Happy New Year!

We got this from Russell's mom. And, no, it wasn't midnight -- it was only 10 p.m. Megan and Caitlyn were at a sleep over, which is why they're not here participating.

Texas, Day 3 and 4

So, Wednesday morning (Happy Birthday, Russell!) we got up bright and early, kicked around the hotel for a while, eating breakfast and then headed out. (We did stop at the grocery store, H.E.B., which is obnoxiously huge.) We got to Sea World as it opened, and spent the next six hours wandering around enjoying it.

Some highlights:

• Our favorite thing was feeding the dolphins. It was the first thing we did, too.
• It wasn't too bad weather-wise, but once the sun came out it was heavenly.
• Which made us think that the park must be a madhouse in July. (Which was later confirmed to us: the best time to go is in May, when it's warm enough to swim, but kids are still in school!)
• That said, no one was interested in the rides, and we didn't really miss the water stuff.
• The seal show was corny, but really fun.
• Next time: show up to the Shamu show 45 minutes early so you can get good seats. Oh, and when they say you'll get wet in the splash zone, they mean it!
• Everyone had a grand time. From Megan all the way down through Kristen. And everyone was really good, which made me happy.
• In short, it was a good day.

We left the park at 4 p.m., made good time back to our hotel, in spite of getting a bit turned around (I spent the whole time completely turned around. How do you tell which direction is north down there?!). The girls wanted to go swimming, and the pool was open, so we did.




They didn't last as long as they could have, because *everyone* was tired. So, after dinner (sort of), they went back to the hotel room and bugged out on TV (a Phineas and Ferb marathon was on, much to their enjoyment!). It was a very good day.

Day four, we got up early (so sad to leave the sunshine and warmth!) and drove back home. We made amazingly good time (and wondered what all the fuss about traffic was), and got home by 6 p.m. It was a fabulous trip, a great Christmas present, and some good memories. Hooray!

Texas, Day 1 and 2

Day 1 is pretty easy to write about. We drove. And drove. And drove some more.

We stopped in Dallas to see our friend Scott, and to go to the Super H Korean food store. We figured since we were passing through, we ought to get kim chee. That, and we found bulgoki sauce, Asian pears, teeny clementines and real key limes for a pie.

We wandered around the store for a while, and spent a good time in the fish section. We joked that we didn't need to go to sea world... all we really had to do was hang out in the fish section of Super H.



We drove a bit more and finally got to our friends -- the Smiths -- in Austin to spend the night. (This was very kind of them, since we've actually never met them before. Russell and Julie were co-bloggers on Times and Seasons for a long time.) Anyway, we hung out, played and talked that evening, and again the next morning. I fell in love with their second son -- Nathan (he's the dark haired one in the middle) -- because he totally cracked me up.


Anyway. It was nice to finally meet them.

We woke up the next morning to sleetish stuff and cold weather. But, being northerners, we persevered. We got to San Antonio in good time (in spite of dire predictions of bad traffic) and met a blogging friend of mine, Amanda, at a Mexican restaurant as we pulled into town. Good Mexican food... yum.



Then we headed downtown. Because it was rainy and cold(ish) (not as cold as here in Kansas, but colder than I was hoping for), we chose to do the Children's Museum instead of the Riverwalk. It wasn't very big, but it was a lot of fun.









Then, we walked over to the Alamo. It would have been nicer if it were nicer, but it was interesting anyway. The best part was the 15 minute film explaining why the Alamo was important -- even Kristen and Alison were interested in that. The other best part was the grounds... we have to go back in the spring; it would probably be incredibly gorgeous. The trees alone were just fascinating.


We did wander around downtown for a bit, and found some interesting things. Like princess cowboy hats... (which we did not buy)

And opinionated Sports bar marquees...

And then we headed to the hotel. Alas, the pool was down for maintenance, much to the girls displeasure. So, we bugged out on TV (the other reason we love hotels, besides the pools, is the cable) instead.

Russell Had a Birthday

And since we were in San Antonio for it, we decided to celebrate it early.
Hugs from Alison and Kristen, who were his helpers.

He really liked the gifts my parents sent -- THANK YOU!!

And was excited to see what we got him. (Michael Palin's diaries from 1969 to 1979, in case you were wondering.)


And a birthday hug.


And then we sang happy birthday.

(Yes, he did blow the candles out with his nose. Yes he *is* 41, and not 14...)

It was a happy early birthday.

Christmas Week

It was a week of extremes. Monday and Tuesday, everyone was crabby; Alison and Caitlyn fought, Megan sulked and Kristen cried. I yelled, and Russell escaped the madhouse and went to work. Tuesday night, Russell and I went to an adult-only party (hooray for adult-only parties!) -- a white elephant exchange with people from the ward, which is always fun. (Not as stupidly hilarious as the party the weekend before, but fun nonetheless.) Caitlyn had Merry over for 24 hours from Tuesday to Wednesday. I took Alison and Kristen to the Y to play while I punched and kicked things.

Suddenly, all was right (well, if not right, than better) in the world.

