New Clothes

After all the toys were bought I noticed Dallin had grown again. I wanted to kill him for growing again cause he just got all new clothes not even a couple months before. When Becka called to see what to get them I had to ask her to buy clothes. The kids really needed them. Here are a few pics of what they got. They normally do not look this cute. Its the clothes that make them adorable.

Merry Christmas

I didn't send out Christmas cards this year. I never do cause its not in keeping with my personality flaws. But I know that people want to know that we care so.... I decided to say Merry Christmas and capture a memory on my blog all at the same time. First I have Derek saying Merry Christmas. Followed by Olivia and Addie singing Christmas songs. One might argue that its better than a card cause its LIVE... but... I wouldn't want to make other people feel like their little cards are second rate. The truth is its for their aunts and uncle who can't see them this Christmas. You might have to watch the video of Derek twice to catch him saying it. I have gone bonkers trying to get a clip of him saying it. He wiggles and runs around too much to want to help my cause. Any way Merry Christmas and Enjoy!!

Addie's Joy to the World

This is Addie in all her glory. I love how she doesnt sing quiet or act shy in these moments. It means she knows who she is and doesnt have to hide it.

Olivia's Jingle Bells

Notice how she gets upset that her brother is grabbing for the microphone and yet she can continue to sing like a true star. (the kind of star that won't sing at the preschool program but has the ability to sing at home)

Schlitterbahn at Christmas time

Schlitterbahn is this awsome water park that they have in Texas. There are a few in different areas but in New Braunfels they make it into a Christmas themed park for an extra buck or two. Its was fun to go with my parents and sister Becka. After dinner we headed over there and had so much fun. They had millions of lights with music. Its was so cool. I mean in my mind it tops Temple square bar none. (but thats cause I have never been to temple square)

There were so many fun things to do. They had a carousel, fake snow falling, ice skating, a jumper, pictures with Rudolph and Santa, story time with Mrs. Clause, a big nativity, and the best was sledding down the water slides. All of it was adorned with millions of lights that were synchronized to music.

This is one of my favorite Christmas songs.

Preschool Christmas Pageant

The Methodist preschool put on a Christmas pageant. And since we need to keep the Christ in Christmas we did what any moral parent would do and went to watch our kids. We also supplied paper plates, cookies, and lemonade for the after party. (try and top that do gooders) It was really cute. These little things are the best part of Christmas time (for me at least).

She was an angel singing about the birth of Christ. And when he was born she belted out the song Joy to the World. I mean belted it out. I had no idea she knew that song.

Addie did a good job of singing loudly and E-N-UN-CIATING her words when she sang. I have no idea why she makes it a point to sing her words S-O CL-EAR-LY. I guess maybe its for all the deaf people in the crowd that lip read only. What an Angel.

Real quick I would like to thank our sponsors. This Christmas pageant was brought to you in part by Aunt Annette. (she bought her outfit) Mrs. Melissa (her teacher) Andrew (the dad who pays for the preschool) And Camille Weeks (i pretty much had the child).

Olivia again was not having it when it came time to preform. I am not too worried about her not knowing all the words. But we do at the very least expect a three year olds version of karaoke . I am pretty sure she derives satisfaction out of being such a grumpy chub. I still think she is adorable (looking) at this age.

The LOCAL crap parade.

The city of Pflugerville is very close to Dell which is Andrew's client but it is a pretty small town. So we either do bigger things in Austin or we see what the locals have to offer. With kids it easier to not drive very far and its free to just hang out in Pflugerville. The only down side is the light Parade consists of a million boy scout troops riding in trailers hitched onto the back of a Tractor with a string of lights flung over it. Oh and I forgot to include the BMX bikers with glow necklaces laced in the spokes of their bike wheels. Inadequate YES! Do my kids know any better? Nope. The best part is you can see that we parked right next to the no parking sign and no one cared. (In Texas as long as you have a support our troops bumper sticker you can get away with all kinds of parking violations)

Because they were handing out candy (I am pretty sure it was left over Halloween candy) the kids loved it! And when we asked what they liked most about the parade, they said "the candy". Fine by me. They better not claim we never did anything fun during the Holidays.

