And we're back...

The Christmas season has swept us away in recitals, class parties, baking, Christmas cards, decorating, caroling, and celebrating with good friends and family. I love this time of year! Of course, we have also recently experienced stolen mail, a broken digital camera, and a creepy cold virus, but c'est la vie. On to the festivities...

Here are some pics of us celebrating with the Oldhams, Torlas and Trudgens. We decorated cookies and went caroling. It was just the right amount of chilly outside to make it fun! Ginger played the guitar and lead the singing (she has a beautiful voice) and the rest of us joined in. What a great way to ring in the season!






























We have no fireplace mantle, so we have to get creative!

Here is a video of Brad's and Kaylee's piano duet. Brad was so patient and really did a good job following Kaylee's lead so far as timing.







Here's a video of Nathan shooting a free throw (and missing) and then getting the rebound (and swishing it!)




Well, that's all I will post for now. I'm sure you're on the edge of your seats for our next installment. :)

Merry, Merry Christmas to you!

The Tooth Fairy Blows It...Again

Kaylee lost her first tooth this week. With each of our kids, we have made somewhat of a big deal about the first tooth. With much pomp and circumstance, we put the tooth in a baggie and place it under the toothless child's pillow, and then give our Great Tooth Fairy Speech of 2001 (when it was first composed for a then 5-year-old Brad) and each child has been elated with the idea of waking up to a little monetary goodie under his/her pillow. This first tooth is always a success...we've never forgotten to leave money for that first tooth...until now.
The next morning, Kaylee came downstairs and, with huge tiger tears in her eyes, proclaimed the misdeeds of the tooth fairy. In a moment of quick thinking (I only have one or two of those a week now, so I'm thankful one came that day) I told her that the tooth fairy might have mistaken her top bunk for Brad's top bunk and maybe that's where her money was. Nathan, catching my cue, darted to the allowance bag, valiantly dashed upstairs to his room and placed the money under Brad's pillow, all while Kaylee was blowing her nose. Kaylee ran down the stairs moments later, saying, "The tooth fairy did put the money in the wrong bed! And I got a dollar coin, not a quarter!" Apparently Nathan felt the reward needed padding in light of the circumstances. :)

Winter Fun

Last Sunday we continued with a tradition we started when Lindsay was 4 or so, and we took the kids to see The Nutcracker ballet. When Lindsay was little, it was just the two of us who joined several of our friends for this fun event. Eventually the boys reluctantly joined in (though now they look forward to it- perhaps mostly for the cannon shot and the intermission goodies) and last year I took all 4 older children. This year Joe got dragged along, as I didn't think I wanted to try to manage all 5 kiddos on my own in this setting. Joe spent a lot of time looking at the ceiling and muttered more than once that "men should not wear tights." While I enjoy the Nutcracker very much, I concede him this point. If nothing else, why can't the men's shirts be longer, just so we don't have to see everything? Has no one in wardrobe ever thought of that? Joe can just be thankful he missed the performance last year...let's just say that Nutcracker needed to shed a pound or two...ick.