Cadie's Mom Day

By Cadie Walsh, "This year‘s Mom Day was so much fun! We started off our day together by having a slow morning at the house and then headed to the nail salon. Every year Mom is so generous to let me get winter nails and I think this year‘s is the best iteration! I love having my nails done because it makes me feel fancy! After the nail salon we made our way to Dream Café, which was in the same area that the nail salon was. Mom and I split the most amazing blueberry muffin with strawberry butter. I got super fluffy delicious pancakes. Mom also let me get a very good chai latte. Being able to sit at lunch together and have conversation was nice. Once we finished our meal, we had to scurry over to a pressed flower art workshop! This was such a cool experience and we made beautiful pieces. We both love our artwork, and think the pressed flowers between the clear glass is very pretty. Every year my mom makes Mom Day special, and I could not be more grateful for her."

JR Ski Trip with Friends

By Jack Ranger, "For Truitt’s birthday this year, he invited Dez, Kai, and me to his family’s ranch in Durango, Colorado to go skiing. We left the Saturday right after exams, which made it fun because we were finally done with school. We got back on Christmas Eve, so the whole trip felt like a little holiday. We had three full days of skiing. Dez, Kai, and I all flew together on the same flight, and when we got to the Youngs’ ranch, I couldn’t believe how nice it was. It used to be a resort, so there are a bunch of cabins everywhere, and the main lodge is huge. They even have a giant kitchen and a chef who cooks for everyone, which made it feel like we were staying at the resort. The weather was pretty warm for winter in Colorado, so the snow wasn’t great. Almost all the snow at Purgatory Resort was manmade, and only about 30 runs were open. We still had a great time skiing though. The drive to the mountain took about an hour, and we would stop to get sandwiches for lunch on the way. Truitt and I ski a lot faster than Dez and Kai, so we split into two groups most of the time. It worked out fine because everyone got to go at their own speed. I also got to ski with Eli and Lawson, Truitt's brothers. Even though the snow wasn’t the best, the whole trip was really cool, and I’m glad we went because I had a great time."

Happy Thanksgiving!

What a wonderful Thanksgiving week with much to be thankful for. Grant and I had a fun kickoff to Thanksgiving week seeing John Crist, a comedian I really like, in Tyler on Saturday night. Grant gave me tickets for my birthday - so thoughtful! It was so nice to have a date night with G at the farm. 

I headed back to Dallas on Sunday so that Cadie and I could do a college visit at DBU on Monday. Our first college visit! They did a wonderful tour and it was fun to also learn more about the college that has meant so much to DD over the years. Cadie liked the upperclassmen dorms and the campus, but isn't sure they have a major that matches what she is interested in. We had a nice afternoon together exploring DBU!

Then we all headed to the farm to host family Thanksgiving. A big new difference this year was DD and Big John / Ace and Susie's new house. DD and Big John, Ace and Susie, Whitney and Daniel and their boys all stayed at the new house. It was done just in time!

We had a great group that included my parents, Ron and Nicki; Jerry, Susan, Lauren and Lauren's boyfriend Zach; Susan's brother John; DD and Big John; Monty Hamm; Daniel, Whitney, Wesbrooke and Whitaker; Ace and Susie; Preston and Parker; Jess; Myles Hamm and his girlfriend Erin; and of course the 5 of us. The weather was gorgeous, the food bountiful, and the games flowing (Dixie was a hit). Our Thanksgiving celebrations included:

• Wednesday evening party at the garden with a baked potato bar, "Semi-annual Semi-Talented Show", and campfire. Talents included songs (Papa sang "There's a hole in the bottom of the sea"), drawings (Zach drew SpongeBob Square Pants in under 60 seconds), Thanksgiving jokes by DD, a flea circus by Big John, craft time with Susie (adorable fire starters), and comedy with Erin. A silly and fun evening!
• Thursday Hamm Football game that was fun, until it got a bit heated and ended early.
• Thanksgiving Feast
• Games and Football

We headed back to Dallas on Saturday and had a great time wrapping up the week with the Snider Plaza tree lighting on Sunday afternoon. It was a super chilly day and due to the Snider Plaza remodeling the tree over the fountain wasn't there which was disappointed. But we all saw friends and had a nice time and I convinced Cadie and Colton to get a pic with Santa with me. JR was not willing.

