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,

October in Kentucky...plus a little more

Hall's School of Dance was still going strong in October. The girls knew exactly what to do and although they still didn't really talk to the boys, they understood that they at least had to sit next to them. It's all about baby steps. The main conversation that swirled around Hall's was panty hose and ice cream, a duo of torture and reward that the girls will know for a lifetime.

Meanwhile Reese and her soccer team were getting to know each there better as the season wore on. Because half of the team attend the same elementary school they had a good foundation of friendship, but the time they were spending together just made it even stronger. They are a great bunch of girls, and pretty darn good soccer players too.

One great thing about living in a college town is you get the opportunity every now and then to be ball girls at the college games. On a beautiful night in October Reese's team served as the ball girls for a UK women's game and they had a blast. And they were also very dedicated, leading the UK person in charge to say they were the best ball girls they had had so far. We always seek to exceed expectations.

Callie's crew hit another away game, their friendship as strong as ever. It was already turning out to be a great season. They appreciated their coaches, the dedication and positivity of their teammates, and over course the wins that were coming with relative frequency. In fact, their team won the league! As parents we were so proud of how they had handled all of the adversity the previous year, and it made this season so much sweeter.

One fall must have for the Bowes family is the Cassidy Variety Show. This always brings a great deal of entertainment, along with numerous rehearsals of some dance number or other. With Callie off in middle school we only had to deal with one act overall, but that one act was a handful of personality. Reese and her friends were and are a hoot. They danced up a storm and had a lot of fun doing it.

One Saturday we also had the opportunity to use the Chrisman and Leatherman football tickets. Reese was the most excited overall, because she had not been to a game before and had heard so much about the fancy, all you can eat club house room that accompanied these season tickets. The food did not disappoint, and Reese could have stayed in there eating all night long. Fortunately, she also wanted to see the game from the great seats we had.

No one would have blamed her for staying inside that night, however, because it was raining pretty heavily for just about the entire game. We had come prepared though, with rainproof blankets to cover our legs and raincoats to deal with everything else. The lifesaver was the fact that it was in the 60s, so we weren't too cold. We were just wet. But the game was exciting and the girls didn't want to leave, so we stayed to root on the Cats to a big victory over Missouri. It was a great time.

Speaking of weather issues, for the second time since the girls have been of trick or treating age, the city of Lexington rescheduled Halloween because of severe thunderstorms. This year was a little strange since the rescheduled time was for Saturday from 3-5pm. But daylight did not hold these Chippettes back from going door to door for treats. Callie's friend Molly, who she has become close to in 6th grade, and Callie had the great idea of being Chippettes with another friend Molly. And when the second Molly couldn't do it Reese got to step in.

The smile alone shows you how happy Reese was to be a part of the trio. And we were so proud of Callie for being just as happy to have Reese join the crew. They really do have a special relationship. We also want you to take a moment and appreciate the face make-up done by our very own Sarah. Apparently she is better with the heavy handed costume approach then the light handed daily make up approach.

We didn't venture out alone, however, and joined up with Callie's friend Lydia and a host of other families to take on the neighborhood. One of our favorite parts of Halloween as parents has been blunting the crisp fall evening air with a portable glass of wine or other beverage. We were happy to see that other parents didn't let the change of time disrupt this tradition. In other words, a good time was had by all.

The carpooling group for Hall's expanded over the course of the fall, and by Thanksgiving we needed two cars. And if you think we have shared a lot of pictures from this experience, just know that you are only getting a selected few. It may have been the most photographed dance class experience ever.

The Disney Dozen

Sarah always knew it was going to happen at some point and just had to get John on board. Nothing is more convincing than celebrating your daughter's 12th birthday with a special trip. What made this trip a bit more special was the fact that it was a birthday surprise. Callie wanted it this way. She knew we were going on a trip for her birthday, but didn't know where. So when we walked into the Cincinnati airport very early on the morning of her big day, she still didn't know. The excitement certainly was growing.

It wasn't until our layover in Chicago that we confirmed our final destination to Orlando. Sarah pulled out four personalized bracelets that would end up being the most magical accessories ever. These were our fast passes, our credit cards, and our hotel keys all in one. Sarah had packed an incredible amount of research into a short period of time in preparation for this three-day whirlwind of activity, and now she could finally share it with the birthday girl herself.

