Christmas Day

Christmas morning finally arrived, and as always we appreciate the fact that Callie and Reese like to sleep in. As you can see in the background of our traditional top of the stairs picture, the sun was shining bright by the time the girls were ready to start the unwrapping process. John made sure the Christmas tree lights were on and that Santa had done his job, and the fun commenced.

Obviously the stockings are the first items that Callie and Reese choose to address. And we know that their grandparents would be happy to hear that Reese in particular is always very happy to see the toothpaste and other toiletries that Santa chooses to put in the stocking each year. There is a strong tradition of practical Santa on both sides of the family.

The big gift for the girls this year from John and Sarah (that's right, Santa is not allowed to get credit for the good stuff) was a Nintendo Switch gaming system. We are not a big gaming family, so it took some research to figure out what would be best. But we are pretty sure we made the right call. And Callie was into the FIFA soccer game right away.

Once we had relaxed for a bit and enjoyed some family time we welcomed over the Abrahams and the Johnsons to hang out for the afternoon. We had such a good time that the only picture we have is Sarah doctoring Kelly's finger while Seth is doing dishes in the background. We didn't realize Kelly was so squeamish about blood. It may seem like a strange picture to end on, but in many ways this sums up a great deal about why we feel so at home in Lexington. We have some great friends and are lucky that they are part of our built extended family.

More Christmas Celebrations

In the midst of all the Christmas cheer we were able to schedule an evening with the wine club. We are now in our tenth year of wining, talking, and laughing, which means these kids have grown to know each other very well. They have a great time together, even if the older kids spend a little too much time on their phones these days.

The really older kids get along quite well too. We are a quirky group of folks, but by this point we are familiar with all of those quirks and still love getting together as often as possible. Every gathering leads to a whole lot of great conversations and good times.

The past couple of years we have made a gift exchange a part of our evening. The kids are part of the deal too, and they can get pretty cut throat in the stealing portion. Reese still doesn't forgive Zach for stealing the gift that she had her heart set on. There's always next year!

We always love going to the Christmas Eve service at First Presbyterian Church, and this year Callie got to be part of the service by lighting the candles while Vivie read the opening words. It seems like every day provides a new reminder that our kids are getting older. And it is always wonderful to see how comfortable they are in our church community.

After Sarah dried her eyes from crying during the singing of Silent Night that ends the service, we managed to get a good family picture among all the beautiful decorations. Nights like these reaffirm our decision to stay in Lexington for Christmas every year.

It just so happened that our annual tape ball evening with the Abrahams fell on Christmas Eve and John, Callie, and Reese spent some time making sure all of the numbers were in good shape. It's always important to have the numbers properly covered in tape so they don't fall victim to the aggressive ripping strategies of the assembled masses.

We ate dinner quickly so that we could get right to the business of tape ball. There are a couple of questions that arise each year. First, did John use too much tape and will that make the ripping part last far too long? Second, will some child cry during either the ripping or the stealing portion of the evening? Fortunately the second question has become less relevant as the years go by.

Once the fun begins, all bets are off and the shouting starts in earnest. As demonstrated here, Callie tries to roll a 6 so that she can start ripping. Meanwhile, Reese works as hard as possible to get some kind of hold that will allow her to rip off a portion of the ball. The facial expression says it all.

This year the evening of tape ball also provided the opportunity to get to know the new Associate Pastor for our church. Nothing like a good secular event like tape ball to show why we need to go to church more. Linda is a great sport, though, and she even stole the sweater pictured here. Reese was the initial owner of it, because of course the youngest could not resist the temptation of the biggest present. So when Linda stole it she made Reese's Christmas. And as more evidence of how cool Linda is, she sent us all a picture of her wearing the sweater while getting on her flight to Virginia on Christmas morning.

