A Very Merry Christmas!

We must have been good boys this year because our family and Santa Claus were very good to us!! We didn't have any huge wishes this Christmas, but we got everything that we needed to be happy boys!!

On the night before Christmas Eve, we kicked off our family Christmas celebrations at Grandpa's house with Aunt Rhea and Uncle Rick.

We ate a yummy shrimp dinner and then broke out Grandpa and Uncle Rick's new Nerf guns for a war [we packed our guns for the battle, but our guns were no match for the guns that we brought Grandpa and Uncle Rick for Christmas]!!

We started early on Christmas Eve... the day was filled with from beginning to end with family!! We began the day at Nana's with a big breakfast, lots of fun gifts, and all of our cousins!

Wilson loved his Mickey Mouse pillow pet and set of Power Ranger action figures!! Here he is with Hannah!

Ryan will always be on time with his new watch, and he couldn't wait to start playing his new Star Wars Wii game!

Kaly has hugs for Carter B!

Sweet smiles from Campbell Anne

Dylan loved his GI Joe toys, and the cool clipboard and art box!

I was so excited about my new Dallas Mavericks jersey and superheros!

A little game of 2v2 driveway basketball [Uncle Troy and Kaly v. Daddy and Ryan]!



We moved straight from Jesus' birthday celebration to dinner in honor of Aunt Allie's 24th Birthday! After a little rest from gifts and play, we got ready for Christmas Eve mass to reflect on the reason for this fun season!

And then it was time for Christmas gifts with Granna, Aunt Allie, and Uncle Jerry! I was a little anxious to get to gifts...

I love playing with my talking, dancing, working dump truck!

Here is Ryan ready to "tear 'em up" with his new boxing gloves!

Wilson got the Pluto stuffed animal that he had been asking for!! He LOVES it!!

These boys love their toys!!

All ready for bed so Santa can stop by!! But first, Wilson sprinkled reindeer food on the lawn while the rest of us got Santa's cookies and milk ready!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! We are ready to see what Santa has brought for us!

Ryan wanted a Major League Soccer jersey most of all and he got just that! He got a Vancouver Whitecaps jersey (Bell is the team sponsor, so the jersey says Bell across the front), indoor soccer shoes, Puma pants and jacket, and the Dolphin Tale DVD (he read the book and couldn't wait to see the movie!)

Dylan got an Aggie jersey and a soccer jersey, but was most excited about his new Red Samurai Power Ranger, and a Power Ranger sword!

Wilson was thrilled to see Transformer Optimus Prime sword, bulldog slippers, and a Goofy stuffed animal!

I was surprised with an UnderArmour shirt, a couple of football jerseys, rubber cowboy boots, and FOOTBALL PLAYER FIGURINES!!

The best gift of all was a note from Santa explaining to us that the suitcases that were sitting under our stockings were packed and ready to go to DISNEY WORLD!! Two hours later we were in our car on the way to the airport with Mom, Dad, Nana, and Granna! Mickey Mouse... HERE WE COME!!

Bell Boys All Over Texas!

We started Christmas Break by going our separate ways... there were Bell Boys all over Texas last weekend!! Ryan and Dylan made the longest voyage to west Texas to hunt in Camp Wood.

Corbin, Dylan, and Ryan made a stop at Rudy's [with Daddy and Mr. Bryan] for dinner on the way to the deer camp!
Ryan with his hunting guide, Grandpa!
Ryan shot a deer on his second hunt. He saw a lot of animals on his first hunt, but on his way to the stand, he had accidentally dipped the scope of his gun in mud. That wouldn't have allowed for a good shot, so he just hunted that round and saved his shot for the evening hunt! Here is the hunter with his white tail.

And here is the newly initiated hunter, his cheeks painted with the blood of his first kill!


Here are a few pictures of the hunters exploring the deer camp between their morning and afternoon hunts...


We have heard many hunting tales from their trip... tales of good food; Ryan walking into a cactus on a hike through the woods, leaving him with a boot full of cactus thorns; campfires; Ryan falling into a sticker bush, leaving hundreds of stickers in his back; many animal sightings; "stand" hunting; "safari" hunting; Ryan running into a post leaving a cut on his forehead; and I am sure there are many things that they didn't tell us too! After all of those stories, we were most thankful that Ryan returned to us in one piece :) He said the pain was only temporary, but he will remember his first hunting experience forever!!

Wilson traveled to north Texas with Nana to visit our cousins in Frisco and Prosper. He had so much fun with the crew!! Here he is at Aunt Jenn and Uncle Troy's with is Christmas Tree pancake...

...and here they all are at Uncle Cliff and Aunt Meredith's with their Christmas cookies!

A detour through Galveston on the way home means a ride on the ferry before arriving safely at home!

I stayed right here with Mom in southeast Texas! I was the ONLY CHILD in the house from Friday night through Monday afternoon :) I sure accomplished a lot in that time! I became 100% potty trained, helped Mommy do a little Christmas shopping, put out our new Bulldog Christmas signs, and soaked up 100% of Mommy's attention!! Here is a picture of me before church...don't I look handsome?!

And here I am with my new Christmas bulldog (I dressed myself)!!

We sure had a fun weekend, but we are so happy that we are all back home together!! We are getting ready to have a very Merry Christmas in Nederland!!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Ryan and I kicked off the Christmas season with a field trip to watch Whimsical Christmas! The performance was great, but I think that I enjoyed the bus ride as much as I liked the performance!!
Nothing says "It's Christmas-time" like Wilson in his Mickey Santa hat!

Another sign of Christmas... Pajama Day at Little Wooden Shoes!!

After the annual pajama picture, Granna planned a super fun Polar Express day for Wilson and his Pre-K friends!! They enjoyed hot chocolate for morning snack, cuddling with pillow pets to watch the Polar Express movie, and cookie decorating for afternoon snack!!

More Christmas fun at Nederland's lighted Christmas parade! Watch out for flying beads, footballs, and lots-n-lots of candy!!
Peyton had the best seat in the house...thanks, Aunt Allie!


Thursday was Christmas hat day at Langham, so we all joined in the fun and put on our favorite Christmas hats!

Ryan the Aggie Santa!

Wilson Claus!

Peyton the Christmas Elf

Thursday was also Kindergarten Polar Express Day! A day complete with pajamas, the movie, hot chocolate, and Santa hat cookies!

On Friday we made it official... we kicked off Christmas break with fun parties at school!! Santa Claus visited Little Wooden Shoes! He read "The Night Before Christmas" and visited with each child at the school...looks like the boys had a fun time with Santa!! Peyton even gave Santa a high five and told him that he wants football players for Christmas!

Santa Claus made a stop to read to the Kindergarteners at Langham too! He filled his bag with "The Night Before Christmas" books and gave one to each of us! Here I am getting my gift from Santa!

And here I am with my teacher, Mrs. Reynolds! She is so proud of our class. She told the parents at the party that we just might be the smartest Kindergarten bunch that she has ever taught!

Here is Ryan with his 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Smith!

Daddy came to pick Ryan and I up before the parties were over so that we could begin our travels for our first ever hunting trip! We are hoping to post pictures of our hunting success when we return home on Monday! -Dylan