I've Been Meaning to do This For A While...

So, last month, when we were going nuts finishing up school, attending "Holiday Concerts", being a part of the Annie Jr. production, Christmas shopping, Christmas decorating, and doing all of our Advent calendar stuff, I had all these great ideas for blogs that I wanted to write about each event.  I even took pictures.  Seeing as how now we are almost a month past some of these things, I thought it would be better if I just slammed all the pictures into one post, wrote a little something about each one, and then tied a bow on top and called it good.

Good.

Here we go:

(OK.  I lied.  The Pictures start back in NOVEMBER.  Shameful.) 

First up: The Girl.  She was in a play that her class put together to wrap up their studies on Greek Mythology.  The Girl is all about acting/drama this year.  She loves it.  Here she is delivering her lines:

Here are the kids on the Friday after Thanksgiving.  They are kicking off the Christmas Season with our annual viewing of Polar Express in our bed with hot cocoa.  It's a fun tradition, that I am afraid one day they will grow out of.  If not because they feel like they are too old for it, but just because they just grow too big to fit in our bed.   Seriously.  There was a large amount of elbowing going on.

Compare that pic with this:

See how well we all fit when they were small.  However, they. Will. Not. Stop. Growing.

I had this great, super funny, blog post in  my head about the day that my Nativity Set was massacred by my "table".  I put the word table in quotes because I don't know if you can call it a table since it falls over quite frequently, and for no apparent reason.  I guess it just doesn't understand that it's a table and it's only job is to stand up.  If you think you are sensing frustration, you are correct.

So as my table decided to lay on it's side again, it also took out my Nativity Set.  Somehow, time got away from me and you missed this hilarious post. 

You're welcome.

Remember when The Little Man had to pick a career?  When it was time to actually dress up as what you wanted to be when you grew up, The Little Man ditched his idea of being a Game Show Host, and decided that being a pilot sounded pretty cool.   What made it even better was that our new neighbor is a pilot, so he lent us all his gear. The Little Man looked super sharp!

Next, are probably some of my most favorite candid pics of the year of The Girl.  They were taken during her Annie Jr. performance.  I love how when I look at them, I am reminded of what a fun day it was.  I spent the entire day with her behind stage as a make-up person, and watched them as they got in costume, practiced lines, and prepped for the show.  She had such a great time this year in Drama Club, and I am proud of all her hard work. 

Singing:

Dressed as a servant (she was both an orphan and a servant):

More singing orphans:

Final curtain call:











The Little Man was the next performer.  Notice he is back row center.  That's the spot they save for the tall kids:

I've included these next two pics not to prove that my son has friends, but to further prove the tall factor he's got going on:

*Sigh* My sweet gentle giant.

My Little Man also enjoyed his first day on the slopes.  He did great, and wants to go again soon:

Christmas was great this year.  Here are a few of the kids' favorite gifts:

The Little Man wanted Lego Harry Potter years 5-7 for his DSi more than he wanted to eat.  That is saying A LOT:

If it was possible for him to want anything more, this would have been the gift: Harry Potter Diagon Alley Lego set:

Even though it wasn't on her Christmas lists, Santa had a pretty good idea that The Girl would just love her own keyboard and some piano lessons to go with it:

And really, what girl isn't happy with a pair of shoes.  Especially, if they are a pair of Toms:

We spent some time with cousins for the New Year at their cabin.  One of the days we took the kids up to a tubing hill and had a seriously fun time.  I am happy to report that there were no injuries (unlike last time when my tailbone took a brutal beating), and The Girl's head did not get ripped off.  I was able to save her by screaming like a mad woman, "LIFT UP YOUR HEAD!!! LIFT UP YOUR HEAD!!" as she thought it would be wise to tip her head back as she enjoyed hurtling down the hill at high speeds. 

I had a slight heart attack.

The Cousins all together with their animal hats.  (This animal hat craze is....different...Cute, though.)

The two:

And that's how we ended our year.  The week after Christmas was one of the better weeks of the whole year. We were able to really enjoy the time together as a family, and The Hubs was actually able to take some time off of work which made the time pretty much perfect.  I was thankful to return back to our busy lives feeling rested and refreshed. 

When is our next break?