Christmas Afternoon

Kristin was my official taste tester as we were getting ready for family to come over.  She was a great helper with setting up the food, well what she didn't eat anyway!

The family trickled in at various times which was nice.  We have a standing policy that anyone can come over anytime after 12:00.  That's only so we can clean up a little from the morning and have time to change out of our pajamas!

So family starts arriving which totally occupies Zach.  He starts playing and everyone chit chats.

Presents eventually get exchanged.  (We did this late this year because Paul was switching over the girls' cell phones.)  Here's a few pics from that:

It was a fun day filled with presents, family and food.  I was exhausted by the end of the day but it was a good exhausted.  I'm really glad Christmas only comes once a year!

I'll leave you with one more pic and that's of Alex. Ryan and him were playing basketball with Zach's Little Tyke basketball net and he just looked so cute hugging the ball in his jammies.

I also loved the fact that they took the basketball net with them!  I had been meaning to donate it to Goodwill but kept forgetting to get it out of the basement.  I'm glad it got a good home.  It used to be Lauren's when she was little.  

Christmas!

This year I actually found Christmas pajamas that Lauren approved of, of course she was with me when I bought them!  I had to find something different for Zach but at least they all had a penguin theme to them. Here's the gang on Christmas Eve: 

And then again Christmas morning:

Zach saw the presents under the tree and was all smiles:

He was very excited that Santa filled his stocking too:

Who looks more excited, Kristin or Zach? 

Okay, now it's present opening time and these pictures are in no particular order.  Zach loved his pee wee pillow pet. 

Lauren finally got the coat she had picked out a month ago.  Of course mommy had to send it to Santa so he could put it under the tree.

Zach was in awe the whole morning, I loved his facial expressions.  He did a great job at getting the presents out from under the tree and passing them out.

Lauren snuggling with her zebra blanket:

It would not be Christmas if Kristin didn't get warm slippers:

A "22" shirt for Megan which was perfect for her.  Ask her about it sometime.

Kristin got a clip-on book light that went with the 50 million books she got.  Well, not exactly 50 million but close.

Santa must have stopped at Hershey, Pa before visiting our house because Megan got the Hershey chocolate bar pillow she wanted. 

Like I said, I loved Zach's facial expressions!

Kristin will stay nice and warm with her penguin hat.

When presents were all done I started breakfast while the kids checked out their stuff.  There was one last present for Megan though which was handed to her while I pretended to call mamaw and papaw.  Wait...the box was ringing...she got her cell phone that she's been wanting for forever!

It wasn't just any phone either, it was an iPhone.   Now she can not only text/call but can listen to music, play games and take pictures.  She loved it!

Another group picture before eating our sausage biscuits and gravy.

Lauren and Kristin got surprised after breakfast with their new iPhones.  We made them wait since we wanted Megan's to be special since it was her first one.  Of course Paul and I also got them too.  So now we are a family of iPhone users.  Who would have thought a cell phone could be so much fun!

Cookie Making

I was planning on making cookies last Saturday but Zach was sick and I really wanted him to help.  Of course I couldn't put it off any longer when he was still sick on Sunday so the girls and I went ahead and made them.  We did 3 different kinds and I didn't think about getting any pictures until we were on our 3rd one.  So here's the girls as they make Christmas trees.

They had to roll out lots of little balls and then put them together to look like a tree.  After the cookies baked and cooled Lauren then drizzled them with a glaze and I put the sprinkles on. 

Here's what Zach did the whole time we were baking:

Poor little guy!  He started with his fever Friday evening and had it until Monday which is when I took him to the doctor.  He just had a virus but at least with this one he wasn't quite as miserable as he was when he was sick the weekend before.  All I can say is that he'd better not get sick this weekend! 



Decorating the Tree

Our tree has been up for the past two weeks but it didn't get decorated until tonight.  Jingles, our elf that visits us in December actually put up the first ornament.  He hides every morning and this morning he was hiding in the tree with a brand new elf ornament that had all the kids names on it. 

Of course the kids added more ornaments.

They each have their own box of ornaments that I've collected for them through the years which they can pick from to put on the tree plus I have my ornaments that they also put on. 

Paul actually watched the kids decorate it this year instead of watching tv or being on the computer.  He actually came in handy too since we have a new tree that's 7 1/2 feet tall and none of us girls (or Zach) can reach the top! 

Here's the tree the way the kids decorated it.

I had to switch a few ornaments around because some of the picture ones were in the back or there were 2 or 3 ornaments on the same branch.  They did a pretty good job though and now that's one more thing I can check off my list of things to do.

Indoor Soccer

Lauren has started playing indoor soccer with her high school, her 3rd game was last night.  Here's a little clip from her 2nd game which was last week where she was playing goalie in the second half.  Keep in mind that she's never played in this position before in her life, they needed someone to do it and she volunteered.  It's not the best quality video and if you need help identifying her she's in the pink shirt.