Dance Recital

The girls had a Christmas dance recital this Saturday. They each did a dance from the nutcracker. It was very well attended and they each got a cupcake in the end. I am glad after a whole season of dragging them to football they had a chance to shine and be in the lamplight.

Olivia REFUSED to dance. I could barely get a picture of her cause she made a game out of hiding behind her classmates. This is a product of the counter productive nature my mom breeds in others. Olivia is her pet and they love just not doing their best in a moment. I can tell I need to be more aggressive with telling my mom to not help Olivia with everything and have her be more independent. When she came down from the stage Dallin told her it was the worst dance he had ever seen. I can't get that mad at him cause it was. I am brewing up all kinds of chores she can do to pay me back for that dress.

Adelaide did great. She is the most confident girl I know. After she was done and we all told her how good she did she would just say "I know." SNAP!! You go girl.

Gingerbread Houses

A tradition we do every Year (though I can only remember the last two years of Christmas time). This fun activity was made possible by having the little demon Derek go to bed early. I decided to get two houses cause the older two kids usually squeeze Olivia out of the equation thinking she is still a baby. Dallin and Addie had a house supervised by Andrew and Me and Olivia had the other one.

Mine and Olivia's is very different. You can tell I don't buy all that let the kid be creative and do what they want crap! I directed her in a happy way towards the areas I thought needed candy. You could say there are many many underlying themes going on here. My house shows how my real home looks when I am in charge of the kids and Andrew's house reflects what my home looks like when he is babysitting. My home shows how I eat healthy and exercise. Andrews shows that he spends no time taking care of his body. Spirituality..... Brain capacity..... You get the picture.

Fireplace

This is my firs time ever owning and operating a fire place. And I guess my first time really needing or wanting a fire. But it got cold enough this past week that the forecast included snow. So we bought some logs and started a fire. It really does warm up a whole room and the ambiance was great. Its the perfect thing at Christmas time. This Christmas we have so many ups and downs but I think that part of growing up is figuring out how to stay calm and relax during those times. We also have scaled back so much this year. We used to buy the kids more presents than they had the energy to open. Now we limit it to three max and a few stocking stuffers. I think its better for them to learn that life isnt about stuff. A lesson some times you don't want to have to teach your kids cause it sucks but...again its time for me to grow up. Lets just say at least Andrew is happy with the adjustment.

Ho Ho Ho

Who would have thought my dad would be willing to play Santa but he said yes and it was crazy. He is chubby but hardly a jolly old elf. He is moody and has the mouth of a sailor. So when our first Santa bailed. I was hesitant. I knew he would look the part but I was thinking the only way he would know how to talk nice to kids was if I had que cards in the back ground. He ended up being perfect. Cause he was a very funny Santa and he was real good with the kids. What a sweet guy I love him to death. I know your wondering if my kids noticed. And yes Dallin and Addie did. But now they just think that their Grandpa is super awsome cause he is Santa on the side.

He calls me Odie. Its been my nick name for years.

The River Walk

We went to San Antonio this past Saturday to see the River Walk. Its this cool part of their downtown that has shops, restaurants, and hotels that are right on the water facing the river. Kind of like Venice. You can walk along the side walks or ride on these boats. We have been there before but this time we wanted to ride the boat. They light it all up for the Holidays for a little more family fun. It was well worth the trip. Andrew loved it and the kids really liked seeing the lights. Its now on our list of things to do each year around Christmas time.

The lights

I know pictures don't do justice to the awsome lights we saw that night but it gives you a general idea. It was so much fun!

Waiting.

I am calling this post waiting because there was a ton of waiting that evening. Waiting in the car on the drive there. Waiting to meet up again after we parked on a different level. Waiting in line for tickets. And the most annoying was my mom decided right when we were next in line to get on a boat that she had to go to the bathroom. I don't know what she was doing in there but we had to let people go past us as we waited for what seemed like hours for her to come back. Lets just say little miss bathroom breaks is not getting invited next year. Notice the picture of my brother looking at his wife hoping she is not as pissed as the rest of us were. Lol :) Check out the other pics I got while we were waiting.