Reese's Glow Birthday

Although we decorate for Christmas before Reese's birthday is celebrated, we try and stop all holiday activities to spotlight the birthday girl and ensure that the holiday festivities don't merge too much with her birthday wishes. However one tradition which is pretty cool is that our elf Sam always kicks off the party with birthday greetings from the tree.

It doesn't mean that we ignore our decorations of course, and when it is fitting we are more than willing to incorporate them into the birthday scene. This year Reese chose to have a glow-themed party filled with a variety of activities. Each glowing ball ornament had a specified activity for a specific time of night. It was fun throughout the night to open a glowing orb to find out what was next.

We don't like to reinvent the wheel if we don't have to, so first up was a series of Minute to Win It challenges, which you might recall from Callie's 9th birthday party. The first challenge was getting an oreo from your forehead to your mouth without using your hands. Needless to say we had no one complete the task, but everyone did enjoy the cookie in the end.

Next on the list was a task where the contestant used a small plastic spoon to move ping pong balls from a small bowl to a cup. This task took a little time for the players to get used to, but most did quite well. Since we only did half the group at a time we also appreciated the cheerleading and support provided by those not engaged in the challenge. It is a sweet group of girls.

The ping pong balls continued to be the focus of another challenge. This time the girls had to bounce ping pong balls so that they would settle into the square contraption you see pictured here. They had to see how many they could get in a minute. Easier said then done, that's for sure.

Perhaps the most entertaining challenge of the evening was the good old Junk in the Trunk. A tissue box filled with ping pong balls was strapped around the waist and when the music started each contestant had to shake those balls out of the box without using her hands. There was a whole lot of shaking and a lot of creative contortions involved.

And no contest worth its salt ends without an awards ceremony. We had candy bar medals for all who participated and fortunately everyone was happy with the tasty treat they ended up with. The games were over but the party was just getting started.

It's pretty amazing how many different glowing things you can buy when you start looking. Here the girls got to create everything from glowing bounce balls to headbands to bracelets to glasses. They had a blast putting it all together.

And once the lights went out it was quite a sight to see. But it didn't end there. With the assistance of Callie and her friend Maddie, the girls learned a dance routine designed to show off their glow gloves in a lights out performance. All night long Callie and Maddie were fantastic assistants, and they definitely helped ease the anxiety of hosting six 9-year-olds for a sleepover.

Of course the star of the show was Reese, who we still cannot believe is 9 years old. We used to write full on evaluations of the girls when they were younger, but their lives now are so crammed full of activities that we are just trying to keep up with them these days. Let's just say that Reese is an energetic, enthusiastic, loving, smart, bundle of sweetness who makes our lives better every single day. We are so fortunate to be her parents.

And Reese is fortunate to have a good group of friends like these. At the end of the evening they grabbed a whole bunch of popcorn and candy and settled in to watch the movie Elf. It was a great night  and the girls were all wonderful guests. Another fun birthday in the books!

Preparing for the Jolly

As we have said many times before, the Christmas season doesn't officially kick off until we see Santa at the Mayfield-Ingle's house. By this point the girls are very comfortable with the man in red. There is almost a routine to the evening. We all come in, greet the hosts, the girls go upstairs to play with Murphy and the kids, and the parents go to the basement to grab a drink and socialize. Towards the end of the night when the crowds thinned a bit we pop back upstairs to get the iconic photos.

We even managed to get a decent family photo this year. Another great thing about A-P's Christmas season kick off parties is that this event prioritizes Sarah getting Christmas dresses for the girls early so that they can maximize their use during the holiday season. Keep an eye out for the dresses in the pictures that follow.

We have been providing updates about Hall's School of Dance, and with this post we have arrived at its thrilling conclusion - the Winter Formal Dance. Yes, they are in 6th grade. The evening started out at the Lexington Country Club where a three course meal was served. The parents were in the other room so we really have no idea what happened. The only thing we know was the tables were divided by gender, which is okay with us.