We also quickly found out just how well the Disney machine coordinates all aspects of your trip. We landed in Orlando and got on the Magical Express that dropped us right off at our hotel. The hotel was ready for us and showed us to our room. And before we knew it we were off exploring and preparing for a special birthday dinner at the Whoop-De-Doo Revue. And yes, I typed that correctly.

A combination of research and recommendation brought us to this dinner show, and it did not disappoint. The food was good and plentiful, and the show was certainly entertaining. Although there were several opportunities us to recognize our birthday girl, that was definitely not her birthday wish. After some fast and heated negotiations, the final terms were that we wouldn't announce it was her birthday and she could not refuse pictures for the remainder of the trip. Not a bad deal actually.

After a relatively brief sleep we were up bright and early on Friday morning to spend our first full day at Animal Kingdom. Sarah had coordinated a couple of fast passes, but our early arrival meant that some of the rides had very short lines so we could get in a few experiences before our reserved ones. First up, Expedition Everest, a roller coaster that had Callie excited and Reese nervous. Fortunately, Reese can be bribed relatively easily, and before we knew it we were on the coaster. It was a fun one, but it got the blood racing. Amazingly enough, we went on it two times back to back because everyone enjoyed it so much. (Well, maybe not Reese, but she'll come around)

The reserved fast pass was for the Safari experience. Sarah wanted an early morning time when the animals would be most active. She was right on the money and we saw just about every animal there was to see. Although it was a far cry from an actual safari, Disney does a good job providing a quality jeep journey that educated us on many of the animals. We went on this ride twice too.

One of the incredible aspects of Disney is the built environments that set the tone of each park. The attention to detail is something to see. This was the center point of Animal Kingdom, and it was known as the Tree of Life. We also saw a couple of Disney musical productions, one based on the Lion King and one based on Nemo. We had a blast and it was a full day of adventure. Much to Sarah's chagrin, John persuaded her to leave the park before the river light parade so that we could get some sleep that night. And we were in bed by 9:00pm. Sounds relatively early for a vacation night, but we had to prepare for an even bigger day ahead.

This picture was taken around 6:50am at the gates of Magic Kingdom. Since we were staying in the resort we were able to take advantage of the magic hour. From 7:00am to 8:00am, it would just be us and countless others getting to enjoy the park before it opened for the general public. Building on our first day's experience, we made a beeline for the Seven Dwarves' Mining Coaster. This was highly recommended and Sarah was unable to get it on the fast pass. But just a short wait later we were on the coaster, and it turns out Reese was a big fan. And yes, we went on this one twice as well before we headed for our next ride.

In between the rides we made sure to see the parades and get iconic photos like this one. The girls were drinking in the whole experience and there was not a whine to be heard. Indeed, taking your kids to Disney when they are 8 and 12 is the sweet spot. No melt downs, not even by John, and all smiles.

Sarah planned for everything, including purchasing Minnie Mouse ears on Amazon for her, Callie, and Reese. She also brought a backpack full of snacks to enjoy in the lines and to prevent any hangry episodes. The snacks definitely kept us going all day long. Don't worry, we didn't neglect the opportunity to get any of the more sinful treats the park offered. But when you are in the park for 15 hours you have to balance these things out.

We may have gone on a lot of roller coasters, but we couldn't say no to some of the classics. Who doesn't like Dumbo?

We even took the time to get a picture or two with some of your favorite characters. Due to the age of our children this was certainly not a must do, but when you happen to encounter a short line to get a picture with Goofy and Donald Duck, you don't pass it up.

That night we had reservations for dinner at the Beast's castle. The timing could not have been better. After a day full of walking around, sitting for an hour with a nice cold beverage with some really good food was just what the doctor ordered. And yes, we are Disney, but the food options on the kid's menu were fantastic. The desserts were even better, including the delicious grey stuff served in edible cups with edible paint you could use to decorate your cups. Just a great dinner all around.

There is a great fireworks show every night, and we missed the main one because the girls wanted to ride Thunder Mountain, you guessed it, back to back. Even with that, however, we still caught the end of the evening showcase, that included great visual effects, music, and more fireworks. And just like that, we went from the drop of the ropes at the beginning of the day to the close of the park. Certainly a day to remember. And because our flight didn't leave until the afternoon, on our last day we still had time to walk around Disney Springs. The girls each had a $25 gift card to spend, and to the surprise of nobody they managed to spend every penny in a candy store. When our plane left Orlando we felt like we had done Disney right.