Christmas 2011

Stephen playing on our new piano. It was one of our gifts to each other this year. A new kitchen table was the other. Pictures of that will follow in a later post. Stephen can't read music, but he likes to play by ear and make up songs. I took piano lessons for a few years growing up, and it has been fun for me to brush off the rust from those days and play Christmas songs. This piano will be a lot better for the kids to practice on than the rinky-dink keyboard they have been using. And as an added bonus, it looks nice in our study.
The usual frenzy of gifts and wrapping paper and overly excited/tired kids (they woke up at 3:30 am and really never went back to sleep)!
Bella got a new desk from Santa this year. She has always wanted a desk because her big sister has had one for a few years. Who knew Santa and his elves could do such cute makeover work on a vintage desk!
Plenty of electronics to go around. I swear, Christmas could essentially be totally electronics nowadays. iTouches, 3DSes, video consuls, video games, movies, etc.
Even electronic dogs that are controlled by a Nintendo DS game...

Thank goodness for a few old fashioned toys that still hold some interest, like this Hot Cycle that Harrison got.

I also got a new iPhone case, which I am holding up for the camera here. My last one fell in the toilet at Target, along with my iPhone, while I was taking Harrison to the bathroom. The story of my life.
Emme got plenty of dress up clothes this Christmas, including this cute Strawberry Shortcake outfit from Stephen's Mom. We celebrated Christmas with Stephen's side of the family on December 21 and then did Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with my Mom and Grandpa. Then we gathered back together with Stephen's family on Christmas night. Fun times!

Fun at Grandma Sarah's on December 21!

And here is a shot of Harrison getting ready to play one of the wise men in the manger scene at church during primary. His buddy Max is next to him.

Tis the Season for Parties and More

How cute is this?! Emme's little Ballet class put on a recital, and here they are dressed as gingerbread figures.

And here is a copy of the Christmas card Harrison made at school. Joseph and Baby Jesus. Very sweet.

Then there was a Daddy and Donuts morning at the elementary school to celebrate the holidays! Not pictured are the various in-class parties for each of the kids held before winter break, which occupied most of my time for one full day because of my duties as room mom for one kid and duties as feeling-guilty-I-am-not-the-official-room-mom for the others!

The Nutcracker

We get invited by Stephen's former law firm, Baker Botts, to the Houston Ballet's presentation of the Nutcracker at the Wortham Center each year. Usually we are unable to attend, but this year Stephen took Sophie and Bella. They had a blast! In addition to having orchestra level seats, they got to go on stage after the performance to meet the cast and directors, get pictures and autographs, and enjoy a spread of food and goodies in a private party put on by the law firm! Too bad all Stephen had was his Blackberry phone to capture the events. It doesn't take very good pictures. Oh, well, it still helps preserve the fond memories.
There is a funny story that goes along with the picture above. Stephen didn't notice that there was a line for the kids to have their picture taken with the Sugar Plum Fairy. So he told Sophie and Bella to run up to her for a picture. After they were already up there, he saw that there was an official photographer and a line of about 30 people waiting on the other side. The photographer and coordinator were flustered, but instead of kicking them off, they let them pose for the pictures. Needless to say, the people waiting patiently in line were giving Stephen dirty looks! We haven't received the official photo yet from the firm, but since we cut, I am not holding my breath waiting for it!

Family Pictures 2011

Other Thanksgiving Happenings

We have had a busy and productive Thanksgiving
break. We did family pictures on Wednesday, and they turned out fab! As usual, we did them ourselves thanks to my camera equipment (from when I used to take pictures of others as a side business) and thanks to a little help from my Mom. We used the pictures to order our Christmas cards, and the mock-up of the card looks great too! Above is a little sneak peak of some of the kids' pics. I will post more of the pictures later and change the banner on the blog with the new family photo. We took the pics at Rice University, a destination spot for outdoor photography because of its cool architecture. The thumbnails above don't show that architecture, but the full pics do. I love how they turned out!
After the family photo session, we went to the nearby Houston Zoo, where we have a membership. The kids enjoyed the new African Safari, the carousel, and some frozen treats.

The day after Thanksgiving, the kids sent off their traditional Santa list to the North Pole by way of helium balloon ride. Prevailing winds always do the trick and carry the balloons and lists due north.
That little spec above the middle tree is the balloon on its way north!

Not pictured happenings from this busy week: home improvements, home decorations, holiday shopping, car work, and fall cleaning! Whooo...

Aggieony of Defeat

Stephen and I went to the A&M/Texas game Thanksgiving evening. Because A&M is heading to the SEC, it may be the last time these two teams play for many years. It is the end of a 117 year ( I think....somewhere around that number anyway) rivalry and tradition. What a thrilling game it was, though the outcome stung! We were on the first row of one of the end zones and were standing and hollering the whole game. We didn't get back in town until 1:00 a.m. A big thanks to the Macs for watching our kids!
We were mostly sitting by fellow Aggies, but there were plenty of t-sippers near us too.

What might have been ... 1:47.5 seconds later, we watched the winning field goal as it made its way through the uprights and nearly into our hands, giving Texas a two point win. Jubilation turned to heartache.