The House that Stole Christmas

So Lauren and Robert decided to throw an impromptu Christmas gathering on Saturday night. We headed over to their house in one of my favorite neighborhoods in Dallas. Lauren intrigued all of us by claiming the greatest Christmas display on Earth was two blocks from their house...and they were having a block party we could crash...and we could walk there. So we all bundled up and headed over.

This creepy guy was in a small dollhouse on the lawn...just an introduction to the show...

This is ONE house...

This bike was just hanging in the side yard...why? More lights.

Seriously, I think this is the house that stole Christmas...how were there ANY strands of lights available for anyone else to use?? There was not an inch of the house that was not covered in lights: some were hot glued to the house, they lined the grass, there were whole strands shoved in liquor bottles and lining the walkway. Santa was there, they even had a porta-potty that was decked out for the holidays, and there was an elf parade. It really was the greatest Christmas display on earth, for sure.

Merry Christmas, friends!!!

The In Between

So here's what I've been up to in between the last two entries, because again...it's been two and a half months!!

The Rangers went to the World Series!!!! This is actually a picture from my iPhone so don't judge by the quality of this picture; but I must say this was the coolest. day. of. my. life. Not only were we there when the Rangers WON the ALCS, but this was also the day we saw our baby's heartbeat and got our first sonogram. So cool!!

Lindsey had her bachelorette party in Seguin. Lauren and I headed down and met them in Gruene. I did manage to bring my camera, but the sad thing is, I mostly took scenery shots. Sorry Lindsey...I don't know what I was thinking. But Gruene, TX is beautiful, and everyone should put on their boots and head down there for some wine sippin' or some two steppin'. Whichever you prefer...

Lauren had her second senior night; this time with the Longhorns. She also made it to the FINAL FOUR!! So proud of you, Lauren!!

I had the honor of practicing my photography skills on the beautiful Savage family. These are Miss Ellie's cousins!! Doesn't the cuteness just run in the family?? It was a lot of fun to get out there and practice, even if Gaitley wasn't feeling the photog session the whole time. How sweet is this family??

Anyway, so that's the exciting stuff that you've missed...I'm feeling better, so the blog is back!! Maybe not everyday, but no more two month hiatuses...I promise!

My Excuse

So in case all of my "loyal readers" have been wondering where I have been...I have a good excuse. The last blog entry was from Molly and Brett's wedding weekend IN OCTOBER!!! Let's face it, that wedding was pretty awesome. But what was even MORE amazing than the wedding was that was also the week we found out about this:

Pretty much after that weekend, I fell off the face of the planet. During the first trimester, I felt fine during the day (thank God--can you imagine teaching 140 7th graders with morning sickness?), but as soon as I got home I felt terrible and exhausted. So the camera sort of went to the wayside. Even when we did do things (because let's face it, that was two and a half months ago...I did get out of the house a little), pregnancy brain swept in and I'd forget my camera or I fell back into the "embarrassment" of having the big, fancy camera out and in people's faces. But I'm BACK!! Because I mean seriously, folks, if there's going to be a little Dickson running around here, I better get used to having the big, fancy camera out and ready for all the cute, adorable things that kid is destined to do!!! Am I right???

So I apologize for the blog break...but I'll be better! And with Christmas here, and snowy weather right around the corner, and all of the exciting stuff that is sure to be heading our way, there WILL be pictures!!

By the way...Best picture on the blog??? Maybe. But maybe I'm also a little biased.

**Disclaimer: obviously, the above picture was not taken by me, but I figured everyone would be okay with a "guest photographer" this one time...