Merry Christmas to All

we've got spirit

Our winter break is finally here, and it has started with lots of Christmas spirit.  On Thursday evening, the teachers from Sara's school caroled around the neighborhood.  We had a fun time singing along and seeing some friends from Sara's class.  It was cool and drizzly, but the teachers were great sports; I love this tradition they have.

 

 Yesterday we made gingerbread dough, and today we made our first batch of cookies.  I saved about half of the dough to make more cut-outs in a couple of days, and we also plan to make spritz cookies.  I personally love the peanut butter cookies with the Hershey's kiss on top, but those are out in this household.

 

 The girls were happy with how their cookies turned out ... we don't skimp on the sprinkles around here.  They taste as good as they look!

I can't believe Christmas is only a few days away!  Just a handful gifts and groceries left to buy tomorrow, and we should be set. We're preparing to have the Brittains over on Christmas Eve, and for Santa to visit and our trip to Florida on Christmas Day.  Cleaning, wrapping, and packing are on the to-do list, but I'm feeling no urgency.  Everything that needs to happen will happen, and in the meantime, we're just enjoying the spirit of the season (extra calories and all).  It's a wonderful time!

Winter Wonderland

We had a great weekend celebrating Sara's birthday and the holiday season at the Gaylord Texan.  Of course it was a popular weekend (isn't it always?) to partake in Christmas festivities, but we handled the crowds and made lots of wonderful memories.  Our main mission was to visit the ICE! exhibit, which features the story of Frosty the Snowman this year.  After waiting in line and watching a video about how the ice sculptures are made by workers from China who come to Dallas for the season, we were given our big blue parkas and our adventure began.

 

 It was seven degrees inside the exhibit, but we didn't mind.  The sculptures were amazing, and these pictures don't begin to do them justice.  Sara couldn't believe that they had colored ice!

 We all went down the ice slides ... fast and fun!

 This picture is super dark of Sara, but it's a good shot of Frosty and Santa!

At the end of the exhibit, we walked by a sculptor at work.  Apparently they are allowed to work for one hour inside the exhibit before they have to take a one hour break outside of it.  Sara was very impressed by the artists.

 After we saw Frosty, Steve and Sara hit the tubing hills.

 Emma was too little to participate, but some cotton candy kept her happy.

After ICE!, we enjoyed walking around the Gaylord.  It had gotten dark outside, so all of the lights were on, and the place was beautiful.  The ceiling is all glass, and the inside is designed to make you feel like you're outside.  There were lights everywhere ... the girls loved watching the trains go around a life-size gingerbread house.  Christmas music was playing, and everything was just so festive.  Our friends, the Brunsons, were staying at the Gaylord last night, too, so we met up with them for dinner.  We had a great time catching up and relaxing over some Mexican food and beverages.

 Steve and I were both in shock that this picture, with both girls looking and smiling, took only one shot!

 Of course we had to wait in line to see Santa.  Sara was thrilled because she just knew that this Santa was the real one.  Emma was excited until it was our turn, and then the reality of having to sit on his lap hit and she lost it.  This was the best picture we got ...

In all the rest, Emma's arms and legs were flailing.  I'm not worried ... she'll like him again come Christmas.

 Our weekend was wonderful, and now we're preparing for our last week of school before winter break.  The fun has just begun!

Six

All of a sudden, here we are ... at six.  Every year has been a milestone, but so far six is the hardest to swallow.  Five was a big deal; five is half a decade, five meant starting kindergarten.  But six just feels ... old.  Like all of a sudden she's off and running, and I don't know that I'll ever be able to catch her.  Five still felt a little bit like a baby, but not six.  And she's all of the things that six feels like it should be: strong, smart, independent, assertive, opinionated, take-charge.  She loves art, swimming, her iPad, the color purple, salami sandwiches, and her little sister.  She prefers to wear shoes that allow her to run fast at recess and clothes that are cool by elementary school standards.  She likes to write important dates on her calendar, make decorations to be hung around our house, work word finds, run around outside, build nests, play with her doll, and watch cartoons.  She's thriving at school, but had to have her seat moved away from a friend because they were a little too chatty; I'm okay with that characteristic.  She is happy, healthy, and confident.

