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!