Secor weekend

This past weekend, we had all 22 Secors under one roof. 

Our roof, to be exact.

Knowing that we couldn't take this circus on the road much, because of our size, we planned and prepped like it was the olympics. And this family came to play.

Before the party got too big, we explored the Cave Without a Name. 

Benny had heard enough stalagmite mumbo jumbo, so he tapped out 5 minutes into the tour, but the rest of us finished strong, all 8 stories of stairs back to the top.

We did do one big outing, with the whole crew, down to the River Walk and did the boat tour, where we once again tried to out-funny our tour guide.  It's what we do.

Most of the weekend consisted of prepping food, eating food, talking about food, and eating more food. But when we weren't doing that, each couple took a turn with what I dubbed "cousin camp." The kids loved it. 

I didn't get pictures of all of them. Thomas and Jenn did a spy camp, which I think won them the title of best cousin campers.

Sunday night, we held Dad's birthday party. Jenn made a cake that changed my life. My mom prepared a Family Feud style trivia game about my dad, which was hilarious. Best gem of the evening was learning that my dad once went by the self-anointed title of Don Don Duarte. 

It was boys vs girls and I actually don't remember who won. I'm pretty sure it was the girls. And even if it wasn't, we'll tell them it was till they believe it. If you're wondering whether or not we took it seriously, wonder no longer.

The boys posed for a twinners pic. Secors do food. We also do twinner pics. 

Monday night, Jenn hosted the Olympic games. She's the real deal when it comes to party planning.

We had teams, complete with bandanas, team names, and team cheers. 

Because, of course you would.

The games were ridiculously funny, and we learned that Matt thinks Melissa needs to shave. One thing you need to know about Thomas is that he doesn't laugh hard too often. But when he does, tears come to his eyes, and he can. not. stop. This was one of those times. 

The kids thought it was cool to ride 4 to a row in the car. 

Not the best photo, but I wanted one anyway. Nana and Gramps, a fearsome duo.


Tuesday was a day of packing and leaving, and everyone completely blew me away with their cleaning skills. Mom, you raised some good kiddos. They didn't stop till it was all done and I had flowers on my counter.

I'm sure it goes without saying that I had a great time. I love my family. The end.

Christmas

Oh, hello Christmas. Kinda forgot about you.

Christmas was perfectly wonderful this year. Because of Ben, I didn't have the time or energy to do anything too crazy. 

Trader Joe's came through with a gingerbread house kit that appeased the masses.

 Hannah Andersson provided the Christmas jammies, which apparently, Ben wasn't too fond of.

But he was looking good on Christmas Eve, so there's that.

Kate lost her tooth on Christmas Eve, which meant both Santa AND the tooth fairy came that night. I wasn't sure if our house was going to be able to withhold so much magic. But, thankfully, it did. 

That girl. She's the sweetest.

I mean, really.

Christmas morning was all about Legos and American Girl, and Calico Critters.

Then some of us got dressed and ready for Christmas dinner with the Secors, who drove from Dallas. (Some of us were still in our pj's, but we don't need to name names.)

We showed them how Packers do Christmas with French Pancakes, played with Legos, and enjoyed overall merriment. I'm so glad they live in Dallas now and are willing to make that drive. Holidays with family are just so much better.

Benny Bear

I'm so behind in my posts. 

But it appears I only like to take pictures of the little man.

So while I try to catch up on other things, enjoy some pictures of my favorite 3 month old. 

This guy melts my heart on a daily basis. He's a pretty chill dude. He likes to go to bed around 7pm, wakes once, and then is up for the day at 8am. He wakes up super happy. All the books say your baby isn't done sleeping till they wake up happy, but I've never had a baby that did. They're always too hungry to be happy. But with this guy, we get at least 2-3 minutes of what we call "morning smiles" before he remembers he's hungry. He's not much of a laugher yet, although we have had a few incidents. It's almost guaranteed, though, when you're taking off his shirt to get a few giggles. He's pretty good at tummy time, I finally get one of those! And, he's a roll-over champion. He won't take a binky and that makes me want to put him in time out, but I munch on his cheeks all day and he never complains so I think we'll probably keep him.