Hill Country Christmas

My entire life...and that's a while!...my Dad's family has always celebrated Christmas the Saturday before Christmas...and I don't remember ever missing a single one.  It's always the start to our Christmas Celebration.

This is my Grandaddy and Grandmother Hill....where it all started.  He was 14 years older than she...he was 40 when his first child was born and 60 when his eighth child was born.  My Dad is the oldest, James Marion Hill, Jr, aka Pistol to his family.  I've asked a hundred times how he got that nickname and I'm not sure if anyone really remembers, but I keep forgetting all that I've been told!  I'm gonna HAVE to get that written down.

My Dad has a large family, seven brothers and sisters, who are now either grandparents or great-grandparents, so that makes for a rather large gathering....normally around 60.  It's just a big ole potluck, exchanging of the gifts (we still draw names) and lots of catching up with family.  I really enjoy getting to see everyone in one place at the same time.  My grandparents passed away years ago, but I am so thankful everyone makes such an effort to get together each year...it's the only time I see some of my aunts, uncles and cousins.

This is a picture of my Dad's brothers and sisters...all beginning with the letter "J".

Back row:  Jerry Lee, Twins Jane & Judy, JoJo & John
Front Row:  Jackie, my Dad- Jim, aka Pistol to the family, and Joyce



The Hill Cousins

My family has been so blessed...there hasn't been a death in this extended family other than my grandparents: my granddaddy who lived to be 101 and my grandmother died at 87 and a baby that was stillborn more than 40 years ago.  To my knowledge there's no family history of diabetes or cancer...which is this day and age is a miracle.

So thankful for my Hill family.

Fayetteville Half Marathon

Friday (12/10) after work we headed to Fayetteville for Mark to run a half marathon.  We stopped in Russellville at Cracker Barrel on the way because I do love me some breakfast for supper!  We like going to Fayetteville and staying at the Cosmopolitan ONLY because it is on the square...it's certainly not for their accommodations or service.

Saturday morning we slept in since the Expo didn't open until 11:00.  When we got up we walked to the expo to pick up Mark's packet...quite different from the huge expo we just visited in Dallas the week before...but this was the first "Fayetteville Half Marathon" (although they do the Hogeye in April) and had less than 1,000 participants...so a lot smaller scale.  But they just seem to be disorganized...it made me want to get people lined up in the right place and divided between "registration" and "pre-registered" but alas I had to step back, before my husband got really put out with my huffing and puffing.  : )

It's was interesting that this was the first thing you saw as you entered the expo...I knew it was cold but...


Wind Chill 7 -- REALLY??!!??


It actually worked to my advantage that the packet pick-up went quickly.  After a walk around the square and a stop in at Houndstooth the BEST store for Razorback t-shirts.  We had time to go Christmas shopping in Rogers!  Well..I went Christmas shopping, Mark was my chauffeur and sat in the car and either read his Kindle or napped.  But hey...it worked out great for me, everyone likes front door service and not having to search for a parking place during the holidays.  After I was worn out, we headed to my favorite Mexican restaurant, Abuelo's...I SO wish we had one in LR.  LOVE that place.

After a stop at WalMart on the way back to Fayetteville we headed back to the hotel, where upon arrival I pitched a little hissy fit because there was NO WHERE for guests of the hotel to park.  It was CRAZY in the area.  The square was lit up for Christmas and it was beautiful, but made parking a nightmare.  We finally kept driving around until a place on the street opened up...no way were we getting in the parking deck.  Later that evening we bundled up and decided to walk down to Osegueara's...it is LaHacienda North! (Yes, we eat a lot of Mexican food...as my husband says, Mexicans eat it everyday!)  After dinner we walked around the square, rather briskly I might add..it was so cold...but it was beautiful.



Where else do you find a Razorback on the carousel, except for Fayetteville, Arkansas!



I tried to talk Mark into a carriage ride, but he wouldn't hear of it!  I sure was thankful for my new furry boots.

