Christmas Catch Up

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, so I figure I should catch up before the new year starts.

So, just a little review.  The last Friday before school got out was December 22nd.  Ben had a dance, his first dance, at school. It was during school hours.  He went and he said the girls danced and the boys just stood around and ate.  They had lots of food.  So, Ben said they got snacks, then, they got more snacks.  And then Ben went to the bathroom and threw up.  He was so nervous he didn't know what to do with himself, so he ate and ate and ate and puked.  Way to go Ben. He's a ladies man.  :)
 
So, we went to the Christmas Eve celebration at our church. They had ice skating.  It was like these white boards that are spray painted with something so it feels very much like ice skating.  I guess you can't be picky outdoors in Arizona.  We haven't had any snow yet. It's so disappointing.

Anyway, the kids had fun trying to skate.

 

They had it all decked out like a Dicken's village with carolers and dancing and tons of food.

We went on the hayride and they had a super cool light display.

Noah had 4 cookies, 2 cups of cocoa, 3 bags of kettle corn and 1 aching belly.  And, he puked in the middle of the night. All over the bed.  But, he was fine when he woke up.  Strange. We figured he just ate too much junk.

Because of all the middle of the night puke cleaning, everyone slept in.  I think it was 8 before the kids came in. It was so nice.  But, Emily seemed a little ho hum. And 3 presents in, she went and puked.  Luckily, she made it to the toilet.

Rio had to get in on the action.

Then, Emily asked for orange juice which I advised wasn't great on a pukey belly, but she had it anyway. And puked again.  Then, she went to bed for 5 hours.

But, everyone else felt fine and we made a nice turkey dinner and enjoyed a quiet day.  It was lovely.

Emily and Grammie at some point made a gingerbread house too!


David took Gwynne to the airport this morning, so she's back home in Orlando. The kids still have another week off for break. We haven't had a drop of rain here for 5 months, and all I want to do is pack the car up and drive to Colorado. But, we threw together a last minute New Year's Eve party with friends, so that will be fun. But, Colorado is still tempting. If we didn't have a dog, we'd be gone.

Nevertheless, we wish everyone a wonderful and safe new year. I'll be drinking to new adventures in the new year.

Christmas Adam

We headed down to my Dad and Suzy's a few days before Christmas. It's nice to go on Christmas Eve Eve, which we call Christmas Adam. The only highway to their house always has a bad accident on the holidays, so it's nice to avoid it whenever possible. Then, we can spend the holiday here and quietly enjoy the day.

So, we got to my Dad's and I was trying to get Emily to pose for a picture with me, but she wasn't having any part of it.

 

She finally cooperated. 

 

Me and my Momma. 

 

The kids were anxious to open presents. 

 

This is my cousin Mike and Katie Sue. 

 

Me and my Dad. 

 

The kids playing with their Nintendos. 

 

This is Tiffany's boyfriend, Triv. We really like him. 

 

Suzy did so much work and had a great spread of food for us.  Her and Nikki pose with the same held tilt.  They're funny. 

 

Gwynne and me. 

 

My Dad had knee surgery 4 weeks ago.  He's doing great and going for walks.   

 

My Mom with my cousin Mike and Rory.  

 

Tiff and Triv. 

 

It was a fun day visiting with family.  Then, we made the drive home and Noah couldn't wait to snuggle up with his ninja turtle blanket Suzy got him. It's super soft. 

 

 Then, the kids got right to playing! 

 

 It was a lovely day and I'm grateful for the time spent with family. 

Ben and Noah's Concerts

I'm way behind on my blog.

Catching up, last week, Ben and Noah both had their Christmas concerts. They were on different nights though.

Noah's was first. He looked adorable in his shirt and tie.

 

And here's the video from his show:

The next night was Ben's turn. He looked super handsome.

 

We were farther away for Ben's show, but you can see him in the middle second row from the top.




These concerts are always so much fun. Ben loved how they rewrote the lyrics to Feliz Navidad. Their music teacher is awesome and always get the kids jazzed about what they are singing.

Emily's Play

Emily had her performance for her drama class last night. She did great. I'm always so proud of my shy girl for getting up on stage and speaking. Seriously, this was the girl who was almost put in a special class in Kindergarten because she wouldn't speak and they thought she knew nothing. Little did they know, she's brilliant.

She had two rolls. The first was an old lady named Eloise. That's her on the right with the walker and the blue robe.

 

Then, she was a shopper and got to wear normal clothes. 

 

Here's the whole crew.   

I'm not sure if Emily will take drama in high school or not. This could be the end of her theatrical performances.  I hope not!

Emily's Piano and Violin Recital

Today starts 4 performances from these kids in 5 days. We'll be busy, busy, busy. It was so wonderful hearing Emily play today. We usually do a recital at her teachers house and a performance at the senior home. But, as it worked out, we did both performances at once. Which works out great with how busy this time always is before Christmas.

My girl looked so pretty. Thanks Aunt Pam for the lovely red sweater.

 

Here's her and Alanah.  Alanah had on heels and Em was in flats. Alanah is taller, but not a foot taller!  :) 

 

Here are the girls playing the violin.  Ellie played the cello. 

 

Here's Em on the baby grand piano. Emily wants a real piano instead of the electric one we have.  Yeah, right.  She'll have to keep dreaming.

 

And here's Noah lulled to sleep by the music.  He was out.  It was hysterical. He fits right in with the old people.  I told him he takes after my Dad.  He can fall asleep anywhere at church, the movies... 

 

And here's a few videos of her performance:

 

We are so proud of her. She's been playing piano for 7 years and violin for 18 months. She's doing so well, and this will be a talent she'll have with her for the rest of her life.

All I Want For Christmas....

is my two front teeth!

 

Spelling Bee

Ben was in the spelling bee again this year. I thought this might be his year but he was down to like the final 5, and he did great. They give you a copy of all the words, so kids have the option to study. Ben never does.  So, the fact that he makes it so far is pretty impressive.

 

This was the beginning with 65 kids.   

 

Ben's words were 

once

crooked

correctional

chimpanzee

This was the kid before him that got out.  Ben missed the last e in chimpanzee.  

He did great though and we are always super proud of him.

Around Our House

This time of year is always so busy.  Here's a little that's been going on here. 

Friday night, Emily had a Christmas dance at school. They were supposed to dress in an ugly sweater.  But, does any Junior High girl want to wear something ugly?  No.  So, she wore a cute red sweater Aunt Pam gave her.  She looked sweet.

 

Dakri and Ryan had their annual holiday party this weekend.  I didn't take many pictures, which is fine with me. But, I did snap a few of Noah and Savannah.  They are so cute. We had a great time at the party catching up with our friends.

 

 This morning, David was ready to go for his 3 mile run.  Then, he said to Ben and Noah, do you guys want to come.  Fully thinking both of them would say no. But, Ben said yes.  What?  So, we got him ready and David took him out for a mile run.  

They took off down the street and David was teaching him how to pace himself. 

 

 

About 8 minutes later, they came running back.  Ben ran the whole way, which is good for a kid who hasn't run a mile ever.  As Ben crossed the finish line, he requested I sing the Rocky theme.  He's funny.  I'm proud that he could run that far. 

 

The kids have 10 days left of school before break. Gwynne flies in on Friday.  Then, next week is filled with piano/violin concert, drama production, Ben & Noah's music concerts.  It's going to be crazy, but I'm looking forward to all of it.