The ironic thing about Hall's School of Dance is that more boys were signed up than girls, and especially for Callie's group of friends. For the most part, and especially for Callie, the dance class didn't inspire or spark any interest in boys. But it is possible she may have learned a dance or two, in addition to some overall social etiquette. And the social etiquette part was the main reason we signed her up anyway.

This year's Christmas pageant at church was unique because there wasn't a strong LOGOS program leading up to it. However, the elementary and pre-school age children did pull off some great songs in telling the story of Jesus's birth. But truly, it was Joseph who stole the show this year, much to his parents' and the show director's chagrin. A last minute illness led to the conscription of a 9th grade boy who is a character to say the least. Despite receiving all manner of direction, this fine young man proceeded to play Joseph as an indifferent, coffee drinking, orange eating, aloof, father of our Savior. We couldn't stop laughing, and it certainly brought entertainment and joy to most of the crowd. But it is also likely that the key messages of the pageant were a bit lost in the process.

Later that month Reese was asked to read as part of the service. She did a wonderful job if we don't say so ourselves, and certainly impressed a lot of our congregation with her poise in the pulpit. She just needs to grow a little bit more to get that microphone in reach.

As the days in December went by we were able to steal an evening with the Johnsons. It was time to do some gingerbread house decorating, and the kids decided that they wanted it to be a bit of a competition. These days once the materials are purchased the kids tend to set the tone.

And as you can see from this picture, sometimes the tone can be a bit crazy. Reese and Mason work very well together, and Emerson is always ready to throw some spice in the mix.

All of the completed houses were somehow able to hold up under the weight of all the candy and icing the kids heaped on them. Of course it is possible that some of the candy never made it from the bowl to the house but instead ended up in someone's mouth. 'Tis the season!

For 6th graders it is also the season for Science Fair projects, and so we got to spend a few days with hard boiled eggs soaking in various liquids in our kitchen. The idea was to find out what liquids stained your teeth. Here we found out that an egg in cranberry juice at room temperature not only turns purple but starts to get a bit gross overall. Hurray for science!

This year for our annual trip to the Nutcracker included the Johnson girls. Sarah, Callie, and Reese headed to the Singletary Center looking forward to another great performance.

Last year Katherine was Clara, and this year she was promoted to the Rat Queen. She did a phenomenal job, and is always so sweet to the girls after the show. We love this tradition and it makes it so special that we know one of the key dancers. Can't wait to see what role she will play next year.

A Day in the Bay

Now that the girls are truly good traveling buddies, it seems only appropriate to go beyond Sacramento and explore more of northern California when we have the opportunity. They have always been good travelers, but now they are both old enough to appreciate the actual places we travel to. So while we were in California this time around, we drove west, hopped on the BART, and prepared for a day in San Francisco.

Of course this was all coordinated to synch up with the Perrones, who were also in northern California for the holidays. We timed our BART arrivals within 15 minutes of each other and got ready to hit the town. We were a little nervous about the weather, but for San Francisco in November, it was extremely nice. Callie and Reese were excited to see Kate and Ashlyn, so the weather was the least of their concerns.

Our first stop was the Ferry Building, where we checked out some shops and got fancy coffees. As you can see, we also took advantage of the scenery to snap a couple of pictures of friends of both generations.

After the Ferry Building we popped over to the San Francisco Aquarium on our way to Fisherman's Wharf. Both stops had the girls running from shiny object to shiny object, which was perfect because it allowed us to trail behind and catch up on numerous topics.

We then popped over to Ghirardelli Square and hit a brewery for lunch. It's a great time of life when you can just put the kids at another table and just pretend that you don't even know them.

You can't go to Ghirardelli Square without indulging in the sweets that give it its name. We managed to buy a few chocolates to tide us over for a month or so. Although we wanted to take advantage of their ice cream shop, we were trying to hold out for our next destination.