Christmas Eve, a storm blew in (literally!), cold, but not much snow (it was blowing too hard to significantly accumulate). We braved it several times: to go to the gym, to run errands, and (most importantly) to take the girls out for a "treat": to see a first-run movie at the big theater. Alison and Kristen were WAY impressed ("Oooh! Soft seats!" "Oooh! Fancy curtain!") We even splurged and got sodas, candy and popcorn (which Kristen absconded). Caitlyn and Megan didn't *really* want to sit next to us, but sat close enough to get popcorn. Actually, Megan didn't *really* want to go to the movies: being 13, she thought the movie of choice -- The Princess and the Frog -- was too kiddy. And, yet, she enjoyed it. We all enjoyed it. The music's fabulous. The story is, well, not bad. There are some funny parts. Some sad parts. Everything works out in the end (of course, it's Disney). A fun time was had by all.

After killing a couple of hours, we had our meager meal and headed off (in the blowing snowy cold) to Christmas church -- we decided to go to the Dumler's church this year. They attend one of those "mega" churches: it's more like a community center than a church, in my opinion. But, the service was nice enough. And the girls were good. And we got to sing Silent Night by candlelight, which is my favorite part, anyway.

Got kids to bed relatively early, watched It's a Wonderful Life, and had a really good Christmas Eve.

Christmas morning, Kristen got us up early -- just after 5 a.m.! (We think it's because she boycotted dinner the night before...) We tried to make her go back to sleep, but after about 1/2 hour of kicking us in our bed, we sent her back to hers, where she managed to wake everyone else up. We finally got up for "real" at about 6:20, and proceeded out. We decided to have a smallish Christmas (everything Santa brought had to fit in the stockings), but the girls all had a wonderful morning. Everyone was quite graceful at the whole small Christmas idea. We discovered that Megan is a phenomenal gift giver: everyone loved her presents! And thus the morning was frittered away. The afternoon was spent reading, sleeping, watching all the movies we got (five: Harry Potter 6, UP, Flushed Away, Monsters versus Aliens, and Treasure Planet.). We had the elders over in the evening for dinner (Elder Parente LOVES us. In fact, he asked, in his prayer at the end of the night, for Heavenly Father to help us stay awesome. Too cool.) and to play games. We inflicted both Fluxx and Killer Bunnies on them. And there was much loudness and laughter.

And we all went to bed early. (Except Russell and Caitlyn, who decided that they needed to watch a version of Christmas Carol...)

Yesterday, we spent cleaning, putting away, shopping, cleaning, packing, getting ready to go out of town Monday morning. I chatted with my Cybils group and we came up with a really good shortlist. Have I said how much I love being involved with the Cybils? I LOVE being involved with the Cybils. And we went to bed early (somewhat).

Today's been good. It's our last Sunday at 1 p.m., and we took advantage of it. Big breakfast, lazy morning... I taught Sunday School (went well, surprisingly) on lengthening your stride, and Relief Society was good too. And now, we're off to celebrate Russell's birthday early, since we'll be at Sea World on his actual birthday. (FYI, if you want to get ahold of us for the next few days, try the cell first!)

Hope you all have a great last week of 2009!

The Rest of Christmas

What we did the rest of Christmas day...

Played in the snow:

And played games with the Elders (that's Elder Parente on the left, and Elder Thomas -- who survived yet another transfer; he's been here nearly 9 months! -- on the right.)

Christmas Morning

Merry Christmas, everyone! We had a grand morning. Kristen was the first up at 5:15; we tried to convince her to go back to bed, but she never really did. Everyone else was up by 6:20, and so we got up and got going.

It was a smallish Christmas, both in number of presents -- we opted to spring for a vacation to San Antonio and Sea World next week (here's hoping for good weather!) instead of buying more stuff. It made for a bit of disappointment, but overall, it'll be a good thing. (Less stuff!)

Kristen's gifts were the funniest: they're all pink or white. And Caitlyn went out of her way to make a lovely book of memories for Russell and me. Alison had a "sports" Christmas: a pink football, roller skates, and a gift certificate to go ice skating. Megan had a small Christmas: everything she got could fit in an 6-inch square.

It was nice, though over too soon, as always. The elders are coming over in a while to add to the noise level, which should be fun.

Hope your day was merry and bright!

Merry Christmas!

From the Dr. Seuss Christmas Classic:

So he paused. And the Grinch put his hand to his ear.
And he did hear a sound rising over the snow.
It started in low. Then it started to grow...

But the sound wasn't sad!
Why this sound sounded merry!
It couldn't be so!
But it WAS merry! VERY!

HE stared down at Who-ville!
The Grinch popped his eys!
Then he shook!
What he saw was a shocking surprise!

Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small,
Was singing! Without any presents at all!
He HADN'T stopped Christmas from coming!
IT CAME!
Somehow or other, it came just the same!

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold int eh snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?
"It came without ribbons! It came without tags!
"It came without packages, boxes or bags!"
And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch Thought of something he hadn't before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store.
"Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more!"

