Christmas in South Texas

Landon wore this hat every morning when he and Pa took a golf cart ride.  He would tell all the neighbors "Merry Christmas!"  They also enjoyed a large glass of chocolate milk...what a treat!

Cousins - Rylen and Landon

Meme and Pa got him a Leapster!

Uncle Ryan got him fishing glasses, lures and other great fishing stuff!  He has worn his glasses everyday since Christmas!

Snacks for Santa and his reindeer!

Santa came :)

Yeah...he got his train table!

Santa left a Lightning McQueen costume and a stocking full of goodies!

Loving his new train table!

Landon and Jordan

One of his favorite toys from Santa!

Meme, Pa, Landon and Cheeto (Sun was way too bright!)

Landon posing by the reindeer!  (This was totally his own doing!)

This year we spent Christmas with my side of the family.  Landon and I headed to Port Isabel early in the week and Brian flew in to meet us on the 23rd!  We did not break tradition...we ate tamales and queso on Christmas Eve and then opened gifts and enjoyed chatting and watching Landon and Rylen play with their new toys.  Landon left cake balls and milk out for Santa and grapes and cheese out for the reindeer!  Before Landon went to bed he scattered some reindeer food (oatmeal and glitter) so Santa could find his way to my parent's house.  When he was outside he even heard Santa laughing, "Ho, Ho, Ho!"  Landon darted up the stairs and jumped into bed faster than I have ever seen him do so...quite funny!  He said he was going to sleep so Santa would come!  The next morning he woke up quite early and was thrilled to see all the loot Santa had left...he must have been a super good boy in 2010! 

We had Christmas dinner at the ranch this year...fried turkey, tons of great sides, yummy desserts, etc.!  Landon loved playing with his cousin Jordan.  They are a little over a year apart and have the best time together.  Landon got to ride around the ranch with all the big boys and he sure felt like big stuff.  We enjoyed being with all of our family.  Thanks for hosting a great Christmas Pa and Meme! :)

Fishing with Uncle Ryan and Daddy

First speckled trout! :)  He could not be any happier!

Landon and Daddy with his 1st redfish!

While we were eating lunch on Christmas Eve, Landon asked Uncle Ryan with pleading eyes if he would take him fishing in the boat and of course Uncle Ryan could not tell him no!  This was Landon's first time in the actual bay and he LOVED it!  I stayed back, but I heard all the great fish stories.  Landon was one lucky boy ~ or maybe skillful ;) He caught 1 redfish and 1 trout (with a little help from Daddy).  Once the fish were hooked Landon had no trouble reeling them in on his own!  A few got away but isn't that typical for a great fish story?!

Uncle Ryan is Landon's fishing hero...all he can talk about are all the fish that he catches and he loves going to his house to see his mounted fish!  I must brag a little on my big brother ~ he holds the state record for biggest Mahi Mahi caught in Texas, so Landon has reason to have him on a pedestal!  I think Ryan secretly enjoys all the attention he gets from Landon as well!

Thanks Uncle Ryan...you rock!

The Adventures of Merek the Elf

Merek came to visit us the first weekend in December and boy did we have fun with him in our house!  For those of you that do not know about Elf on a Shelf...Merek is Santa's little helper and he stays with us during the day and flies back to the North Pole at night to let Santa know what is going on in the Yutzy house!  He lets Santa know who is making good and/or bad choices!  You can talk to Merek but he can not talk back to you and you cannot touch him.  Every day he is in a new place and sometimes he would have a surprise with him (candy, raisins, small present, etc.).  Merek is a smart elf, he found us in Galveston and in Port Isabel...we can run but we cannot hide!  It has been fun having Merek around but he left on Christmas Eve and will not return until next December.  We miss you already Merek!

Family Fun in Galveston

At Bass Pro Shop

Lovin' Ben and Jerry's

Landon floats the lazy river to stay out of the frigid water!

Landon and Daddy

Moody Gardens

Moody Gardens Aquarium

One of Landon's favorite fish ~ snook!

We went to Galveston for the first time the weekend before Christmas and had such a good time.  We had never been there and had no idea that it was so big.  Brian was out of town for work so we picked him up at the airport as soon as we got into Houston...it was Landon's lucky day though because Brian's flight in was delayed so we stopped at Bass Pro Shop in Katy on our way.  He LOVES Bass Pro Shop so much so that you would think he was in Disney World.  He gets so excited being in there he can hardly contain himself.  After picking Brian up we checked out a local Ben and Jerry's and it did not disappoint ~ very yummy!

Saturday morning we headed to Schlitterbahn, that is supposed to be indoors BUT we will just call it a covered with heavy plastic water park!  It is by no means indoors and some areas were very cold.  Getting in the lazy river was like getting in the river here in NB but the outside temperatures were also cold!  Once we got used to it, it was fine but it was not nearly as warm as I was expecting for an "indoor" water park!  The kiddie area, however was heated and felt nice but we spent a lot of time in the colder area.  We did have fun and spent about 5 hours there but not sure I would return to this location on a cold, winter day!

That evening we went to the Festival of Lights at Moody Gardens and that was GREAT!  It was a mile long walk full of Christmas lights.  This was a perfect family event. :) 

Sunday morning we returned to Moody Gardens to go to the aquarium part and of course Landon is obsessed with fish so this was right up his alley!  We will definitely return to Moody Gardens on another trip and check out all they have to offer.  Very neat place! :)

We had a great family weekend and plan on returning to Galveston again and seeing what other adventures we can find!

Preschool Christmas Program

Waving to us before they started singing!

Meme, Pa and Landon

Landon and Mommy

(Daddy could not make it but we made sure to video it so he could watch it later!)

Landon participated in his first Christmas program last week.  He sang 5 songs in all and did such a great job.  He has grown up so fast and I can hardly believe that he is old enough to be performing!  My parents were able to come up and watch him and he was very excited about that.  We were all treated to sandwiches and cookies after the performance!  Landon made sure to get a cookie first...guess he thought he deserved it for a job well done! :) 

~Gingerbread House Fun~

Decorating the tree...concentrating very hard.  :)

Working on Santa!

Meme helping too!

Landon's favorite part...getting messy!

Total boy...the messier the better!

Finished product :)

Landon insisted that ALL the peppermints go on the back of the house!

One of our Advent activities was to decorate a gingerbread house. (This happened to be on the same day as Buda Fest as you can see that Landon is still sporting his face painting!).  Landon LOVED this entire process.  He put a lot of time into this creation and actually put more candy on than he ate...that is a plus!  Meme got to be here for this and she was a big help making sure we had icing all over the walls so Landon could put candies ALL over the place!    We will definitely be doing this every year.  :)

Buda Fest

Landon's first professional face painting!

He is showing how the alligator opens its mouth when he does!

Mr. and Mrs. Claus

Maddie, Grace and Landon

Meme, Landon and Me

Buda Fest is a yearly tradition for us and we always have a great time.  We meet my dear friend Bridgette and her kiddos and we make a day out of it!  This year my mom was in town so it was fun to have her join us on our adventure!  We start the morning off watching the parade and this year Santa rode in with longhorn horns attached to the front of the car...only in Texas would this happen!  All the kiddos got their face painted, they rode some fun carnival rides and got to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas!  Always a nice event that we look forward to every year!