While John and JP grabbed another beer or two, Sarah headed with Lauren and the girls to the new exciting pop-up Ice Cream Museum. It was about a 45 minute self guided tour through various rooms all centered around ice cream and the paraphernalia that goes with it. The extra special twist of this museum is that there are four designated treat spots where you get a mini ice cream cone, an ice cream sandwich, or other delights.

The final room is a playground built over a pit filled with big plastic sprinkles. The girls had a blast trying to cover themselves with it like they were on a sandy beach. Overall it was a great day and we managed to pack the relatively short amount of time that we had with each other. Someday soon we will be able to schedule a longer visit with this gang.

Thanksgiving Here and in Cali

This was the first Thanksgiving in four years that we didn't have to take part in two school lunches to celebrate the day. Unfortunately it was the first time that John wasn't able to make it. But Sarah and Reese had a great time eating and hanging out with Reese's friends.

Reese not only got the teacher that she wanted this year, but she also got to be in a class with numerous good friends. One of those girls is Katherine, who may be one of the cutest kids you will ever meet. Reese certainly is attracted to her goofiness and her love of soccer. We have a feeling they will have many good times together in the future.

As in years past, Sarah and the girls took the whole week of Thanksgiving to travel, and this year they headed out to California. This allowed some early family visits, including lunch with Grandpa Dan. It was good for Sarah to just get some time with Zac and her dad.

Callie and Reese got an opportunity to hang out with their official and unofficial cousins during the week. In fact they got a sleepover with Caroline and Nathan, who just moved to a farm in Lodi. Caroline and Nathan are cousins through Aunt Brandi, and they have become one more reason to get excited about traveling to California.

Thanks to GA and GU, the cousins get to see each other as part of a hosted cousins' adventure experience at their house. The highlight of this year's adventure was the golf cart drive to the neighborhood clubhouse for lunch. The girls can never get enough of the golf cart, though as these kids get bigger it's going to be harder and harder to transport them all this way.

We stayed with Grammy Gayle and her two new golden retrievers, Marty and Millie. Marty is Millie's mom, and they were a paired adoption that Grammy had just finalized the month before we got there.

We had a great time talking Marty and Millie for walks. Reese in particular could not get enough of the two dogs, and when she wasn't walking with them she was sitting next to them petting and rubbing them all over. She has a lot of love to give when it comes to dogs, that's for sure.

Just like two years ago, Mary Margaret made the trip north for Thanksgiving. Even better, this time she brought her husband Hal, so we had an even fuller house at Brandi and Zac's for the feast.

It's always a lot of fun to get this group of family together. This picture makes everyone look serene and calm, but the day was filled with a great deal of conversation, laughter, and eating.

It was quite a spread that we all shared at the table in Brandi and Zac's dining room. We appreciate the effort they put into making it one large gathering spot so that we can all be together for the day. We don't get to see all of these folks very often, so every opportunity like this is special.

All of the food was tasty, but the turkey in particular was some of the best we ever had. Uncle Zac smoked it and was deservedly proud of his effort. We had to share a picture of the chef and his work.

The day after Thanksgiving we headed into downtown Sacramento to meet up with Keith and his girlfriend Lexi. Grammy, Zac, and Brandi were also part of the crew as we headed to a downtown brewery before taking in a show.

We had some time to walk around the Golden One Center, and popped into a fancy hotel or two that had helpfully put up their Christmas decorations. It was almost as if they had set up photo backdrops just for us. We are always ready for a good family photo.

We couldn't pass up the chance to get a picture of Grammy Gayle with all of her grandchildren. Keith is still tall, but it's the younger ones that she has to be worried about now. Callie is creeping up on her and Reese may not be that far behind.

But the highlight of the day was the show put on by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. We had never seen them before and Grammy Gayle had taken Keith when he was young. So when Keith heard they were going to be in town he suggested that it would be fun to go. Grammy Gayle jumped on the idea and generously treated us all to the performance. It was an experience of sight and sound, and a great way to kick off the holiday season,