Goodbye Gingerbread Pirates!

 It takes so long to build these things and then it can be gone in 10 minutes.

Christian's Drum Set

Christian got a drum set today.  Last week Abby said "how come Christian get's 2 big presents?"  We pointed out that the drum set means he has to practice, she was ok with it!

We put the drum set in the music room and he got drumsticks in his stocking and a book of sheet music.  We thought that he would go looking for it at some point.  He didn't, so Kenneth went in and started playing the drums loudly.  The girls all came in looking for the source of the noise before Christian did.  He blamed it on Hazel but we know it was due to the Ipod shuffle he was enjoying.

Truman Unicycling

Truman got a Unicycle for Christmas.  He has practiced all day and I think he will have it mastered by New Years.

"It's 5:33, We are late!!"

We tell the kids that we want to see them AFTER 5:30am on Christmas morning.  This morning as they were charging up the stairs I heard one of them exclaim "We are Late!".  I looked at the clock 5:33.

Santa leaves the stockings on their beds and when they get up everybody brings their "loot" to our bed room to open it.  I love the excitement and the anticipation.  Santa brought silly string this year (some years he honors my wishes to not have anything to do with the messy stuff, some years the kids pester Santa with much mail and he gives in) so everyone went out at 6AM for a silly string fight in the driveway.  I thought that Santa's funny joke of giving the kids and I Snow White and the 7 dwarf PEZ dispensers.  I got Snow White. Christian = Doc, Truman = Dopey, Sydney = Sneezy, Abby = Grumpy, Rebekah = Bashful, Nate = Happy, Hazel = Sleepy.  The only match that wasn't accurate was sneezy.  So the kids were really excited and came to see what Kenneth got.  Santa had given him Woody.  Now Woody and Snow White can get together!

Christmas Eve

We went caroling and then we had a "Concert", everyone played the christmas music that they have been learning.  Piano, Oboe, Organ, Tuba, Saxophone, Flute, French horn and Voice.  Everyone got to participate and practice their audience manners.  It was fun.  We had our usual dinner and then opened 1 present and everybody headed to bed!

Here are our annual "Before and After" pictures on Christmas eve.  I sometimes wonder if it is really worth it to make PJ's for Christmas.  My kids are usually ( last year Hazel told me she hated her new pajamas.  She did love them after she put them on.) really grateful.  This year they all told me that these are the best ever :)  It does a mother good to see her sleepless nights appreciated.

Last time

Another last time.  Kenneth taught Hazel to ride a bike this week.  Here is her first solo rode.  Well it is actually the second, I guess.  I came to watch and she proudly told me that Dadd was helping her ride and that she just rode away from him.

She has been riding a trailer bike hooked to mine for quite sometime and so has had a harder time transitioning to having to steer herself instead of doing stunts behind me.  The first time Kenneth took her out to practice, I heard her wailing down the street "don't make me do this!!!!"

She is proud that she did it but when asked if she would like to go out and ride a bike she says "Oh, not right now I am really busy."

Marimba Update

The bars are ready to be stained and then final tuned again.  And we still need a stand! I have seen a sketch, and the wood is sitting nearby. Christian has been helping alot lately, I think he is hoping to play the thing before he moves out.   Now that our Christmas projects are finished maybe there will be time to work on it next week.

Creative cooking

Gingerbread house gone off the deep end.
We have a book called the gingerbread pirates, so when it came time for the gingerbread festivities...

If you look hard you might be able to find Davy Jones on Deck and his unbeating heart on the deck next to him.



We also had Abby's Birthday to celebrate.  Christian and I made this great cake:

We learned an important lesson.  If you dust the cake with powdered sugar and then blow the candles out.  You get powdered sugar all over.

Rubber Band Art

Abby wanted some new hairdo.  We made a christmas tree on her head!

Hazel had our Camera

We have a great chronology of photos of Hazel's feet.  Everytime she has the camera I find photos of her feet.  I love those tiny toes.

We have one tree that drops it's leaves.  Last week all the leaves fell.  Nate, Hazel and Alyssa (their friend who lives on our street) buried themselves in leaves.  I have about 10 photos like this.  I think this is Nate.  They spent the whole afternoon burying each other.

Here is Alyssa with the kids.

Guide Dog Puppies

Our Guide Dog Club rode a school bus to look at Christmas lights and one of the houses has this sleigh and cut outs.  We had a fun time taking pictures and listening to Christmas music.  

 Snug is the puppy on the left in the front.

Crazy Abby (and Nate her faithful sidekick)

Abby and Nate decided to go swimming today.  It was a very short swim, an in and out in 30 seconds trip! There was much surprised gasping.