The main reason Mark wanted to do this marathon was because the finish line was inside the new John McDonnell Field, one of the top outdoor track and field facilities in the nation.

Earlier in the week a friend of Mark's grandbaby, Lyla Elizabeth Threlkeld, passed away from birth complications and Mark decided he wanted to dedicate this run to her memory.

 I can't tell you how cold it was...the temperature was 19 and the wind chill was 7 at the beginning of the race.  About 15 minutes in, I saw Mark (here in the pic) and asked him how he was doing, he said he was COLD.  This road had a pretty steep hill coming up and after the race Mark told me at that point he was cold and tired and wanted to quit, but then he thought of baby Lyla and pressed on to finish.








Coming into the John McDonnell Track &
Field Complex - the home stretch!



2 hours and 30 minutes - Best time by 5 minutes!
The clock on the right was for the 5K

 

Thank goodness for the new Hog Hoodie we bought at WalMart the night before!  Mark started out with the hood up and started sweating so he pulled it off...a little while later his head was cold so when he went to put it back on the sweat had frozen on his hood!  He said when they got their water at the stations they had to break the ice before they could drink...when he went to drink his Gatorade from the bottle on his hip...it was slushy...now that's cold people!

Marathons the first two weekends of December following Thanksgiving put a toll on this girl to get ready for Christmas, considering my family's Christmas is the third weekend of December!  Good thing I wasn't having to go into the office all day every day, or I don't think I could have pulled it off!  We're going to have to nix one of the December events next year, or I'm going to have to be a lot better prepared for Christmas before we go!

Dallas White Rock Marathon

The first weekend of December we took a trip to Dallas.  Mark had signed up to run his first full marathon...26.2 miles.  Now to date, the farthest he has run was 20 miles around the neighborhood.  He didn't get to train as hard in the weeks prior...first he pulled a groin muscle and then once that healed, he was out running and was tripped up by a neighborhood dog and ended up with knees, legs, hands and elbows that were banged up.  So the trip was off...then on...then off...then on...well you get the picture!

We left after work on Friday night...stopping in Texarkana to eat at On the Border...since our OTB was out of commission due to the fire, we were craving it so we stopped at first available. 

The host hotel in Dallas was the Downtown Hyatt Regency...can you say I LOVED the bed...very nice.  Since we got in late Friday night, we slept in Saturday morning.  When we got up Saturday, we hopped on to the shuttle and headed to the Health & Fitness Expo at Fair Park so Mark could pick up his packet...which contains his bib and all other pertinent information...no packet...no run!  It was the biggest and best health fair we've been to.  There were several good vendors selling "runners wares", booths with information about upcoming marathons and some other booths of general interest. 

The first "Dallas White Rock Marathon" in 1971 involved a ritual of placing your hand on a rock embedded into the shore for good luck...a ritual started by the Grecians in 1896.  Below is "The Legend of The Rock."



Well..Mark wasn't taking any chances!

 After we finished with the Health Expo we went over to the Holiday Gift Expo...it was pretty much a bust, expo for the Texas Toffee we sampled...man was it good!  I have to admit there was a lot of crafts happening for kids at the expo, so that was nice for those that had kids. 

This was the first year for the marathon to be held at Fair Park which was pretty cool...it was the site of the old Texas World Fair and home to the Cotton Bowl. 

After our business was taken care of at the Expo, we went back to the hotel for a little rest and then decided to walk down to the West End area for dinner.  We ended up at Hooters...imagine that!  It was REALLY cold and VERY windy.  I wasn't expecting such chilly weather.

Mark had a dilemma of trying to decide what to run in the next morning...how many layers...but Superman had to be on top...of course!  Here was the final outcome.  Thank goodness for Under Armour Cold Gear!

As Mark had to be on the shuttle headed for the race the next morning at 6:30, we turned in early.  Since I couldn't ride the shuttle on race day...it was only for "runners"...I opted to take the DART later in the morning...and since Mark would be running for "a while", I decided to sleep in a bit and catch the first hour of the marathon on TV...yes, they broadcasted the first three hours of the marathon locally in Dallas.

