.  Or the "I did it pose."  Or "I'm really proud of myself." pose.}

{Handsome boy in his Texans shirt from Uncle Andrew and Mike}

{We walked down the lane at least 4 times in 48 hours....}

{Cousins!!!}

{Pretty ladies at Olivia's Mexican Food Restaurant - Grandmother and Sophia}

{Here we are at Olivia's on the day we are scheduled to fly out.  From Olivia's we headed back to the farm to load my mom's car with presents and head to San Antonio to catch our plane.}

{The No. 2 - one cheese enchilada, one puffy taco, rice and beans - pure lardy goodness}

{The politician pose}

{Poor Graham stuck in the back with these two!}

Our time at the farm concluded our Christmas in Texas.  The kiddos did excellent on the flights home and we were glad to be back in "Our Sweet Home" state.  As is the annual tradition, we took a family picture in the family restroom of the Dallas airport:

{2011}

{2010}

{2009}

Arriving back home we were greeted by some very happy Schnauzers and loads of Christmas cards.  This year (thank you Pinterest!) I found a new way to display all the beautiful cards we received.  I LOVE CHRISTMAS CARDS!!!

Christmas 2011 was truly delightful.  The kiddos are older and as a result they handled the traveling with excitement and ease.  We treasured the uninterrupted time with Tony and the kiddos were blessed to play and visit with so many family members who love them.