We had a wonderful Christmas that seemed to last forever this year; hence, it is rightfully dubbed "The Christmas Marathon." It certainly felt like one!
It all started the weekend before Christmas in Houston, where we celebrated Christmas with my family at my parents' house. Lindsay and Seth made the trip to Houston, so the only one that was MIA was our dear Katie. And she was most certainly dearly missed (although I felt a lot less bad for her when she called and I realized she was skiing in the French Alps).We opened presents, did our stockings (as is tradition), shared a wonderful meal, then headed to College Station to Santa's Wonderland. The lines were long, even just to park, but we had a good time even while we were waiting, and it was SO worth it. Definitely check it out if you're ever in the area in December!
There was a building that would every so often shoot out soap suds into the air to simulate snow. It was really cool, and Anna loved trying to catch them. 
While MawMaw held our place in line for Santa's Hayride, Lindsay and I took Anna and Seth to the Petting Zoo. Seth pet and fed the animals. Anna, on the other hand, preferred looking to touching.
Anna taking in some of the beautiful sights on Santa's Hayride.
That same weekend, we also decorated a gingerbread train. I thought I was going to be doing most of the work, but Anna really got into it and did a great job...that is, until she realized how good the icing was. Then it was all over! Every time she'd go to put a piece of candy on, one of her fingers would "accidentally" scoop off some icing so she could eat it :)Because we weren't going to be waking up in our own home on Christmas morning, Santa was good enough to agree to come a day early. So on Christmas Eve Eve (hehe), we wrote a letter to Santa and baked cookies so he could keep up his strength for the big day...
On the morning of Christmas Eve, Anna woke up to find all of the goodies that Santa brought her under our tree! She spent the day playing with her new toys...
Her biggest present was her new swingset! It was from Mommy & Daddy, MawMaw & PawPaw and Omi & PawPaw. We know it's something she will enjoy for years to come!
Then, later that evening we hit the all-too-familiar road to Baton Rouge.On Christmas morning, we traveled from Baton Rouge to Harahan to celebrate Christmas with Derek's family. We had a delicious lunch at Denise & Kevin's house, then opened presents at Jeff & Amy's. Anna felt like such a big girl getting to hang out with the older kids, and they are always so sweet about including her...
Caroline, Anna & Catherine
PawPaw stopped by to wish Anna a Merry Christmas on his way to the airport to visit Aunt Katie in France.
Enjoying a cookie with Omi & PawPaw
A group picture on the porch of Jeff & Amy's new house - the rocking chairs were Christmas gifts!
Christmas afternoon, we went across the river to Avondale to visit my Mom, Aunt Gay, Uncle Frank and my cousin Lisa, as my dad headed off to Paris to spend some time with Katie for the holidays. I can't believe I don't have any pictures, but even so - trust me, it was a wonderful, relaxed visit with people that we love very much and see far too seldom.
The last stop in our crazy Christmas Marathon was on Saturday at my grandmother's house in Lafitte, LA. I brought the potato salad (a long-running Schober family tradition) and it was a hit. Normally, this would be a good thing, but I have a feeling my Aunt Janice is ready to pass the torch so to speak and I just might have caught myself on fire! lol
We headed back to Houston on Sunday after lunch, and finally crossed that glorious finish line straight into our own beds! I don't know if it feels that good to finish a REAL marathon. I'm not a runner by any definition of the word. But as fun as it all was while it lasted, I have to say: It. Was. Good. To. Rest!Thanks again to all of our family and friends for making our Christmas so special. I hope you all had a safe and magical holiday season!
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