Christmas Day

On Christmas morning, we prepared a huge breakfast/brunch with muffins and eggs and fruit for the whole family.  Michael and Meghan joined us again around nine (they acted surprised when I suggested 9 am, thinking I'd suggest something way earlier like 7 or something ... am I really that bad? lol.  I know in the past I'd get overly excited about the holidays, but I've definitely learned to appreciate sleeping in.) They got to spend the whole day with us as we opened gifts, played board games, watched movies, and made a big traditional Christmas dinner with ham and rolls and even a jell-o mold! yum!  We also all had stockings to open.  Danny's mom makes stocking for everyone in her family, all the kids, spouses, and grandkids.  Once we got married, she had already asked what I'd like, knitted it, and mailed it to me by October! amazing! (... too bad I forgot a picture, it's pretty with an angel on it).  Unfortunately, Danny doesn't know where his is, haha.  I had a generic red one that he used, but we'll have to find his for next Christmas.

I must say, Christmas is so much more fun with lots of people and especially with kids.  It just seems more magically, I guess, when you see how excited they get, or even just funnier with some of their sayings and reactions (like how upset Seth would get when Andrew got a gift that Seth liked but it was Andrew's).  I'm so glad that I got to spend this Christmas with all of my family since who knows when we'll be able to all get together like this again as we start finishing up school and getting jobs that move us farther apart.  ... and, since pictures tell a thousand words, here's a few snapshots from the day (thanks Amanda and Meghan for the pics!  ... I've really got to get a better camera of my own one of these days, lol).

... is it bad that sometimes I envy the toys the boys got? lol.  One really cool toy that got this year was a huge wooden train set.  It was so fun and adorable and had lots of different parts that you could put together so many ways, and I liked that it wasn't sponsered by some cartoon character like Thomas or Disney or something.  I really like the classic toys better.

Danny got so excited with his new Tom Clancy books, all military related.

I got lots of books and movies too.

... what could Michael be opening?

Yard-O-Beef! haha, he'd been talking about this all week, such excitement! :)

though Meghan was probably equally excited for her Eclipse DVD from the Twilight series.

... what to do when one kid likes the other kid's toys too?  Being a toddler is so tough, lol.

... quickly distract him with his other toys and books.

more games to add to the family collection

We also got some new games, Stratego and Risk ... can you sense a theme in Danny's gifts? haha.

This year for gifts amongst siblings, we decided to go with just small a/o homemade things as gifts, so I made some homemade "gourmet" popcorn (one was red and green, the other was chocolate peanut butter) and some mint chocolate pretzels.

We also got the boys some little board books of trucks and cars that had wheels on them, and they seemed like a hit.  Seth would point to each one and shout "truck!!" for every one.  so cute!

The kids also got a flannel board from my parents with lots of pictures from the scriptures.  I was surprised at how much Andrew enjoyed it, of course he'd stuff as many pieces on the board as he could and then drag it around to show everyone, but it's a start.

Christmas Eve

Danny and I spent nearly two weeks with my family in Allen for the Christmas break.  It was so fun and such a nice break from College Station and the stresses of moving and such.  We're so glad we got to see everyone.  My sister and her family visited for the whole time too, so it was lots of time with them and playing with the nephews.  We even got to celebrate Meghan's birthday (12/23) and Katsu's birthday (12/29) while there.

For Christmas Eve, Michael and Meghan came by and we had a dinner of all sorts of appetizers that you never really get to eat during the year but always sounded fun to eat.  We had bagel bites, mini quiches, mini pigs-in-a-blanket, boneless buffalo wings, and cheese and crackers trays.  For dessert, we had a cookie / dessert bar with all the standards like candy cane cookies, frosted sugar cookies, and nut cups, plus others we'd gotten from coworkers, neighbors and family.

Cookie time! :D

 

... notice the trend? without even realizing it, Amanda, Katsu and Mom all wore argyle sweaters, haha!

Andrew playing with grandpa before going to bed

Once the nephews were told they needed to go to bed so Santa could come, they went around giving everyone kisses (which meant sloppy wet licks on our knees since they couldn't reach any higher) and kept goofing off by "dancing", aka running around in circles, holding hands, as fast as they could.

... finally after one last dance carting the extremely excited boys to bed.