Disney for Colton's 12th Birthday

By Colton Walsh, "Disney was so much fun and I would love to go again. This trip was my birthday present this year. I got picked up early from school on Halloween and we went to the airport. Cadie and Ranger did not want to miss Halloween so they came on Saturday. We got to Orlando at around 8 Pm there time and we met Christy Rome at the airport then we drove to our hotel called Saratoga springs. We had a 2-bedroom, 2 bathroom condo with a bed for everyone. In the morning we left for Holly wood studios. My top 3 rides there were Rise, Tower of Terror, and Rock'n Roller Coaster. Mom and Dad left early to pick up Cadie and Ranger from the air port while Christy and I headed to magic kingdom. We left magic kingdom at 10-ish then went to the hotel. In the morning we went to Epcot with the whole family this time. My top 3 rides there were Guardians of the Galaxy, Ratittuie, and Test Track. We headed back to the hotel but Cadie and Ranger went to Studios, then to Kingdom. In the morning we went to The Magic Kingdom. My top 3 rides there were Tron, Pirates, and Space mountain. I also got Baymax Micky ears. For the first time we all went to the hotel together. On the morning of our last day we packed up then went to the Animal Kingdom. My favorite rides there were Everest, Navi river adventure, and Kilimanjaro safaris (Honorable Mention: Banshee Flying). Then we headed to the air port and said goodbye to Disney also dad did a magic trick for the security guards. We got home at 11 and I went straight to bed. And that concludes our Disney trip. THE END."

The weather was perfect, the hotel was so nice and roomy, and Christy made sure we had fast passes and reservations for all the best rides! It was an amazing trip to Disney while we still have all our babies still in the nest. Probably our last one and it was a great one!

Pippin

By Cadie Walsh, "My friend Faith and I co-stage managed the fall musical at our school, Pippin. Rehearsal started on the second day of school in August, and lasted right up until the show dates October 16-19. It was a very busy few months, but really rewarding as well. This was the first show where I officially had the title of stage manager instead of assistant stage manager or run crew, so I was really proud of that. Faith called the show from the tech booth, and I ran everything backstage, including the fog machine. In order to operate the fog machine, I had to run under the main platform on the stage and manually press the remote, then run back during blackouts. Unfortunately, I was not able to see the show because I’m backstage the whole time, but from what I can tell, this was the best, most professional seeming show that I’ve participated in. I had a great time hanging out with my tech friends: Faith, Julia, Biv, and CeCe (with Peyton as an honorable mention). I had a fabulous time participating in Pippin, but the ending was very bittersweet. My closest tech friends are all seniors, and next year I’ll be alone without them. While our last show together was amazing, I am sad that it had to be the end of an era."

Ranger Turns 15

By Jack Ranger, "This year for my birthday we made the plan to take a big group of guys out to Six Flags Over Texas for Fright Fest. The day we planned for ended up having really bad rain and thunderstorms so we decided to take everyone to Pin Stack instead. We rented a van and Scotty also drove a few people with like 15 - 20 in total.  We had two cookie cakes from Tom Thumb and dad also ordered a pizza that looked like it could feed a city. We had enough time to do pretty much all the activities. Hunter and I were also "competing" for the Rockwall record (I won of course). It was last minute, but we pulled it together and I had a fun time and I think everyone else did too."

I rented a big white van from Avis with a downtown pickup so I could haul the boys around. Nina took me to pick up the van on Friday afternoon and she also helped me return it Saturday morning. I think we had a 16 boys attend and every seat was taken! While I was sad we had to abort mission for Six Flags, we made the best of a super rainy night. 

Happy Birthday Jack Ranger! You are hard-working, diligent, opinionated, helpful, funny, smart, and we are so proud of you. You get the zoomies every night at about 9pm, you informed me this year that you are too old for snuggles but I still try to scratch your back when you will let me, you do not like having to be home by curfew (10:30pm at this point), you still fall asleep a lot during the day, and you are glad to finally have your own bathroom but wish you had your own room too. I hope 15 is a wonderful year for you! We love you so much.

HPUMC JR at Core Retreat

By Jack Ranger, "Recently, I started going to the HPUMC Youth Group or WOW. I was invited by Beau Stewart who I know through the XC team. I was the only freshman guy in my small group so I invited friends and now we have around 12-14 people. One of the youth pastors, Desi, talked to me about the Core Group Retreat in Broken Bow, Oklahoma. I went ahead and signed up even though none of my friends could go. It was super fun. There was around 50 kids, so I got to know a lot of new people. It was a very relaxing and laid back trip overall. There was plenty of free time and worship. My small group leader was named Esmond and is a junior at HP. On Saturday night, we got out there settled in and had a small lesson. On Sunday, we did a 3 mile Hike near a river, then went back and had lunch. There was a shopping center near where the girls cabin was so we walked over there. A few friends and I did an escape room and got ice cream. My favorite part was Saturday Night extended worship. We all went out to the dock of the guys cabin around 10:00pm and had a big worship time. The trip was really fun and I am excited to get more involved with HPUMC as time goes on."