"Festive and Free. Two of the best F words..."

If you have ever tried to join the Melinder family on one of our outings you know that nothing runs "smoothly."

Scott used to go through the trauma of Moody Gardens christmas. We would show up to Moody Gardens ready to watch the Polar Express in 3D, 12 pack of coca-cola in hand (they have coupons on the can, you know), only to find out that we should've bought tickets days in advance.

Heather and Larry got to experience the Melinder quest for Wicked tickets. "hey guys, you want to drive to downtown and put our names in the drawing? Only two of us can win, but HEY its an adventure!" They climb into our minivan and join in for the 30 minute trek into the city... only to find out we were an hour late for the drawing. awesome.

So when we decided to go to one of our favorite Christmas light walk-throughs the other night I decided early on to photodocument the event. You know, in case things don't necessarily go as planned.

great choice. the plan unraveled about 10 minutes in.

the night started as normal. no big deal. rocking around the christmas tree with puppy. we decided that another night of watching puppy was not holly jolly enough and we wanted lights. pretty lights. big lights. blinking lights. festive lights.
bring it on.

so lets load up the minivan and get this show on the road. of couse puppy, the white blur, has to come along too. Yes. we have become THOSE people. The ones that bring their dog along to any location where it might be socially acceptable to have a 3 lb walking cotton ball with us.

we stop to get gas and I look up our light location online, you know... just to make sure we don't end up with a Moody Gardens situation again. I don't want to go to that dark place again.
the lights close at 9. its 8:46. awesome. ain't gonna happen, we live 45 minutes away now.
change of plans, lets just find some cool lights somewhere in HIGHLANDS.

yeah. that'll happen.

found em'! haha. nothing says Christmas like a single solitary lighted arch path. feel the holly jolly seeping into your soul.

different groups or businesses around the city sponsored Christmas trees to go in the park. This one was sadly knocked down... we think it really might have been in memory of the fallen heroes. ironically tragic.

i love gazebos. like... a lot. When I was little I called them Gaze Bo's. Thats right, like two words. Gaze. Bo. Its a legit mistake you see... I read a lot. and it looks like gaze-bo. don't laugh.

Gazebos just scream couple-y romance. I wonder how many people get engaged every year in a gazebo... I would bet the idyllic park proposal count is pretty high. Emily doesn't approve... boys beware.

She DOES however approve of the Sound of Music however... she's eleven going on twelve... baby its time to... get through jr. high without deep emotional scars. no boys.

why hello there tree topper piggy. what are you doing here? odd. very odd. 

yeah, we did it. the sleigh was just begging for Zoe to hop in. SHE however was NOT amused. or enthused. 

nuff said. Thank yooooouuuu Highlands. We'll head home now that the train is blasting out my inner ear. 

does your brother glow paint his t-shirts for the opening of Tron? mine does. and then entertains us by recharging his shirt with an LED and lettin' it glow... bahaha. around this time we decide that our little pit stop was just NOT enough festivity for the night.

nope. lets drive to downtown Houston! that'll be festive alright.

quick stop at home to drop off the dog. and make cocoa, of course. 

I discovered that we have tiny mugs. tons and tons of tiny mugs. I'm used to coffee bowl size mugs now, so these teacups just aren't doin' it for me. But I do love the "i heart my pastor" mug. winner. 

I ALSO love the cinnamon rolls that I made days ago. they freeze well and reheat well and will be enjoyed by all for weeks to come. mmmm. tasty. 

nothing better than those warm chocolatey memories. I would hate cold, powdery memories... those would just be worthless.

Jorey is unsure of his pastoral feelings. Typical. He doesn't heart his pastor. He stars his pastor. Or maybe pentagons his pastor... something a little more abnormal. 

to Discovery Green we go! now we're talking folks.... the big city. 

directly in front of you please note about a hundred of Houston's craziest folk. I mean, I love shuffling around in a crowded slippery herd of strangers as much as the next person, but I just wasn't feeling it that night. Bahumbug. 

i. love. this. display. the huge lit up balls have children's cute lil' faces on them... its just delightful. go forth little children and light up the world.

its a stay-cation year. no crazy drives to Chicago or Colorado or Florida, which is fine with these homebodies... BUT... its still really fun to go peek around the fancy hilton lobby and take pictures by their tree. Just to feel a bit fancier!

awwwww. presh parentals.

they decided to check out the comfy chairs while we explored the hotel... definitely some creepy Polar Express moments to be had and the skyline was locked. LAME. 

obvi, by our faces you can tell that we had a grand time. we just LOVE the posed "look like you would naturally sit by the waterfall and smile" pictures. 

our two downtowns. one night. living the Melinder life. and lovin' it.