Christmas 2010!

Even though it was my year to be the sick one over the holidays, the Christmas events were still fun! I love this time of year! Christmas Eve was at my parents house again this year for a seafood feast! Yummy! The girls made cupcakes for the occasion and this year their decorating plan clearly was the more, the better!  Christmas morning was chaotic and fun. Evan, Price, and Brynn were up at 5ish. Caleb strolled downstairs about 7, and Evan woke Nyah up shortly after that. The unwrapping began at 7:30 after the impatient kids called the grandparents to find out how much longer they would be... good thing because one set was running late and the other set wasn't out of bed yet!

Caleb has not stopped texting on his new phone except to play a snowboarding video game, Evan was thrilled to get a football video game he wanted, Price beat the hunting video game the first day he played it and he got a new DSi, Brynn loves her guitar and spy gear and the two nutcracker ornaments she requested, and Nyah has held numerous tea parties with her new tea set and table and has given plenty of concerts with her new microphone. The Pillow Pets and the Snuggies have also been big with the girls!  After the unwrapping everyone headed off to Doug's sister's house for Christmas lunch (except me who headed off to bed).

It all went by so fast but it was joyous! We are a very blessed family!

Merry Christmas!

Dear Santa,

Define naughty...

Week of December 19, 2010

The girls and I went away for a few days... just an hour but it was a nice break from routine and very relaxing. Our first stop was Disney on Ice featuring the princesses. Well, we all loved it!

The first half featured about six different princesses and highlighted parts of their stories, so Brynn was entertained by Goofy, the 7 dwarfs, and the other non-poofy-dress-wearing characters.

Nyah kept asking where Cinderella was and she was not disappointed. Her story was the entire 2nd half!

After the show we went for ice-cream and then relaxed at our hotel. Day 2 of Girlfest meant swimming at the hotel pool, Christmas shopping, visiting with Santa, and Nyah getting her ears pierced!

She has been asking everyday for 2 weeks to do so. She never changed her mind, even in the seconds before. Since they didn't have the Little Einstein earrings she kept saying she wanted she settled for blue flowers. She cried for about a minute when it was all over then was thrilled to pick out a congratulations trinket... a hair brush! It is really cute how every day since, at least once a day, she will tell me, "I got my ears pierced!"

Our trip back home, and to reality, included grocery shopping but even there the fun continued... we stopped at a store that had carts for the girls and it was a hoot!

I don't know if it was the trip, just the right time, or what but the girls have gotten along so much better since the trip and actually enjoy playing together. I have waited over 2 years for this to happen! What a blessing!

The Dancers!

Recital day (Saturday) was a full day of dance... Brynn's rehearsal at 10am (originally earlier than a week but a snowstorm led to changed plans), Nyah's recital at 1pm, and Brynn's recital at 5pm. But they both LOVE the stage so the long day was so worth it!

Nyah during and after her recital was all smiles!

It wasn't like that until the moment she got in line to perform. I have to admit I have always known there was a 50/50 chance she would not get on stage due to her stubborn nature but I'll admit, I'm pretty stubborn too and I wasn't letting her drop out that easy! The day she got her costume she called it ugly and a few days later she tantrumed her way through pictures (Dad was the one there that time!). The next day I rushed back from an appt. in Richmond to get her to her rehearsal, where she refused to get dressed or on stage so we left. The day of the recital she had to be bribed to get dressed and as I hung out with her backstage, she refused to do anything, like play with the other girls, wanting just to sit by my side.

Guess who now says she loves her costume and wants to get on stage again??!!! LOL. She was adorable on stage. She would wave to me every few minutes and was as cute as a button!

Brynn, on the other hand, takes dance class solely for the days where she gets to be on stage. This year she is in a Hip Hop group.

She never disappoints on stage.

While I am pretty sure she was not doing the right moves at the right beat the majority of time, Brynn knows how to charm the audience and looks like she is having the time of her life on stage.

She is fun to watch!

She loved her costume too... I think it is her favorite so far and of course, it was red! We had no time to go get socks so I am was pretty thrilled to find out Caleb owned black baseball socks.

Her dad would prefer her not to wear the costume again... I think he likes his daughter in more conservative attire! LOL.

Week of Dec 12, 2010

The first snow and a first dance recital of the year (Nyah's first, Brynn's 5th... details in another post).

One, just One!! Week of Dec. 5, 2010

Slipped up again... I'm blaming it on the craziness of the holiday season! The only pictures I took this week were of Doug's administration for their Christmas card.

Week of November 28, 2010

This week included decorating the tree, a field trip to D.C. for the third graders (I was able to chaperone and only had Price and his friend Nick... what a peaceful day!), some forced "school" picture posing for the two younger boys, and Caleb's science fair experiment. Enjoy!