... and while it may have been Christmas Eve, Amanda did in fact finish Seth's cross-stitch stocking before Christmas this year.  I helped her sew a backing on the finished piece earlier that day.  It turned out really pretty, I wish I had her patience for such a meticulous craft.

Thanksgiving and other November stuff

Since most of Danny's siblings went to their respective in-laws for Thanksgiving, Danny and I joined my parents up in Allen for the holiday.  It was quiet, but it was really nice to get away from life in College Station and be with some grown-up family (aka, no kids for a while).  We did all the traditional Crookston things - bake, eat, shop, play games, watch movies.  Simple, and but so much fun!  (btw, none of us, especially me, are nearly the shutterbugs as Elena or other family members, so here are a few pictures we got)

the lovely traditional Thansgiving feast

and of course, it just isn't Thanksgiving without nearly a pie per person! lol.  I just love pie too much to pick a single flavor, plus everyone has their favorites.  We went with a store bought apple pie (groan. -_- ), but I did get to try making a pecan pie (huge success! and really easy! plus, I LOVE my new glass pie pan, though it's on the big side for fruit pies...), and of course the classic staple and my favorite, pumpkin pie! yum!

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A few other things of note during the month of November:  One of my friends, Kate, who had graduated the past year and moved to Houston got to come up for a night and stay with us.  The reason for coming?  Harry Potter 7, pt 1 midnight showing!!! We are both huge Harry Potter fans, and when the sixth movie had come out a couple summers ago, we both went to the midnight showing.  When it came close to the next movie to come out, she gave me a call and basically said, "you're the only friend I know that loves Harry Potter as much as me and would want to go to a midnight showing of the new movie! wanna go?" well, of course!  and we let Danny tag along too.  Unfortunately, despite making plans three weeks in advance, the first 8 showings at our local theater were already sold out!  So we bought tickets for the 12:51 showing (they ended up having 14 showings within the first three hours).

We got there around 11:15 that night, and they had already started seating!  Luckily, we found three good seats together and while it felt like eternity waiting for it to start, we had a bit of live entertainment while we waited.  A group of at least twenty or more all came dressed as different characters from the book, and some of the more obscure ones too (like Doby, or the portrait of the Fat Lady, or Mr Lovegood ... don't even remember seeing some of the more main characters, like Hermione, lol... oh, and the group happened to be sitting in the two rows in front of us).  Well, they had several skits planned that they put on throughout the night, including one huge one were a death eater came to the front of the theater and proudly announced that all was right in the world now that Lord Voldemort had finally risen to power, then a guy decked out in full Voldemort attire walked in, followed by a bunch more death eaters.  Then, the guy dressed as Harry Potter ran to the front and made a dramatic scene of his scar hurting, and then all the people in front of us, aka the entire order of the phoenix, all jumped up and started a pretend wand battle with the death eaters.  ... pretty thought out, to say the least, and fun to watch.

On top of all the fun beforehand, the movie was AWESOME!  so incredible, definitely one of the better ones.  While when I first heard they were splitting the seventh book into two movies, I was kinda annoyed, I'll admit, now I'm really glad.  There was just so much in this movie alone, and they even had to squeeze it to the bare bones, but I really agree with what they kept and left out and think they made some great directing decisions.  The one downside? having to wait until stinking july to see the rest of it!  But it'll be EPIC!  Totally having a Harry Potter marathon this summer!

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Another thing for November was our RS enrichment.  Thanks to my friend Rachel being in the presidency, she put in a good word to them about my creative card abilities ... um, sure.  Anyway, for the November enrichment (or homemaking or additional RS meeting or whatever they call it now), they decided to have it be about Christmas on a budget.  So, they planned for a think-tank panel, so to speak, with people representing all the stages of life (a newlywed, a young mother, an older mother, and an empty-nester grandmother) to answer questions and spur discussions in the group on ways we can keep and make traditions for the holidays that don't add stress or bust our budgets.  It was actually a really good meeting.

