Howdy y'all. I'm writing this from lovely Old Town Leander! I guess I'm probably not really, I think old town is technically only the few blocks around the main city buildings, but that's neither here nor there (or is it?). Anyway, the Christmas festival was much more hopping than last year as it wasn't raining and in the 40's like it was last time. There were actually people there, and it was in the 70's. There will be more to talk about the festivities, but for now, here's a picture of all the dancers on stage after their performances.
Here is Grayson's Christmas list. It was pretty awesome! Brooke helped him write it all out, and he drew a picture of the sun for Santa. Apparently the raspberry cream pie from Thanksgiving left an impression on him, and I can't blame him. It's probably the best pie I've ever had and I even had it for my birthday instead of cake. Also, if he needs a number right now, it's always 104. Thanks Phineas and Ferb!
The kids were kind enough to put together a special performance for Monica and I one evening. They worked on it for a long time, and the best part was that they didn't fight either.
I found a 20 foot tall reindeer in our neighborhood on a walk this week. On Monday night we got invited over to the Smith's house for a Christmas carol night. It was a lot of fun being together with so many members of the ward just there for a fun night. On the way home we made a detour to see the giant reindeer, and it's a real shame we weren't taking a video of Grayson, because as we came by he was commenting on the cool plane next to the reindeer, and then suddenly saw it and gasped so loud! It was very exciting and we need to get everyone back over there again.
On Tuesday night we went to the Giving Machine! Everyone got to pick something, and there were just so many great charities to choose from! One of the local charities here in Austin actually goes and does heart surgeries for children in countries where they otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity, and that was just too much for me to not give to. The kids enjoyed picking a card they felt was meaningful to themselves as well.
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In home school, Brooke learned about short bread cookies or something. I'm not terrible concerned about what the actual lesson was other than the fact that it had a recipe, and we had them with dinner. They were fantastic!
Here's a picture of Grayson dot painting at school. I'm pretty sure he's painting a turkey, so this was probably sent to us a week or so late, but he's looking great and having a fun time.
One of Brooke's dance teachers was in the Nutcracker, and Monica took the girls to go see it Friday night. They said it was amazing, and the girls, as always, loved watching the dancers. Meanwhile, Grayson and I were at home playing Mario Wonder and having a good time.
Sometimes Jelly gets in a crazy mood and decides everyone is trying to play with her, and she must hide and jump out around corners and arch her back at you. She was in such a mood recently, and deftly hid behind a blanket... or at least got her head behind it. She actually scooted a little further in before I could get the picture, but at first when she ran in to hide she literally only got her face in there.
So as mentioned, on Saturday we went to the Old Town Leander Christmas Festival. We joined in halfway through the day for Brooke's dancing. We had to get there a little early so the dancers could warm up. The best current seat was in front of the speakers, and it was a little too loud for the kids, so Monica was walking around with them. Eventually Winry came to sit by me, but Monica and Grayson kept exploring and Grayson got to ride in this cart.
And then Monica and I switched and I took him to the petting zoo, cause, you know, I have less allergies. Grayson had fun trying to feed the various animals. I think the food they gave us was really only for the goats, as no other animal seemed to care about it at all. Grayson had fun being in there with all the animals, and the bunnies would grab the cup and pull it out of his hand and throw it!
We made it back to in time to see Brooke's dance performance. She did great, and she didn't have to dance in the road this time.
We were able to stop and see Santa after Brooke's performance, and then we headed back home.
Brooke has been really good at picking up and carrying Jelly, and will often get her when she escapes out the back door. Sometimes Brooke will even pick her up and carry her outside.
Saturday night was Follow the Star, which is a living Nativity that another church in the area does. I took the kids to go, and when we got there, we picked up the Packer's kids, Lydia and Lincoln, and all walked through together. The various scenes were all acted very well, and I believe we all really enjoyed our time there.
And at the end we stopped in the chapel to listen to Monica sing. The kids were all very interested in finding parents when we first got to our seats.
And here's Monica singing. She did such a fantastic job! She seemed very easy to see when I picked this picture, but now it's a lot smaller, so hopefully she's still easy to find. She's in the back row.
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