Cameron lector

I sure hope it's not a sin to sneak out your iPhone and record your daughter as she's doing the second reading at Christmas Eve Mass. I just couldn't help myself.





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Christmas day 2011

Christmas morning came bright and early right on schedule. The girls were awake before seven but waited to come in and wake us until 7:15. I think they even woke their brother.

As usual Bryan made them wait before going into the living room to see if Santa had visited our house.

Of course since they have been such wonderful big sisters, Santa had plenty of reason to leave them what they asked for. Brenna got her Nintendo 3DS, Cameron got a Vera Bradley purse, and Douglas got a crib mobile with a book.

Douglas loves his soft car toy.

Cameron really scored big this year. She has been asking for a cell phone for a long time. Bryan and I kept putting her off, because we didn't think she needed one. She has been very responsible this year and we agreed it was time to take that step.

Bryan turned the phone on and hid it in the Christmas tree. We meant for it to be the last present of the morning, but when I suggested she open the "big" present first (meaning the big wrapped box) he misunderstood and called her cell phone.

Unfortunately I didn't have the video running, because when the phone started to ring she figured it out immediately and became quite excited. Maybe that should be hysterical.

There was only one problem. She couldn't find it. She and Brenna were tossing about all the presents underneath the tree, but they never thought to look in the branches, and she was too excited to stop and listen and figure it out! Eventually she did and I was surprised that she was able to put it aside to open her other presents.

I think my favorite gift exchange was Brenna giving Cameron a necklace she bought at the school holidays store. She was so genuinely excited about Cameron opening it. It was a very sweet moment between sisters.

Everyone had to help clean up afterwards. We had a breakfast casserole and got ready to pack because we were going to Silver Belle Ranch for a few days.

Getting everything together for ourselves and the baby was quite a chore and it wore them out.

We made a short stop at Colonial Oaks to visit Granny and Merr.

After our visit we headed west arriving at the ranch just as the sun set. Lisa's family arrived just after us, but David's family came the next day because Alexander wasn't feeling well.

We had a very nice Christmas day!

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The Christmas Season

It finally started to feel like Christmas on Friday because Bryan was off work. We took Cameron to the church to practice her reading, and she did a great job.



Then Bryan and Brenna went to the mall to buy a few last-minute gifts.

We continued our family tradition of driving around and looking at Christmas lights that evening. McDonald's has a really yummy peppermint mocha right now. We saw some beautiful displays in the neighborhood.

Saturday was Christmas Eve and we spent the whole day in the kitchen making Sunday's breakfast casserole, sausage cheese balls, pecan pie, merry cherry fudge, and banana nut bread.



Despite a drizzly rain, the 6 pm Mass was quite crowded. We arrived early-about 5:25- to make sure Cameron checked in on time. We were in our traditional seats in the front left center pew when Cameron processed in.



I could tell she was a little anxious about lectoring, but she did a perfect job and looked beautiful (and so much older than 12) in my red sweater and her black Douglas was awake, but quiet during Mass.



After Mass we came home and got ready for bed. Brenna and Cameron put out the cookies and milk.



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Getting ready for Santa

It's been a very full and busy day in the kitchen this Christmas Eve. The girls baked cookies, made fudge (which didn't set and got tossed out), baked pizza muffins for lunch, and helped Bryan as he made four batches of peanut brittle. Meanwhile I made Paleo apple muffins for breakfast, a Paleo breakfast casserole, and three pies for tomorrow.

We attended the 8:30 p.m. Christmas Eve Mass and Cameron altar served. The combined adult choirs performed for about thirty minutes before Mass and overwhelmed all of us with a beautiful Hallelujah Chorus after Communion. Surprisingly it wasn't crowded at all; there were plenty of seats available. The downpour and lightening outside may have discouraged some from attending. After Mass, the girls were excited to get things ready for Santa's arrival. Brenna placed a cookie and peanut brittle piece, alongside the milk. Cameron created a cross as a gift for Santa.

Bryan opened up the fireplace and set out towels for Santa's wet feet....

Merry Christmas Eve. Sweet dreams to all!

Snowy Cold Christmas

After spending Christmas morning at home, we packed up the Odyssey and headed north for McKinney. Traffic was light and would you believe we saw some of our neighbors when we stopped at the Madisonville Buc-ee's.

When we passed north of downtown Dallas we immediately went on the lookout for snow, since they received a few inches of the white stuff Christmas eve. Little patches of snow could still be seen in the gullies and shadowed spaces once we got north of Plano. The girls were thrilled to see snow in Brad & Amanda's yard!

The girls delighted in proving to me that enough snow still lay on the ground to provide them with over an hour of snowball fights. Most of my photos are on the iPhone, and I have not figured out how to move them from the phone to the computer, but a long thick line of snow lay between the two houses and supplied them with ample ammunition.

Eventually I got too cold and wet and went inside, but Bryan and then Brad went outside and joined in the screaming, panting, running, chaos. Cameron ruthlessly taunted and watched for opportunity to strike, but when the tables turned and she received a handful of snow down the back of her pants she didn't like it one bit!

