Universal Studios: Day One

The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of adventure and excitement, which began at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. We had so much fun and loved it much more than our trip to Disney World a few years ago. If you are a Harry Potter fan, it is a place that should definitely put on your bucket list, in my opinion. You truly get the sense that you are in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, and the experience really does feel magical. The bulk of our first day was spent in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and we really couldn't get enough of it. We did eventually move on to other sections of the park, but Harry Potter World was truly special and a place we all thoroughly enjoyed.

Universal Studios Orlando

Number 12 Grimmauld Place
(Can you spot Creature peeking out the window?)

The Littlest Wizard

Escape from Gringotts was a very cool ride,
and that dragon really breathes fire!

Taking a butterbeer break

Ready to board the Hogwart's Express

Lunch at The Three Broomsticks

Clay and Max really loved The Flight of the Hippogriff ride
and never missed a chance to say hello to Buckbeak.

The one souvenir Clay especially wanted was a real wand.
Here he is casting the "lumos" spell. 

The Hogwart's Castle was amazing, even though the ride made my head spin.

Eventually, we made it over to Jurassic Park

T-Rex on the loose

On Marvel Super Hero Island, Jeff and the younger guys
rode the Storm Force ride several times.

Meanwhile, Ruth and Weston were obsessed with the Hulk ride.

The Power of Nine

Max,

You're nine! Woohoo! I love writing your birthday letter every year, because it's proof that we both made it through another year and that we are better than we were before. You and I are like iron sharpening iron, and I'm so thankful we have each other to help work out our respective rough edges. We're definitely good for each other!

It's been a great year! Since your last birthday, we've spent time in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, and Florida. Plus, we've done lots of fun things in Texas as well. We've traveled by train, plane, boat, subway, tuk tuk, bicycle, parasail, zipline, UTV,  and RV to get where we are today. Along the way, you've learned how to surf, attended a robot camp, and shot your first deer. And that's just a very brief overview!

We've been learning about the importance of making good food choices and have been experimenting with how certain foods affect you, either by their addition to or omission from your diet. Your brain seems to work better with regular doses of protein and limited sugar intake. Sometimes it's really hard to enforce, but you and I both know that when we get it right it makes a huge difference in how our days go. You are learning to make good food choices for yourself, and I'm confident this will serve you well throughout your life. You are also interested in cooking and baking, which makes the whole process more fun, as we discover together the best combos of ingredients. You are especially fond of eggs and fruit, so we work those in whenever we can. You love having your own kitchen equipment, and you are getting really good at putting simple meals together on your own.

You have an engineer's mind and are always building and calculating and problem solving. You are curious and are very good at coming up with creative solutions to tricky problems. I'm proud of the way you keep trying new strategies, even when your first idea doesn't work or doesn't work the way you thought it would.

You're an avid reader and have been enjoying checking out huge stacks of books from the library every time we go. You have a wide range of interests and come home with everything from mysteries to cookbooks to books about Morse Code. You are a smart guy and love to learn. In addition to reading for your own entertainment and knowledge, you also spend a good amount of time reading to Clay and helping him learn new things. You're a wonderful big brother!

In addition to looking out for Clay, you have a soft spot in your heart for all kids that are younger than you. You love babies and are super careful with and attentive to little kids when you have occasion to be around them. You are so sweet with your younger cousins, and it is touching to see how protective you are of littles.

Max, you make our days fun and interesting. You challenge us and stimulate us and help us think about things differently. You are really growing up, and I can see that you are becoming more mature all the time. I'm proud of your fierce passion and intensity. You live life to the fullest, and I think that's the way it should be done. I hope your birthday is spectacular and that the year ahead is your best yet! I love you so much!!

Love,
Mom

Nine Years Old!

Feel Good Friday: Favorite Things

Nothing puts a smile on my face like spending time with my favorite things!

First Adventure of the New Year

Yesterday after lunch, we hopped in our little RV and headed out on our first adventure of the new year:  a road trip to Florida, which will include three fun-filled days at Universal Studios and then a leisurely route back to Texas. Our plan was to drive until we were tired and then find a place to stop for the night. We actually didn't run out of driving steam until 4:00 am, in Tallahassee, where we pulled into a Cracker Barrel parking lot and slept until the lure of homemade biscuits was too strong to ignore. (Cracker Barrel actually encourages RVers to do this, but it was a first for us.) We have now made it to Orlando and will be up at the crack of dawn to check out the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Toasting our first adventure of the new year with sparkling cider

Happy New Year

Feel Good Friday: Truth in advertising

It's Saturday, but whatever. This is my favorite ad of the year, and a good chuckle seems like a good way to end 2016. Happy New Year! May your 2017 be full of things that make you happy and fill your life with peace.

Spending time with our people

We are so very thankful for our extended family and are so fortunate to have had some quality time with them this holiday season!

