I left off the last post with Jett & Delilah's birthday brunch & looking forward to Halloween. So, I guess it only makes sense to pick up there. In the last quarter of 2018 we finished off their birthday celebration; Trick or Treated; ate tons of turkey; had a visit from the big guy himself, Santa Claus & closed out the year with a bash at a dear neighbor's house. All of that with a WHOLE lot more crammed in between!
OCTOBER
To finally finish up the celebration of Jett & Delilah turning 8 years old, we visited them at their school, for lunch. Can't come empty handed... so, McDonald's for them & Subway for us. I secretly LOVE that they still want us to come to the school, as I know someday, all too soon, they will be mortified for us to step foot up there.
Delilah decided that she wanted to run for Student Council Representative again this year. (Jett sat this one out). He helped her with the slogan and she decorated her poster board all by herself. She won & is thoroughly enjoying all of the neat things that they do around the school.
On a Tuesday in October, every year, most neighborhoods gather together for National Night Out. Much like last year, a bunch of us met at the pavilion for dinner and laughs. Food trucks came; kiddos played in the bounce house, & we all enjoyed the perfect opportunity to get to know our neighbors a little better.
Jett decided that he wanted to try baseball out this October. We were so excited but a little nervous as this was his very first go round at it. Well, let's just say that he "hit it out of the park"... pun intended. He did fantastic and we are so very proud of him. Lots of practices and games but, their Team, The Bulverde Rangers, took second place! (And, while brother practiced you can bet that Delilah was always in the stands... reading or coloring).
We still managed to squeeze in a Family-Game-Night. This particular evening it was a fun game called "Rock The Boat". It was a game that cousin Cody and his family gave them for their birthdays.
Not too far from where we live is an area called Faithville. It has restaurants, coffee shops, salons, boutiques and even a little chapel. To celebrate the onset of Fall, they hosted a Fall Festival. We had lunch; Jett & Delilah met up with some sweet friends; and we did a bit of shopping. And of course... Delilah wanted to dress up! I just LOVE that she's always up for things like that!
Special Halloween treats for their teachers and classmates:
Our family costumes for this year were centered around baseball... Jett was a player; Delilah a cheerleader; Rich the Popcorn concession guy & I was "their biggest fan"! (No big stretch there!) We cruised the neighborhood in the golf cart, going door to door, snacking on popcorn and sipping on a few "adult beverages". The twins collected tons of candy and we shared some great laughs!!
October was pretty awesome. Here are a few more pictures that I didn't want to skip!
Lots of great things happened in November. For starters, at the beginning, Arlon Seay had their grade level achievement awards. Jett received one for perfect attendance; they both were on the Advanced Reader's list; and they BOTH ended up on the A Honor Roll! To say that we are proud is such an understatement.
Next, Jett & Delilah participated in the Fun Run for a fund raiser. I don't know where these kids get their energy but they ran laps as fast as they could.
Delilah participated in a really special project, called Reflections. This year the topic was "Heroes Around Us". Delilah chose to do hers on her Daddy, of course. She wrote an amazing letter about him and her growing up in a firefighter family. Then, she glued lots of pictures of her special man all over the poster board. I think she did one heck of a job!
Rich volunteered to talk with the students at their annual Career Day. It was such a hoot being there and watching the kiddos engage with questions and stories. I'm pretty certain that Rich had a great time, too!
Life is NEVER too busy for a little fun... quick trips to McDonald's; silly times while shopping; coloring; & school projects...
Once Halloween is over, Thanksgiving décor comes out.
We celebrated Thanksgiving at our home, surrounded by family. We had the traditional turkey dinner and I served it on Mom & Dad's wedding china. The children played while the adults chatted and sipped red wine sangria. We have so very much to be thankful for.
Keeping with tradition, we attended the Bulverde Tree Lighting Ceremony on Friday, after Thanksgiving. Even though we didn't stay too long, we managed to snap a quick pic in front of the town tree and then we headed to dinner at Beefy's On The Green.
Another family favorite is Christmas In Comfort, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We met up with our dear friends, The Strottner's, in Boerne for some lunch at The Dodging Duck. We then all stopped at Dickens on Main and ended our busy day with the parade in Comfort. I cherish these days.
With a little (OK, a LOT) of trouble with the Christmas tree lights, we finally managed to get the house decorated for Christmas. I just love when all of the lights are on the tree, decorations up, & fire in the fireplace.
Towards the end of November, we had another very special visitor. Paula came all the way down, from Tennessee to spend a few days. We laughed over margaritas and chatted over dinner with friends. It's always great to have those friends that you can always pick up right where we left off.
In hopes for JUST the right Christmas card, I always arrange for our Family photos to be taken. We went to New Braunfels and met with the photographer for pictures under the bridge. I'm happy to say that NO tears were shed and we seemed to get some really great photos.
I'll start off December by sharing some of the fun things that our Elf, Mickey, got in. Jett & Delilah just love waking up every morning to search for him!
Our special Holiday season was jammed packed full of hot cocoa; Christmas baking; cookie exchanges & classroom parties.
It wouldn't be the Christmas Season without our duo-family trip to Johnson City to see the Christmas lights, with the Strottner's. We started by having an early dinner at Rosebud café in Blanco and then drove on up to Johnson City. It was pretty cold but the lights were amazing and we even ran into some other friends, the Lewis'. And, it gave the twins a chance to make one more plea to Santa!
The 2018 Anderson Christmas Card:
This Christmas Eve was the best that it has been in quite some time. We were blessed by the company of lots of friends, family & neighbors. (We missed Uncle Clarence this year, as he was home sick). Those that joined us were Grandy, Aunt Milagros & Brisa, Brandon, Michela & their two daughters, Kim Moritz (all the way from PA!), Odis & Delores Walker, Kevin, Angela & Trinity Walker, Corey Walker, The Starr's, The Harkin's, and Andrea & Olivia Davis and her Dad. We had a blast playing the Saran Wrap ball game, drinking champagne and telling stories about old times.
After unwrapping gifts and digging through the stockings, we relaxed with some delicious monkey bread and then all watched a Christmas movie together.
After a little rest it was time for dinner. We prepared some delicious prime rib and chicken for Rich, Chris & I while Jett & Delilah dined on their favorite... cheese pizza. It went perfectly with a delicious red wine and a cozy fire in the fireplace.
All in all we had a fabulous Christmas Holiday and I'll admit that I'm a little sad to see it over.
We closed out 2018 with a wonderful night of celebration with dear friends and our family... Me, Rich, Chris and the Twins went to a New Year's Eve bash at the Starr's, here in the neighborhood. There was gambling; lots to eat & drink (too much so); and lots of kids playing. It was the FIRST time that our little family had ALL made it to midnight to ring in the New Year!
With that being said... the Anderson family cannot wait to see what adventures are in store in 2019!
Until next post... Cheers everyone & HAPPY NEW YEAR!
