Great weekend before Christmas

Not too much to report, just a great relaxing weekend before Christmas, and I don't think I've ever used that word to describe the weekend before Christmas before. It's all about the kids. Oh yeah, I did get a new car - had to leave the Volvo behind - it needed too many repairs that we couldn't afford. Now Mommy has a new "cool car."

We went to a live nativity scene, so excited about baby Jesus:

Trying to warm up with some hot chocolate afterwards, watching Rudolph, of course:

Snuggle time with Mama, wow I love this time of year:

So You Think You Can ....Dance?

Not so much...Emerson had a mini-recital last weekend where the parents came into to watch the last ten minutes of class. As they entered the stage, I noticed Emerson had a magic wand in her hand and none of the other little girls did. This wasn't a good sign. As they pranced on stage to place themselves on their sticker, Emerson had a little something else planned for HER recital. Yes, her very own recital within the recital that the other children were dancing to. She twirled and threw that wand as if she had been practicing it for weeks and I just hoped and prayed it didn't hit anyone. I was tempted to take it from her, but I didn't want to ruin anyone else's video when she threw a fit. At last, the wand dropped and slid across the floor underneath the Christmas tree. I thought she would get back on track, but of course that didn't happen and she crawled under the tree to retrieve it. The other parents were quite amused and trying to catch our reaction. Emerson finally did participate a bit with the tap and of course she always loves the tumbling.

Erick and I didn't say a word to each other on the way home. We went out to dinner for his birthday that night, and he said to me, "I don't know about you, but I was mortified today." I answered, "No, not me. I'm getting used to having the spirited child. At least everyone will remember her." There's no doubt about that.

As we were leaving that day, the teacher made sure to point out they would start practicing for their real recital next summer right after the holidays. Not sure why she directed it at us???!

So Much to Share...

Aunt Tiffy and the cousins came last Wednesday and we had a ton of fun. We played at the park on a very cold Thursday, and even got to play some basketball! We did so much, I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves:

Ready for the big event, Disney on Ice!

So much fun!

And if that wasn't enough, we celebrated Madison's 5th birthday! WOW! Can't believe it.

It seems like just yesterday that we were in California celebrating her birth. That was such a magical Christmas:

My Best Friend Gary

Who new Elf on the Shelf could change so many people's lives???!! Emerson matter of factly named him "Gary" and he is our new best friend. Thanks Brett for bringing him to us!

Feeling Thankful

I'm always behind these days. That's the holidays for ya. It's just a little more than I can handle most days, and then I try to remind myself what it's all about - spending time with family. I think I may like Thanksgiving better, there's no pressure to make sure the gifts are well-received and just good old-fashioned family-time with no strings attached and whole lot of eating and drinking. My kind of day. We spent Thanksgiving break at Aunt Tiffy and Uncle Mark's this year and it was so relaxing. The kids had a ball together, and we went to Grandma and Grandpa for the big day which was perfect as always. Grandma really knows how to make everyone happy!

Our forever attempt to get just the 3 of them to look at the camera. Emerson is always just a blur in the picture (gee, I wonder why?).

The awesome placecards that Emerson made (with the help of Kayti):

Grandma never skimps on the decorations:

My little pony likes turkey, too!


Donkers favorite spot at Grandma's house (besides under the table trying to score a fallen scrap):



Besties:




Yes, I know he needs a haircut and I'm finally starting to warm up to the idea (sniff, sniff):