Christmas Eve with most of the Wainscott clan

Grandaddy loves messing with the kids

Playing a shocking game

Working on building circuits with Papa

Road tripping in style between family gatherings

Clay loves his baby cousin Slade

Clay and his cousin Victoria are inseparable

Watts gathering in The Woodlands

Day of Dates

Yesterday, Jeff and I took advantage of the boys being off at the ranch with Grandpa and Ruth being in a cyber security camp by having a whole day of dates. Well, first we took care of some necessary grow-up business, like vehicle inspections and taxes. But, then we got down to the fun stuff. We did a little shopping in an actual indoor shopping mall, which kind of felt like a throwback to one of our very first in-person interactions way back when. When the shopping was done, we found a Japanese restaurant for lunch and filled up on delicious sushi. After that, we grabbed some coffee before heading over to our first-ever painting class. It was fun and funny and a great way to spend a couple of hours. Yay for date days!

Sushi

Painting with a Twist

December Fun

Yesterday morning we had the opportunity to go to the UIL 2A high school state football playoff game to support Iraan (that town you've been hearing about in the news because their cheerleader bus was hit by a semi a couple of weeks ago on the way home from the quarter-final game and one of the sponsors was killed). This is the hometown of Jeff's parents and his entire extended family. And, even though Iraan didn't come away with the victory, it was so fun to be with family to cheer the team on and rally behind this small town that has endured so much heartache recently.

Supporting the Iraan Braves at the state playoffs at AT&T Stadium

After the game, we got together with family and friends for Mexican food at Mariano's. And, then our boys hopped in the car with Mimi and Grandpa and headed off for a ranch adventure.

Lunch at Mariano's

The rest of our immediate family spent the afternoon running a few errands and resting before heading over to the Gaylord Texan hotel in Grapevine to catch up with Jeff's cousin and her family, who were in town for the game and who we definitely don't get to spend enough time with. Our time with them was precious, and we also had a wonderful dinner at Old Hickory's Steakhouse and enjoyed gawking at the spectacularly decorated resort.

While running our errands, we came across a few bottles of Republic Tequila,
signed by my MIL's cousin's husband, who is one of the co-founder's of the company.
This bottle is from their very first barrel. Very cool.

Some of the beautiful and unique Christmas trees at the Gaylord

Gift Giving Guide

Q. What do you get the minimalistic nomadic family in your life that just wants to get away from it all?

A. 96 square feet of road-ready freedom, with a bathroom, a kitchen, and beds for everyone.

Winter Breakfast (for dinner)

A few years ago, when I was really active on Pinterest, I was inspired to make a "winter breakfast" for my kids to celebrate the first day of winter. They have remembered it fondly and have asked a few times when we could do it again. Jeff and I had been planning to put it together next week, on the winter solstice, but then we looked at our calendars and realized it just wasn't going to happen on that day. In fact, if it was to materialize at all, it would have to be today, and then only at dinnertime. So, Jeff got the kids out of the house this afternoon on a mission to do some good in the world, and I was able to put it all together while they were out. It was so much fun to watch the kids' faces light up with surprise and delight when they returned home and realized what was happening! We're a little early, but happy winter everyone!

Winter Breakfast

Brioche Wreath

Egg Muffin Christmas Tree

Pancake Snowman

White Hot Chocolate

Celebrating Winter

Equestrian Weekend

Ruth had back-to-back horse shows in Tyler yesterday and today, so we headed down Friday night and spent a couple of nights in a cute little cabin in the woods. Many things were different about these events compared to other events we've attended. First of all, these were much bigger shows and therefore lasted much longer than other shows we've attended. These were also held in a fancy indoor arena, which offered protection from the drizzle of today but almost seemed to magnify the extreme cold of yesterday. And, while spectators could huddle together in the stands instead of building little camping chair villages, the noise of the crowd and the metal bleachers really seemed to spook some of the horses and kept many of them on edge. Over the course of the two days, Ruth got to ride four different horses, and she performed beautifully. As a bonus, all of her grandparents got to be there at various times to see her ride. She came away with four colorful ribbons (a blue, two reds, and a yellow) of her very own, and her team came in second in today's show. We are so incredibly proud of this girl and absolutely love to see her do what she loves!

Little cabin in the woods

Ruth and Gizelle were a beautiful match in the walk/trot/canter (WTC) class yesterday and secured first place.

Calica was spooked in the arena, but Ruth kept her under control and won 2nd in the walk/trot class yesterday.

This girl was on fire despite the cold!

The official roster described Roxy as "witchy on the flat," but Ruth managed her perfectly and got 2nd place in WTC.

Agnes and Ruth got 3rd place in the walk/trot class this afternoon.

So proud of this beautiful equestrian!

Grapevine

Just 15 minutes from our house lies the charming downtown of Grapevine. At this time of year, it's all decked out in its Christmas finery, so we were thrilled to take the kids over on Tuesday night to see the lights and to view one of our favorite movies of all time, A Christmas Story, at the historical Palace Theatre. We had so much fun that Jeff and I snuck back over to Grapevine last night for a much-needed date night. We will no doubt be exploring more this this delightful little neighbor city in the future.

Charming downtown Grapevine, all decked out for the season

One of Grapevine's large outdoor Christmas trees

The Palace Theatre, which was first opened in the '40s

Always a favorite!

Clay and Jeff shared one of the double seats in the theatre
(And, there might have been just a little silliness!)

The Palace is mostly used for live shows, but they also have special movie events

A relaxing date night in Grapevine

A fun, bubbling adult beverage at Mi Dia

Date night ended with coffee and dessert at Buon Giorno Coffee Shop