The static is because I used my old camera that I keep in my purse, I never know when it's going to do that but it's all I had and I wanted to record a little of her goalie playing.  The voice you hear is Paul's busting on her.  She would squeal whenever a ball came flying her way which it made it very funny to watch her.  I doubt that a goalie position will ever be in her future!

Holiday Concert

Kristin's 1st concert of this school year was last night.  Wow, what a long concert it was too.  Every musical ensemble in the entire middle school  played last night with the exception of the 6th grade band and the jump start strings.  I thought I was smart by getting Kristin to the school earlier than she needed to be so I could get a good seat.  I think everyone else had the same idea too because even though I was 45 minutes early I was pretty far in the back.  I did manage to save 8 seats next to each other though so I guess my idea sort of worked out.  If I had been any later I doubt I could have even done that.  It was Zach, Megan and myself that saved the seats and then gradually mamaw and papaw came then Paul and poppop.  Lauren was the last to arrive because she was watching the basketball game that was in the gym next door. 

The band is always the last to play, no matter what concert I've ever been too.  As soon as they were seated Lauren went up closer and took a picture of Kristin. 



 I took this picture by accident.  I meant to start my video but hit the picture button instead.  You can at least tell she's on the end seat.

They played a song called Crosswinds March first and then they played this song, Twisted Night Before Christmas (Jingles on the Housetop).  (Zach kept bumping into me on this one, that's why it's a little shaky looking.)

The finale of the night was the African Bell Carol and not only did the band play but so did the Symphonia and also the Chorale sang.  That was the first time that they'd ever put all 3 groups together.  I took a video of it only because I wanted to record the music.  You can't see Kristin at all because she's sitting on stage behind the Chorale.  Here's the first part...

And now for the second part.

They received a standing ovation and the band/orchestra/chorus did the whole song again.  When Lauren was in 7th grade she played the African Bell Carol during a concert but it was only the band playing.  I always regretted not getting that one on video because it was simply amazing. (They also received a standing ovation and did an encore.)  So that's why I took the video even though you can't see Kristin.  I just really like that song!  I think the first concert of the year was a success.  Now only two more to go.

Longwood Gardens

The kids and I visit Longwood Gardens a lot when it's warm and nice out but we haven't been to Longwood for their Christmas display in years.  I was determined to go this year and finally was able to pull it off last night.  The kids and I got there before Paul did (we went straight after Kristin's orthodontist appointment, Paul still was working) so we went ahead and went inside.  We heard the music going at the fountain show so we stopped there first and of course I had to pose them for pictures when it was over.  Here's the progression of the kids getting in the pictures...

We then headed to the conservatory to check out all the Christmas displays there.  Another posed picture when you first walk in...

And again by the gingerbread display...

The kids and I did stand in line to go through their gingerbread room which was really neat, especially neat was the gingerbread conservatory that was on display.  The line wasn't very long at the time which was why we waited.  Later when we went through the conservatory again with Paul the line was much longer so we skipped it the second time.  Paul can look at my pictures if he wants to see it. 

At this point Paul had called me and told me when he would be there so before leaving the conservatory I took one last pic of the kids in front of the poinsettias. 

We headed back to the entrance to meet Paul but of course had to get a pic in front of yet another tree.

So we meet Paul and head back into the gardens.  I can't remember the last time Paul was at Longwood Gardens, I think it was back when Kristin was a baby.  This time going through the conservatory we noticed a tree made from parsley.  Kristin thought it was neat so she got her picture taken in front of it. 

We finished up the conservatory and by then it was dark enough outside to see all the pretty lights.  We also checked out the Garden Railway which had multiple trains and tracks and even a Thomas train.  By this time Zach was starving and he was definitely letting us (and everyone around us) know how hungry he was.  We were going to eat there at the cafeteria but the line was really long so we decided to leave and find somewhere else to eat.  Of course we have to pass by the Fountain show on the way out so we stopped to watch the display.  So much prettier at night with the different colored lights.  Here's a little video I took of the fountains.  Don't worry, it's under a minute long.

On one side of me I had Zach whining about going home and on the other side of me I had Megan hacking up a lung.  All of this while Silent Night is playing...oh the irony of it all.

I did remember that I had a lollipop in my purse so I grabbed that and shoved that at Zach to get him to stop.  Megan I couldn't do anything about since I think it was the cold air that was making her cough.  If I only I had her inhaler with me...

I know you probably thought picture taking was done but no, one last one of Kristin and Lauren before we headed into the parking lot.

We stopped at Pat's Pizza on the way home and by then I really regretted giving Zach that lollipop when he ate hardly any of his dinner.  Oh well, his dinner turned into my lunch so at least it wasn't wasted. Everyone else ate and it was a nice end to our family night at Longwood.  Maybe in another 10 years we'll catch one of their Christmas displays again but for now I think I'll stick with going there during nice warm weather!