And what happened then...?
Well... in Who-ville they say
That the Grinch's small heart
Grew three sizes that day!
And the minute his heart didn't feel quite so tight,
He whizzed with his load through the bright morning light
And he brought back the toys! And the food for the feast!
And he...

... HE HIMSELF ...!
The Grinch carved the roast beast!

Storynight 2009

We had our traditional story night this past Monday and invited our friends, the Austins. Alison stressed and stressed about which story to do, and ended up deciding upon the same story that she read last year. (In fact, if you look at last years' photo, she's wearing the same shirt, too.)

Then, upon Megan's instance, Russell read The Polar Express. You can tell the troops were enthused about this one.

(Kristen, being entertaining during the story.)

Clarissa read a poem by Jane Yolen (can't remember the title right now), and the rest of the kids acted it out.

The girls were queens (since we don't have kings around here), and the others were camels. It was very fun.



Then, serendipitously, the Kitchens stopped by singing carols and bringing goodies and so we invited them in to share stories.

Which explains the extra kid in this photo.

Caitlyn read The Grinch (of course), and did voices and everything.

And Kristen was Cindy Lou Who.

I did read a story, and Russell did take a picture of it, but it got accidentally deleted when I was removing some of Kristen's handiwork.

Anyway, it was a great night!

The Funniest Thing Ever (Well At Least Today)

The Nativity Play

As we do every year. In three parts:

Good Days and Bad Days

Monday:

Good days -- Melissa (gave blood); Russell (got grading done); Kristen (went to play group), and Alison (school was fun).

Bad days -- Megan (headache at piano); Caitlyn (got yelled at at school)

Tuesday:

Good days -- Melissa and Russell (finished Christmas shopping); Megan (only three more days till Christmas break, and we made Rosettes); Caitlyn (teacher didn't yell); Kristen (preschool was fun; they did the Polar Express!)

Bad days -- Alison (spilled hot cocoa down the front of her PJs -- it was PJ/Polar express day for them, too! -- and so she had to go to the nurse's office.)

Wednesday:

Good days -- Melissa (found another punching and kicking class); Russell (he usually has good days); Megan (NAL practice was good); Caitlyn (it was her class's Christmas party, and she came home with two stuffed penguins, duly named Leo and Sherman); Alison (even though she didn't want to go back to school, she had a good day); Kristen (we went to the "right" Y, and she thoroughly loved going to her "play class" again.)

Thursday:

Good days -- Russell (came to watch Caitlyn's performance at school); Caitlyn (class did a choral reading of the Grinch; she got to be Cindy Lou Who); Megan (NAL team won the game); Alison (Christmas centers, got to see Caitlyn); Kristen (Christmas party at School!)

Bad days -- Melissa (glasses broke the night before, and so the morning was spent chasing down a new pair of frames. Thankfully, they were found for $25 at Wal-Mart -- and only the second one she tried!)

Friday:

Good days -- Melissa and Russell (party with friends; we stayed out laughing and talking until 11:30!); Megan (last day of school!); Caitlyn (choir concert, last day of school); Alison (school party!)

Bad days -- Kristen (friend Sarah wasn't at exercise at the church, and mom wouldn't let her watch the TV show -- Phineas and Ferb -- that she LOVES)

Saturday:

Good days -- Melissa (clean house; finished two books); Russell (spent less at the farmer's market than was expecting); Megan (IT'S CHRISTMAS BREAK!!); Caitlyn (had friends sleep over, they stayed until 11); Alison and Kristen (went out to dinner AND on a carriage ride.)

Sunday:

Good days -- Melissa (choir program and Relief Society lesson both went well); Russell (he doesn't have many bad days); Megan (it's been okay); Caitlyn (they worked really hard and made scenery for the nativity play this year -- videos of all of this up soon!); and Kristen (got to do a practice run in Primary today)

Bad days -- Alison (hard time because she couldn't think of anything to read for story night tomorrow except the Grinch, and Caitlyn's already claimed that)

Have a lovely week, everyone! Merry Christmas!!

The Grinch

Caitlyn's fourth grade teacher is famous for putting on plays. And this Christmas, for the 21st year, her class did a choral reading of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Caitlyn was marvelous to watch, and to hear. Enjoy!




I didn't record the whole thing, just the Cindy Lou Who part since Caitlyn "played" Cindy Lou.

At the Nutcracker

We got out to the Nutcracker this year! Russell was a good egg, and took the three girls who were old enough to go. (Next year, we all can go!) Since Russell can get a couple of free tickets for the Nutcracker at Friends, that's where we go. And they all had a good time.

Christmas Baking

It was baking week. We made candy, rosettes and cookies. And, for some reason, we managed to document much of it!

Making rosettes (like Alison and Kristen's face makeup? They were a witch and kitty...):




Kristen wanted to help make the rosettes, and wasn't happy (at first) that she couldn't do it all by herself!

Russell. Loves. Rosettes. (Between he and Megan, they ate them all!)


On to making sugar cookies! Day one, baking:




Day two, decorating:



Yum.