Vacaciones de primavera

"Woh, Mexico. It sounds so sweet with the sun sinking low. Moon's so bright, like to light up the night, make everything all right." James Taylor wasn't lying. Mexico is magical and everything is just a little bit "more" when you are there. The sun is hotter, the water is bluer, the food is spicier, and the memories are sweeter. For spring break this year, we went to Puerto Aventuras, Mexico with my parents, Adam's parents, the kids, and Aunt Mal. This was our third time to visit the home of family friend and if it's at all possible, each trip gets better. The kids spent their days swimming, catching fish, playing in the sand, and soaking up the sun. In fact, they had a little too much sun and ended up having a reaction to the sunscreen. No fun... The adults had fun too though. Not to discount the tropical weather, poolside lounging, and umbrella drinks, but the real vacation was not cooking, or making beds, or doing laundry for a whole week! Boy, did we get spoiled! I could really get used to a fully staffed house....and all that good food! We actually did manage to do some fun things (other than lounge by the pool).....we took a day trip to Akumal Beach, celebrated P's birthday, caught a dolphin show, and kayaked around the lagoon. But, truth be told, we did a lot of lounging.... All in all, best trip ever! The Pattersons

And a Happy New Year!

We started the new year off with a little gathering with some neighborhood friends. The kids had a great time silly stringing each other, overdosing on sugar, and making sparkling grape toasts at the east coast midnight. With Adam finally done with his CFA studying and off of work for another week, we spent some much-needed time putting the house back together and organizing the garage while the kids played on the neighbors zip line and jumped on the trampoline until their little legs were wobbly and they succumbed to a rare afternoon nap. Thanks to Uncle Andrew, we got to take the kids to their first Grizzlies game. Hayes was in awe watching the Grizz girls dance, and Gray actually got into the game and took home the brochure as a special keepsake. He couldn't believe his luck when he got to go back just a few weeks later with our friends, The Beasleys, who had a suite for the night. Lovie put on her annual theme party and this time, it was a pirate party for Gray, who got to invite his friend, Will. They walked the plank, ate pirate grub, made a treasure map, and had so much fun that this is what he looked like on the way home.... And while Gray pirated his "booty" off, we took Hayes to the Dixon for an art workshop. I think Adam may have enjoyed it more than she did though. Meanwhile, I was busy planning my 5th Staxtacular party to benefit the students of the Stax Music Academy on behalf of the Memphis Grizzlies. It turned out perfectly, even with lots of changes this year, and ended up another huge success. The best part was that when I woke up the next day, the house was spotless, the laundry was done, the fridge was stocked, dinner was planned, and Adam and the kids had fixed up my studio on the 3rd floor so it would be ready for me to jump right back into painting, now that my event was over. In our 14+ years together, Adam has bought me beautiful clothes, made me delicious dinners, taken me to wonderful places, and paid me countless compliments, but never have I felt so loved! It was awesome and I am so thankful for my sweet husband. While I'm bragging on my better half, I have to say how proud I am of him for being one of the 40% who passed the first level CFA test this December. He studied like crazy, spending lots of nights and weekends with his head in a book and sacrificing pretty much all of his free time to devote to this test, and it all paid off! Now it's back to the books for him as he begins studying for his level 2 test. Wish him luck if you see him! And, we FINALLY got a real snow! It wasn't quite big enough to make a snowman out of, but we caught it early enough to sled down the hill in front of our house and make the kids their first snow cream. Now Gray can stop begging to move back to Memphis, since he's convinced that it only snows there. Sheesh! Finally, in preparation for our upcoming trip to Mexico, the kids have been taking swim lessons and it is like night and day from last year. They are using their arms, kicking hard and being so brave. I am one proud momma and can't wait for the rest of the fam to see them in action in just a few weeks.....eek! Mexico, here we come! Happy New Year! The Pattersons

A Very Merry Christmas

We started decorating for Christmas the day we got home from our Thanksgiving trip to the coast and we went full force like that all the way through the 25th. We had our first live tree in almost 10 years and had a great time decorating the house, watching Christmas movies, and doing all the seasonal things that have come to be traditions for our little family. We made a gingerbread house.... We rode Diesel, our favorite horse, around the neighborhood during the annual luminary display..... We saw Santa.....several times! We played in the snow at Alpine Village....and saw Santa We visited The Pink Palace's Enchanted Forest...and saw Santa Gray had his "Winter Celebration" at school where he presented his gift to me, we did a craft, and ate goodies with our friends... And Hayes had her Christmas program at preschool, followed by a reception and a playdate with the girls in her class... When P and Pop arrived, we let them open their gift to the kids.... I think the adults liked it as much as the kiddos! We watched the kids in their first Christmas pageant at church. Gray was "the donkey" and Hayes was an angel. We came back to our house and had Christmas Eve supper with everyone. Pop cooked, we opened presents, read the Cajun Night Before Christmas, and when the kids went to sleep, we watched old SNL clips on Youtube until we couldn't keep our eyes open any longer. And the next morning, Santa had come and the kids were so excited! Gray was super pumped about his Pokemon cards, light up Razor scooter, and head lamp! Hayes thought she'd died and gone to heaven when she opened her Rock Star ensemble, complete with a guitar! We spent the rest of the day at Lauren and Andrew's, exchanging gifts with the Pattersons, and then at The Griesbecks for a nice Christmas dinner with the whole family. We had a very Merry Christmas and hope you did too! The Pattersons