More Christmas!

Today we visited Aunt Di's house. It was lovely because Granny and Papa were there! Also, Lauren is home to visit from Washington D.C.. She brought her boyfriend Ryon as well. And Beck and Ted and the twins joined, and we had a big old fashioned Christmas.

Only we forgot to do the traditional kid chant of "WE WANT THE PRESENTS!" in front of the tree. We just kind of dove in!

It was great to get to see all of my family and visit with Granny, Papa and Lauren. I posted all of the pictures on smugmug (link is to the right) but I'm sharing a couple here.

....and I still haven't taken my tree down yet....

Whew... we made it!

It seems like it just started, but Christmas is actually over!

As usual, December kicked off with Clara's Tea. The event where Julia and I get to dress up and go to a tea party - just for girls! We get to enjoy some finger foods and sweet desserts at fancy tables, and then watch a story book performance of the Nutcracker. In this feature, the story of The Nutcracker is read while the dancers give brief dancing performances. Afterward, the girls are able to get autographs from all of the dancers. We were lucky to have Julia's best friend Megan and our friend Marissa go with us. Neither of them had ever been before, so we were happy to introduce them to the tradition. I took lots and lots of pictures!

Although I covered this topic in my last post, it snowed in Sugar Land the following week! It was a huge deal, and the kids are still talking about it. It amazes me to hear all of the stories from everyone about the inches of snow they got! Even though our snow didn't stick enough to pile up it was still very exciting to us.

The next weekend was the actual Nutcracker performance. Our babysitter, Kelly, danced Snow Queen this year. It was so exciting to see her dance the part, and she did such a great job! Julia brought her some roses.

We hosted a party at our house the same weekend for Mike's staff at the Wellness Center. We had a lovely weekend with his group and their spouses and children. We got our chocolate fountain going - which was a huge hit with the kids. The party concluded with a fairly polite White Elephant game!

We spent Christmas Eve at Michael's parents house. It was so nice to eat a yummy rib roast dinner, visit with our family - including James and Maly - and introduce them all to the "A Christmas Story" marathon on TBS. Yes, I know! They had never seen it! My favorite part is still when Ralphie says the bad word while helping "The Old Man" change the tire...

Unbelievably, we had to wake the kids up on Christmas morning! And we only did this because we had to get the show on the road since we were hosting the family at our house on Christmas Day. We had such a good time watching the kids tear into their gifts.

My mother's family came over mid-day for the Christmas celebration. I made the turkey this year, and it turned out very well. I put it in a brine mixture for 14 hours, and it really did make it a nice juicy turkey! Aunt Theresa stayed late with us and we played Boom Blocks on the Wii. Brandon never did get a nap, so he crashed - in the middle of the playroom floor - by 6:30 pm!

I'm so tickled about the response from my Christmas cards this year! Each year I get very busy at work since it is benefit season, and I've found it hard to find the time - or be creative - when it comes to my annual greeting, so this year I called in for help. Michael's cousin, Diane, runs a printing business in Idaho, and I loved her cards last year so much that I decided to hire her - in August! I sent the pictures and the text, and she sent me proofs. The cards were shipped, so all I had to do was stuff the envelopes and mail them! I started getting lots of positive feedback immediately. So I must give a shout out to Diane. THANK YOU!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! We've counted our blessings this year and look forward to a wonderful 2009. I took lots and lots of pictures this season, so if you'd like to check them out, click on the link on the right side of my blog. (You may have to scroll up a little!)

Weather That Can Only Be Seen In Texas

Hello. It's snowing.

I think that phrase, next to "it's just not humid enough" is something you don't regularly hear 'round these parts.

BUT IT'S SNOWING!

I had to run an errand for work today, and as hectic as it was, I couldn't resist sticking my tongue out like a kid to catch a snowflake!

And what a sight to see driving up to pick up Julia and Hayden from the District Extended Day. Each and every kid was outside near the bike racks, running frantically in circles - yes, tongues sticking out - enjoying this white stuff! I know the teachers were loving it, because the kids were literally entertaining themselves.

To think it was 78 degrees yesterday evening, and our house was stifling hot. When I got home I opened both the front and back doors to get some cool air, as the cold front was just starting to come through. Needless to say, I didn't have them open all that long...

And we will be back in the mid seventies by the weekend.

As the post title says - Only In Texas!!!!