December: Visiting Dad in Corpus Christi and Family Pictures

December began with Derek in Corpus Christi. So, we got the kids out of school early on Friday and took off to visit him for the weekend.

We got there in time to check in to the hotel and then head out for yummy food!

 We sure love these crazy kiddos!

Hotel time! Who doesn't love laying in bed watching cartoons and wrestling on the beds with your siblings?!

Day 2 was BEACH DAY! We LOVE the beach. Words don't describe our love of playing in sand and collecting treasures and boogie boarding for hours.

One of the best parts of Texas is being able to go to the beach in the December and have an awesome time. It was so sad at first though because our favorite beach was closed due to damage from Hurricane Harvey. It made that Hurricane all too real and it was so sad driving along the shore and seeing buildings damaged from the storm. However, Corpus was strong and we found a beach and it was beautiful!

My favorite people getting sandy!

Connor was made for the ocean. He loves it so much!

 Kael and Eden LOVE boogie boarding. All the kids do. I can't wait to get somewhere with actual waves so they can really test out their skills they have been practicing.

 Derek is an amazing father. He will play with these kids all day and isn't afraid to get messy with them. He is a good sport and is a kid at heart. I love seeing his love for the kids shine and it was so nice to spend time with him!

 She wanted a picture with a sad face because we found a dead fish and it was "sad" that the fish was dead.

 Eden never stops posing. She is so cute!

 I love it when I catch a true genuine Elara smile instead of a fake one for a picture. This girl was happy!

After playing in all that sand it was time to head back to the hotel and clean off by swimming in the pool! We love indoor pools because us fair skin people get sick of sunblock really quick!

 So that basically ended the fun for the trip. Kael and Elara got really sick in the middle of the night and by morning both were throwing up. We took Derek back and laid on beds until it was time to go home. I was grateful to keep most of the sick there and not at the house by myself.

Poor sick kiddos!

On the drive home Kael didn't make it more than 30 minutes before he got sick again. Thankfully he has gotten better at not freaking out and all was contained and we pulled over and the kids slept the rest of the ride home! I was tired!

We have a good friend in our ward Kaycee Fillmore who took AMAZING family photos for our family! They moved in to our ward from Germany this summer. Yes, another wonderful military family! I have been lucky to work with Kaycee in the young women's and have LOVED getting to know her and her family better. Out of the kindness of her heart she took these beautiful pictures of our family! To say I love them isn't enough!
There was a train passing by "several miles away" and Connor LOVES trains and says, "Hear it?" as he points to his ear. Over and over and over. I'm so happy to have snapped a picture of him at one of his happiest moments a 2 year old can have.

 Dad and his monkeys. The girls loved taking this one!

 We just wanted the boys to all fold their arms. Connor thought that meant it was time for a prayer and so he did what he always does... Close his eyes, fold your arms and run away as fast as you can. It was such a funny moment!

Love isn't a strong enough word to describe how I feel about Derek. The man he is for our family, our children, for me. My best friend on this earth and partner in crime. I love getting to walk through this life with him and I'm so glad he chose me!