Amanda prepared a delicious Christmas Day supper for us and we enjoyed a somewhat quieter evening. The next night the six of us went into Allen for the Americans hockey game. Bryan took me to my first hockey game for our second date, yet we had never taken Cameron or Brenna to see a live hockey game. Both girls take after their parents, getting really into the game, calling out to the ref and players and everything. The Americans played a very close game, but pulled it out at the end for the win!

The next day we said goodbye to Brad & Amanda and headed west into Fort Worth to visit Aunt Debbie. Cameron & Brenna were very excited with their gifts from Debbie, which included riding clothes and pierced ears. She took them to get their ears pierced, with my (albeit) nervous permission. I can't really explain why, but I had some real anxiety over allowing them to get their ears pierced. Both girls handled it very well and love their pierced ears.

Before leaving Fort Worth, we finally (as Bryan would say) went into the Cabela's store right across the highway. Bryan has been really wanting to go into this store. He's been to the one in Kansas City, KS and told me it would make Bass Pro Shop and Gander Mountain look like a Walmart. He wasn't far off - the store was amazing. In addition the retail shopping they had incredible taxidermy exhibits of every possible game, including Conservation Mountain, an African Diorama, an Aquarium, and the Texas Big Game Museum.

We spent over an hour just walking around marveling at the products and the displays. Before we left, we stuck our head inside the shooting arcade/gallery to see what it was about and this young guy leaving gave Bryan a handful of his leftover tokens "for the girls." Bryan helped Cameron & Brenna have a little fun in the shooting gallery, though I'm not sure who had more fun in there.

Christmas morning

We had a lovely Christmas morning, with the girls appearing in our bedroom promptly before 7 a.m. raring to go into the living room and see whether Santa arrived. While I dragged myself out of bed and made myself presentable, Bryan playfully teased the girls, until all of them were a noisy laughing group. He finally allowed them to check their stockings by the fireplace, then teased them again not allowing them into the living room with the Christmas tree.

You'll be thankful that I didn't upload the home movie he took of the girls seeing their Santa presents for the first time. That little squeal that used to be so cute when they were younger has turned into a full-fledged scream AAAAiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeee with lots of jumping up and down. (Honestly, I'm not so sure why they're so overwhelmingly surprised - they have always received exactly what they asked for from Santa Clause. We do quite a bit of guiding/vetting before they visit him at the mall.)

Cameron received the bow & arrow set and a target. She became interested in archery when we visited the Renaissance Festival in November.

Brenna asked Santa for an Our Generation Doll named Jennie. The doll's full name is now Geneveieve Marie and Brenna seems perfectly happy even though it is not an American Girl doll. I wish they'd had Our Generation dolls available last year.

It wouldn't be Christmas in our house if the girls didn't receive a lot of BOOKS. One of Brenna's books this year was "How to be a Princess" that included lift-flaps, small letters and notes that you pull from attached envelopes, and had many tips. As you compare the next two photos, can you tell what princess attribute they are reading about?

If you guessed "Posture" then you are exactly right!

Brenna's last present was actually the first one I purchased this Christmas season. She began asking for a Snuggie after seeing the very first commercial and did not stop until she opened the present. It's an adult "one-size fits-all" but she loves it.

After breakfast, before we packed the car to head to Brad & Amanda's home in McKinney, Cameron & Bryan spent a little time in the backyard practicing with her new bow & arrow set. She loves it.

Christmas with Family

We spent Christmas day afternoon at Mom & Dad's celebrating with an abundance of food and people. All of the kids would sit still when promised that they could open presents. We let them open presents before dinner this year.



Then amazingly we snapped a pose of Granny with all seven of her great-grandchildren. (Even Megan is smiling?)


Friday we headed out to McKinney to have Christmas with Aunt Debbie, Aunt Amanda and Uncle Brad.

We love our family!!!!

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning in our household was right on schedule. The girls let us sleep until 6:59 a.m. (because we said they couldn't come in until 7 a.m.) Bryan checked to be sure Santa had really come to our house before allowing the girls to come in the room.

I think this picture sums up the rest of the morning.

Christmas Eve

Since Bryan worked most of Christmas Eve, I kept the girls entertained by letting them decorate a Gingerbread House.

After Bryan came home, we did our annual ritual of sharing a Sonic Blast and driving around looking at the holiday lights in our neighborhood. We have a few favorites, including this new one we discovered last year. While the yard is full of lighted moving pieces, it is the garage that attracts viewers from all places.

The entire garage is a multi-level Christmas village. I heard that it takes him six weeks of planning to set it up. The garage door opens, and he constructed a plexiglass wall that is screwed into place, protecting the display.

How cool is this?

(Can you see the skiers on the far right?)

(Did you notice Santa is lounging in the hammock in the bottom center of the above?)

Santa visit

Every year we go see Santa so the girls can tell him what they want. Since Santa arrives at the mall in mid-November, we usually go see him early before the lines get ridiculously long.

Usually.

