flashback friday: HAPPY NEW YEAR!

First, Happy Birthday to Luke and Max and congrats to the Thorntons!

Next, I just posted our Christmas pictures, don’t miss them!

Lastly, have a HAPPY NEW YEAR, or I’ll eat my hat!

christmas day in the morning 2010

 

It was still quite dark when Cali, Kimi, and Ian decided it was time to open presents. Natalie likes to sleep in, and they weren’t waiting around for her.

We made them eat breakfast and sit just outside the living room for a while, but then we decided to stop torturing them and let ‘em go.

This may seem like a lot of photos, but its hard to narrow it down from hundreds.

 

 

 

We were starting to pack up to go to Grandma’s house when Natalie woke up. She was a little caught off guard by the state of the living room and the fact that everyone was dancing around. She also wasn’t so sure about opening presents.

Then she got to see what was inside. A beautiful baby just for her.

Since she was now all warmed up, we went off to Grandma’s house.

The rest of the day was spent reveling in the spoils, and being together.

A perfect day.

christmas eve 2010

 

A book I just read talked about Christmas Eve being the best day of the year. It is the day where things are about to happen.

I agree.

Christmas Eve-ning is spent with family at Grandma’s house.

It wouldn’t feel like Christmas to me anymore without Arby’s sandwiches by candlelight.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

And, of course, we have to have a little gingerbread competition which is quite competitive despite the recurring “tie” we have each year.

 

 

Then it was time to go home, put out the milk and cookies and stocking, and try to get some sleep. I still wake up about every half hour. Some traditions never die.

village people

I’m starting to pick up and pack up Christmas 2010. Sigh.

The first post to catch up on was from last Thursday when Cali, Kimi, Ian, and I put together a gingerbread village to pass the afternoon.

My favorite part was the discussions such as, “We need to put up a fence because, what if some of the gingerbread people have dogs?”

I think our village looked better than the box.

we can hardly stand the wait

This is the face of a girl who has just visited Santa:Yesterday was the last day of school for the girls before the holidays and it was a fun day of holiday sing alongs, seeing Santa, and Christmas parties.

 

Ian, Natalie, and I got to sit in the audience and hear all the grades sing some Christmas songs. (That’s a picture of the kindergarten. Kimi is on the second row up, on the end, nearest Santa.)

I was trying to keep Natalie and Ian interested, but having kind of a hard time. I was using my point-and-shoot camera to take videos so I let Natalie take some pictures.

When I saw the pictures I had a better idea of why it was so boring to those two.

There is Cali singing with the Second Grade. I went to help out with her Christmas Party afterwards and forgot to take any more pictures of her because I was so busy calling an intense game of BINGO.

The kindergarten followed Santa to the library.

You know on the movie “A Christmas Story” where everyone is herded through the line with Santa as quickly as possible? It was like that except that they even doubled the kids up to make it go twice as fast.

Then in the evening we were off to Great-Grandpa’s house and the annual Christmas party.

I didn’t take my good camera along, and I kicked myself about it.

I believe he has one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen out his back windows.

Here’s a funny story from the first Christmas party I ever went to at this house:

There are about a bazillion aunts, uncles, grandchildren, cousins, and such (give-or-take) at this party, and it was the night after I became engaged to Scott that we went to this party.

In the midst of being greeted and introduced to everyone, I met Scott’s sweet grandmother. Her first words to me were, “Scott just made the worst decision of his life!” and then she gave me a hug.

I was a little taken back until I realized that she meant his decision to enlist in the army that he had made a few weeks before. (She was a war-time bride herself.)

So the final countdown has officially begun, and I am now employed in the business of keeping children, who have reached a fever-pitch of excitement and are hyped-up on sugar, busy. 

Got to stop blogging now and get to work.