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.
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