At six, my Sara Noel is the perfect mix of  fire and ice, country and rock 'n roll.  She's growing faster than I can think; she takes my breath away at every turn.  And now she's ready to take six by storm. You go, Sara ... Happy Birthday, beautiful girl!       

Busy Weekend

In keeping with recent times, we had another eventful weekend!  As you know, Steve and I took off of work on Friday (after a quick morning meeting I had to attend last minute), and spent the day together Christmas shopping for the girls.  We enjoyed a filling brunch, and then set off for the stores.  We were very successful, and I have just a couple more stops to make to complete our list for the girls.  Steve got to experience American Girl; you can imagine his excitement.  

On Saturday we headed to Fort Worth for to watch Iowa State get demolished by TCU.  When we bought our tickets back in August, we were hopeful that this year's performance might be a repeat of the one we saw two years ago when the Cyclones won - by quite a bit - at TCU.  But after watching the ridiculousness that has been this season, our hopes on Saturday weren't high, and the Cyclones fulfilled our expectations.  That's okay, though, because we had a good time tailgating and cheering with fellow ISU alum.  And of course during these times we always do a little reminiscing about our wonderful years in Ames. As we were leaving, Steve pointed out that most of the college kids we passed by were in the three-or-four-year-old-range when we started in college ... so that made me feel old. 

While we enjoyed the game, the girls had some special time with Papa and Mamas.  Along with Mark and Brooke, they had an early birthday celebration for Sara at Rainforest Cafe, and then they took the girls to Build-a-Bear to pick out early Christmas presents.

Sara has been asking for a long time to go to BaB, and I know she had a great time putting together her Elsa bear.  Emma wasn't feeling great, but participated nonetheless, and chose Hello Kitty.  Sara had a hard time getting her bear dressed, so Uncle Mark put its dress on for her.  (On the side, we run a "Prep for Parenthood" class.  My sister's been through it her share of times, too.)  

I had no idea how high-tech these bears are ... apparently you can give them voice boxes.  Sara's sings "Let it Go" and Emma's sings "For the First Time in Forever".  So cute.

 

Today Steve tackled our yard, which was FULL of leaves.  He filled fourteen lawn bags, and still, leaves remain on the lawn and in the trees.  It's almost impossible to keep up with them this time of year, but I wouldn't trade our big trees for anything.  The girls had a great time helping collect the leaves and jump in mountains of them.

 Isn't this such a fundamental part of childhood?  They followed up their jumping with hot chocolate.

The leaves provided so much entertainment that I had time to clean the bathrooms and dust all by myself.  I know that doesn't sound exciting, but when you're used to doing these tasks with "helpers", a little time to do them alone can be a real treat!

Now it's Birthday Week in our house ... it's bound to be busy and exciting!

Signs of the Season

• Every requested show in the evenings is one Christmas movie or another.  We've already seen "Charlie Brown Christmas", "Frosty the Snowman", "White Christmas", "Christmas Vacation", "Home Alone" (1 & 2), and the cartoon "Grinch" countless times.  Love it.
• My answer to every toy/shoe/clothes/novelty item request is, "Wow, that sounds like a good thing to ask Santa for."
• My kids get out of bed only because they know the chocolate Advent calendars are waiting in the kitchen.  Tonight when Emma asked for chocolate, I found myself saying, "No, we eat our chocolates in the mornings."  Parent of the Year.  But also, Whatever it Takes.
• Oh, and candy canes are a food group in our house right now.
• The gingerbread house in the center of our kitchen table gets new bling added to it daily, and every evening art project is holiday-themed.
• For the first time in forever, Steve and I are both taking a personal day tomorrow to go Christmas shopping together.  Normally we each pick up some things here and there, but we figure this will be easier. And it's been a long time since we've had a day out and about together, so it should be fun.  All the shopping may drive us to drink by about noon ... but hopefully we come home ready for Christmas.
• I keep finding clumps of tree needles all over the house.  I figure I'll worry about them in about a month.
• Of course the only thing we listen to on the radio is "The Christmas Station."  
• We are all counting down the days!  This week has gone by more quickly than any single week since school started ... Christmas will be here before we know it.  It's the most wonderful time!

Wordless Wednesday