Watkins Christmas

Back to Big D or I should Little E to have lots of Christmas fun with the Watkins crew. We arrived on Sunday the 27th while Honey and Papa we're givin' some TLC to Anna and Graham. Ash and Dave were off celebrating their birthdays in Washington DC for the weekend.
First things first...lots of love for new cuz Graham

Manger Manager

One thing that was terribly difficult this visit was seeing our friends. We were able to snag a very quick lunch with some of our besties The Sheps and The McWilliams though.

Last time I saw Jen was in August when Ashley and I flew to Northern California. She was pregnant with this sweet baby Pierce so it was a treat to meet him for the first time. Big brother Jake was fast asleep.

Nick and Keith with their boys

Honey, Brooks and Lou Lou

Patiently waiting...

The famous donut tree...boys putting the donut seeds (cheerios) on.

Barrett checking to make sure the tree has donuts.

Sure 'nough...Cousins picking the donuts. This really is like Christmas morning every single time. First of all there are no white donuts to be found in Doha and they could eat them literally for every meal and be satisfied.

We finally saw snow fall...


The night before Christmas presents...

Brooks fell asleep guarding the presents and watching...you guessed it
Polar Express!!

Waiting patiently to open presents

At least stockings came before lunch

Last year we started a little tradition of having a fish fry around Christmas. With all these men being fishermen, there's plenty of fish to fry and its a fun change from the normal tradtional meal. The Bees love Papa's fried fish...who doesn't!

Finally time for presents. The boys find just as much excitement from talking about presents and to handing them out as they do opening them. Here's Mr. Junod with his stack and hand-on-hip action.

Happy Opening...

New BU jerseys from Honey and Papa (thanks to our favorite Waco shopper!)

G-man and Papa just hanging out during presents.

This is Aunt Rosie posing in her new purple wrap that Ash and I gave her. She and her late husband have lived in Denton for years. She's is a fireball and keeps us all in line! She speaks her mind but always with correct etiquette. Thankfully she offered and has allowed our truck to be parked at her house while we're in Doha. Aunt Rosie is a special treasure to our family. I don't have a living grandparent and she's just as close as it gets. She's my Mimi's sister and a huge blessing. I love that my boys know Aunt RoRo and will always remember her.

More purple...for the Frog Fans in our family!

Bear's new big boy backpack.

Whew...its a good thing Honey and Papa pulled through on the "scooter with 2 wheels". Santa kinda let us down. Thanks H & P!


There's just something about my daddy and my baby!! This is the man who without hesitation is going to fly to Doha at the end of May to help me and my 3 babies get back to Dallas for my cousin, Louisa's wedding. He's a natural and we're so glad he's our's!

Before the Watkins Christmas Day ended Honey and I took the boys out for the evening. The Richardson public library has an amazing village set up to walk around. Tons to see and be entertained by. We were actually so glad we went after Christmas...the crowd was minimal.




We also went further east in Richardson to ride a train set up by this sweet man who turns his entire yard into a "Holiday Express". (www.holidayexpressridingtrain.com) He doesn't charge anything for the rides and the train runs every single day from Thanksgiving to New Year's. Needless to say we'll be back and this man is one in a million!




Finishing our big day at home all geared up with our new stuff...new pjs, toys and Batman sheets.

Honey gave the boys these adorable pjs with bees on them!! Especially for our Bees!