I don't know what it is about this year, but since Thanksgiving I can hardly catch my breath. I finally found a free afternoon to take the girls to see Santa, but it was on a weekend and Bryan was out of town. Undaunted, I had the girls dress up and we went to the mall. At first I thought the line wasn't terribly long - 45 min to an hour maybe - so instead of walking all the way around to the formal entrance, we just ducked under the rope. We were there about 5 minutes before the lady in front of us turned around and told us that she had been tagged the last person before Santa's lunch break. Sure enough, her photo order form said "Last". She pointed to the formal entrance, which had been roped off, and there was another line already in place for after his hour-long lunch break.

Hm... 45 minutes for this line, an hour for lunch, and a good 30 minutes according to the other line. No way.

So I promised the girls we'd try to go on a weekday evening and last night we finally accomplished our task.

The girls had dentist appointments at 4, Bryan met us at the house about 5 and we were in line by 6 p.m. Forty-five minutes later.... we arrived at a very tired looking Santa, who nevertheless brightened and smiled at the girls, inviting them to tell him what they wanted for Christmas. As the girls tell him, he glances up at me waiting for that slight nod that it's okay to say, "I think I might have some of those left at the workshop. I'll put one aside for you."

The "elf" who took our photo leaned over and said, "Your girls were the easiest photo I've taken all day."

I hear that a lot.

I thought it came out beautiful myself.

(You might want to check out our Santa blog post from two years ago to remember how much we appreciate this Santa. I also love that Brenna and Cameron are wearing the same dress 2006/2008. Did the dress shrink or is Brenna taller/larger at 6 than Cameron was at 7?)

Scooters

Dec 26 turned out to be our "rest and do nothing day." Bryan had to work, but the girls and I were off all week, and we weren't heading up to McKinney until Friday. So Wed. we did nothing but open up toys and play. In the early afternoon I decided we'd had enough of the house, and put the girls and their scooters in the van and headed over to the park.

Cameron joined the ranks of thousands of girls across the nation who got a red Razor scooter (Target, on sale day after Thanksgiving!) for Christmas. Since the park was relatively empty - a few families here or there, but very few cars - I let them scooter around the sidewalks between playground sets. I gave up trying to walk behind them, and instead walked the distance in the parking lot between one walkway (by the car) and where it came out on the far side.

Then we scootered a bit down the road to a boardwalk out over the Bayou. We stopped for a bit and watched an egret walk around - he would land in one spot and walk to the shore, then fly back to the original spot and do it again.

We headed back down the boardwalk and Brenna got very excited over a big rock; she wanted to sit (later stand) on the rock. I went to take a picture and bust out laughing at how Cameron jumped up and "posed".

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

I have several update posts to work on this evening, but wanted to make certain to say Merry Christmas and Happy 2008 to everyone.




Clearly, Santa visited our house this year. The cookies and milk are gone, Brenna's letter to Santa has vanished, and two little electronic games are under the tree.

The girls enjoyed opening their presents. I'm not sure, but I think they both squealed the loudest when they opened these boxes, containing new comforters. They moved into separate bedrooms a few weeks before Christmas, and no longer need the matching quilts they've had for the past three years.
Bryan got a surprise - he was not expecting to receive Guitar Hero. I almost didn't get it for him (the on sale one was sold out in our area), but his brother found it on sale in McKinney! So we met, in a parking lot, on the far side of town, and made a little swap on Christmas Eve.

And this is how we spent the rest of Christmas morning. Each to their own electronic device. (Bryan won't let me post a photo of him playing Guitar Hero!)

The Reason for the Season

Before she went to bed this evening, Brenna insisted on adding the kneeling Santa to the Nativity display. She wanted to make sure that we remembered Santa was coming tonight to worship the baby Jesus.

Twas the Night before Christmas

And all through the house,

not a creature was stirring....

except for Bryan and I finishing up cooking the pies, the breakfast casserole, and cleaning up all of the kitchen, sweeping the floor, and moving wet clothes into the dryer.

According to NORAD's Santa Tracker, the big jolly guy himself is in the US, heading up and down the New England coast. Somewhere in Queensland, Australia, a dear friend is already tucking into his Christmas dinner.

Brenna insisted on adding a bag of carrots to the Santa cookie tray -- for the reindeer of course -- and her letter to Santa on the top. Then it was off to bed with them!!

As bright-eyed as she looks (at 9 p.m.) I assure you that she is fast asleep at the present moment.

This one was asleep probably before the flash stopped - I could have put her to bed at 7 p.m. (if we'd been home) and she would have been fine.

Earlier this evening we drove around looking at Christmas house lights throughout the neighborhood. We'd heard of this one house we just had to see and it sure was worth the time we spent looking for it. The family had converted the entire garage into a multi-layered Christmas village extravaganza. I wish I'd had the camera. There were probably 150 small village scenes/sets from the simple to the detailed, with lights and moving parts, skiiers, skaters, dancers. it really was incredible. They had constructed a special plexiglass garage door/front (including security camera.) The rest of their yard looked like a Lowe's or Garden Ridge Pottery advertisement.

Rest easy everyone - we're settling down on the couch watching Patrick Stewart's Christmas Carol (easily the best version I've ever seen!)