A visit from Jason's sisters!

Back when we thought we'd be all alone for Christmas (again) this year, Jason's sister Rachel decided she was going to buy an airline ticket and come visit us the week prior to Christmas, so we could have some family for the holidays. It was very sweet of her to think of us. It was even more sweet of her to also buy two additional tickets for two of her younger sisters, Danielle and Joanna! Not too long after the tickets were purchased, we found out that Jason's Mom and Dad were going to fly us out to Virginia for Christmas. Now I was worried that Rachel would see her trip as a waste - since we'd be flying out to Virginia two days after she left our house. It ended up not being a waste at all! I'm very glad that she didn't change the dates of their tickets - because when we did arrive in Virginia - we barely had time to visit with any of them. This way we were able to spend more time with the 3 of them while there were here at our house. It was really fun!

We picked the three of them up at the airport late on December 14th. The next day we headed out to San Antonio's most prized tourist attraction...you guessed it - Sea World! Sure - we go there almost every weekend, but Danielle and Joanna really wanted to go and Rachel had never been there. We spent the day there and it was the coldest day we've ever had since we've moved here! Dang blast it! Of all days - it had to be this one! We were freezing! Especially since you can't pass up a good water ride when you're at Sea World! It just wouldn't be right!

Me and Rachel at the hospitality house at Sea World


I'm enjoying myself a little too much on the kiddie rides...


We love you Santa Shamu! ;)


We made a quick stop to pose with this pig on our way to our next ride. Why would a pig look this happy at a BBQ restaurant? I mean honestly! ;)


It's time for a game of Race the Shamu!


No-nonsense Rachel...


against Jason (who appears to be cheating) and Danielle (not pictured). Who will win?


Rachel steals the victory and the Shamu prize!


Onto another game...

I've got the seal on my side! Woot woot!

The girls posing for a picture with the seal...I'm sure he has a name, but he's not as famous as Shamu!

Me, Joanna, Rachel and Danielle on the log ride. "We love you Shamu!"

After a few more rides on our favorite roller coaster, The Steel Eel, we decided to call it a day. Then after making a call to my Daddy-poo for tickets, we headed out to our favorite theater and watched Enchanted. The ending could have been a little bit better, but besides that - it was so cute! I can't wait util it comes out on DVD!

The next day we did a lot of shopping - or at least I helped Rachel do a lot of shopping and then went out to Mamacitas for a late lunch (our favorite Mexican restaurant). ;) After that we came home and painted a children's nativity set while watching our favorite movie - Pride and Prejudice. Somehow Kristin got a hold of two of the main characters - Mary and Joseph - before I could notice and painted them both red ALL OVER. Eek! Joanna and Danielle did a good job painting their pieces. There was no more paint left for Rachel and I to do ours though. Sniff. :( Those greedy little paint hogs! ;)

The next day we didn't do a whole lot - mostly because we woke up REALLY late (after staying up really late the night before). We did make Rice Krispy holiday houses. It was something Jason picked up at the commissary. He was so excited about it and then we went and made them while he was a work. Poor Jason. I don't think they ended up being as spectacular as he thought they were going to be anyways. Later on, we went out to Costco and picked up a pizza to bring home. After we ate, Rachel and I made our homeade Peppermint Patties! Mmm hmm... We make them every time we get together! It's tradition! :) They're yummiest after they've been in the freezer for a while. Mmmm...peppermint patties... Afterwards, we played Catch Phrase and Disney Scene It. The competition was fierce! ;)

Kristin and Joanna's Rice Krispy house

Danielle's house

Rachel and my house

The next day I helped Rachel shop...some more... You can never shop too much (that seems to be our unspoken motto). :) We also went to the Christian bookstore for some Christmas shopping. Then we picked up Jason and went to Panda Express for dinner before heading out to the Barnes and Noble and Starbucks. When we got home, we started building our gingerbread houses out of graham crackers. It was a competition for Best Design. The contestants: Me and Rachel vs Danielle vs Joanna and Kristin. Jason would have participated, but he had to go to bed. Has anyone noticed that Jason hasn't been around much? He had a poopy schedule at work while the girls were here visiting. Surprise surprise. :( Anyways - Rachel and I started out ahead in the gingerbread house competition...until something went horribly wrong. Our house caved in! We had to go with an alternate plan, but it just wasn't good enough. Danielle pulled ahead after taking our original design. She made it better than ours could have ever have been and she went crazy with all of the details! Joanna's house started out good until it caved in from candy overload. The roof just couldn't support all of the weight - and so out of anger, she smashed the rest of it. :) Poor Joanna-bean! So the next morning, Jason picked the winner. It was no surprise - Danielle's won. Jason was embarrassed to discover that the one he picked wasn't mine and Rachel's. He thought for sure, we couldn't have been beat (what with our age and skill). But it's true. Our little 14-year old sister...is better than us. ;)

Joanna, Danielle and Kristin posing for a picture at the mall. Aw...aren't they cute?!

"We will not be defeated!"

Joanna and Kristin (Kristin left Joanna to fend for herself soon after this pic was taken...)

Feeling bad that we have an advantage over the younger kiddies...

Danielle steals our design and makes it even better! How dare her! ;)

Joanna putting as many pieces of candy on top of her house as physically possible.

Danielle leaving us all in the dust...

"So we're not that creative...so what?!"

Rachel and Tricia's house...it could have been a masterpiece had it not been for that cave-in...

Danielle's house...1st Place. Pssh! ;)

Joanna's house...uh...after her fit of fury... :)


The next day was the girls' last day with us. We (surprise surprise) did some more shopping and then came home to make spaghetti, garlic bread and salad for dinner. Afterwards, we drove around with Jason looking at Christmas lights on base. We spent the rest of the night packing and cleaning up. I drove the girls to the airport very early the next morning. : ( Krisitn and I were very sad to see them go, but we were going to see them in a couple of days when we got to Virginia. Hooray!