... as for my part.  The presidency asked me to do a short display/presentation on making cute Christmas cards on a budget ... hmm. okay. sure.  So, over the next couple weeks, I thought a lot about it, drew up some ideas, bought supplies, thought some more ... finally it came to the day of, and while I had dozens of ideas and some direction as to how I wanted to present it, I still hadn't made a single card.  ugh.  (I'd been sick for a good amount of late October/November (and most of December, I might add, but that's another story), and things just caught up to me, I suppose).  So, that morning I knew Danny had school all day, so I had free reign of the office, no interruptions.  I basically cut, glued, hole-punched, drew, traced and tied as long as I could.  I didn't get all my ideas done, and some of them I threw together with a lot less care or patience than I would've hoped for, but I knew I had to get something to show, and not just a few, as many as I could!  As I finished a card, into the box and onto the next one!  ...I guess I wasn't really keeping track, but I kept thinking, "I have more ideas, I need more to show!"

... So I finally have to stop because I need to leave, I went and at the end of the table discussion, I gave my presentation.  And I just kept thinking to myself, oh I guess I made quite a few cards, huh?  Then at the end, they all politely clapped, and said they liked the ideas I shared.  Then one lady asked, "when did you make all these?"  I simply answered honestly, "uh, today...?" ... to which I was faced with a few second speechless stare which then become a standing ovation! :O  I was shocked to say the least.  (oh and my friends told me later I turned beat red).  I even got offers to come and make their cards, haha.  Though I have to say, in my defense (and theirs), I had no school, work, or kids, so of course I have plenty of time, whereas all of them had at least one of those if not all three filling their days.  Anyway, now I have a couple dozen assorted blank Christmas cards ... and I didn't even send cards this year! oh well.

my christmas cards

Brazos Valley Worldfest 2010

Another great experience we had with Danny's family was when his brother Nick got to come for a weekend to visit back in November.  We joined Elena's family and spent that saturday going to the Brazos Valley Worldfest, sponsered by the city and by Texas A&M University's Department of Education and many of the international clubs on campus.  (...funny how we keep going to all these events I've never heard of sponsered by A&M only after I've graduated and left the school...)  The worldfest has lots of exhibits on dozens of countries displaying customs, traditions, handicrafts, food, photos, and more, as well as many live performances of cultural dances and music.

Uncle Nick with Dash riding his shoulders

They had two camels at their "bedouin camp" near the middle eastern country displays.  The boys were a little nervous at first, but did like seeing them up close.

Danny took Race on his shoulders... just to be fair, of course.

At this one display, they had several tongue twisters in each of the languages spoken in the country (though of course, I can't recall what country that was).  One of them was in french, and I actually was able to read out loud the entire thing!  I was pretty impressed, if I do say so myself (it's only been, what, seven years since I took french?), and I think the guys in the both were too, until after a pause, the guy that spoke french said, "okay, now faster!" haha, oh well. I tried.

... they had a small animal/bug display... the boys seemed to enjoy it, but I didn't go in after realizing one of the bugs they had was a hissing cockroach... *shudders*.

... waiting for the performances in the ampitheater to start.

We caught the tail end of the dancers from India (??) ... I think... some Asian country (yeah, I know, really specific...) very unique costumes as they used small red bows and arrows as props in there dance?

The next show we had come to see was these Japanese drummers (I know there's a fancy name for it, but can't remember it).  They were intense, playing some traditional songs and some songs they created with a more modern beat to them.  They were all very enthusiastic and you could tell just by watching how much they enjoyed this form of music.

some of the drums involved some really skilled and practically athletic drummers, like these one in the front, where the players basically had to hold a sit-up position for the entire song!  ugh.  just thinking about it makes me hurt.  But they were incredible nonetheless.

Last, we saw a group of traditional dancers from ... Ukraine?  possibly another northern European, but somewhere in that part of the world.  They had some really fun dances, and the men were simply incredible!  They did all these really high kicks while squatting (like Russian dancers), jumps and flips that were practically acrobatic instead of dancing, and lots of spinning with the girls, even once holding the girls by the waist as they spun and had their feet flying in the air.

and best of all, they all looked like they were having so much fun.

... the costumes were so pretty! It makes me wish that USA had more of a heritage with bright costumes and traditional dances and such.  (I suppose country western is almost it's own, lol)  But I guess that's the whole point, that we come from all these backgrounds, so we get to experience all of them instead of just one.  I really enjoyed coming, and my only regret is that I just now found out about this event.  :)