This is a shot of one of the corrals starting out...there were over 22,000 runners and there were over 15 different corrals...which means, Corral A starts and then a few minutes later, Corral B starts and so on and so on...that way you don't have 22,000 people starting at the exact same time!  Mark didn't get out of the start gate until around 9:00!  Sure am glad I didn't hurry down there to watch them start at 8:00!  heehee!  I got down there in PLENTY of time to roam around and freeze to death while waiting for him to cross the finish line.

Now, I have never taken "the DART" before and had no idea what I was doing.  Once I found the station outside our hotel, I had to figure out how to buy a ticket and then the schedule and be sure I got on the DART going the right direction!  And as my luck would have it, when I got to the platform, there was not another soul around and as I'm trying to figure out how to buy my ticket, some guy walks up to me wanting money...of course!  I got spooked and went back inside the hotel and was contemplating taking a cab!  But then I heard the DART coming and by the time I got back outside to the platform and purchased my ticket, it had gone again!  But there were a couple of people who got off to transfer so I felt a little safer.  I did finally make it to my destination...after only taking one wrong transfer...and by the end of the trip, I was a navigating pro!

While I was in the process of getting TO Fair Park, this is what Mark was doing...

 

RUNNING!

Yes, he ran for 5 hours and 40 minutes!!  The clock at the finish line says 6:27, but remember, he didn't get started until almost 9:00.  If you look real closely on the left, I am in the red jacket (with the hood up!)  I was so proud of him.  To date the farthest he had run was 20 miles and a marathon is 26.2 miles.

Mark headed to the finishers area to retrieve his medal, some nourishment and have his picture taken while I waited outside.

Then we headed back to the hotel for a nap (via the DART)... : )

Later that night we decided to head back to the West End area for dinner (since it was close), but opted to take the DART instead of walking since the weather was so miserable.  We found an upscale Mexican restaurant (I can't remember the name) that was really good.

Monday morning we slept in, got ready and then headed for home.  We did hit a Hooter's in Texarkana (another one for Mark to add to his list)...but I won't be going back, the service was terrible and the food was worse!

It was a great weekend and we get to do it again the next weekend in Fayetteville.

November Roundup

I'm so far behind blogging that I've decided to do a November Round Up in an attempt to catch up before the end of the year!

Well you can't Round Up November without talking about Thanksgiving!  I'm so blessed with family, extended family and friends.  I'm grateful and love each and everyone for the things they bring into my life...each one is unique.

Mark and I are very lucky that both of our parents live 30 minutes from us (in different directions)...but it allows us to spend all holidays with both sides of the family.  It would be very hard to be away from my family for any holiday!


The Hill Family Thanksgiving

I didn't get a picture of the entire Cato family...they're too big to fit around one table!  : )  I'll have to do better next year getting them all to at least stand around the table.

Notable Birthdays:



 

Mark's Pappa celebrated his 91st Birthday



Good Friend & Lovely - Stacey



Good Friend & Lovely - Carole



Good Friend & Co-worker - Theresa

Notable Anniversaries:



Kelly & Stan Thomas



Me & Superman - 13 years







 

 Notable Events:

The night after Thanksgiving the Hill Family volunteered out at the "Enchanted Land of Lights & Legends".  It was REALLY cold, but we had a great time!  All of Dad's grandchildren were there collecting donations (we collected $1,300!), handing out pamphlets and candy canes.  Wishing everyone that came through a Merry Christmas.  We even handed out a few dog bones to the puppies.  I believe we'll make it a new tradition.

 

On Saturday, November 27, the Arkansas Razorbacks defeated the LSU Tigers 31-23 at War Memorial Stadium to earn it's FIRST ever trip to a BCS Bowl...the Sugar Bowl, January 4, 2011 -- How Sweet it is!