Is School Back in Session Yet?

OK the snow was great for Christmas day, but now it's getting a bit annoying. Sally's winter camp was cancelled on Thrusday because of more snow storms, but Friday she got to go for the day, whcih was a nice break for mom and dad.

On New Year's Eve day we took the girls to The Picture People in Park Meadows Mall to get their pictures taken -- they both did very well, and the pix look awesome. I've posted them here











No big plans for tonight -- we will crack open a bottle of wine and take it easy, a much deserved relaxing evening at home.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

We had a wonderful Christmas today -- the girls opened presnets and played all morning, then they both napped before Will and Meg (and Meg's dad) came over. We had a great time and it snowed all day long -- definitely a white Christmas!

Christmas in Colorado

We are looking forward to a relaxing Christmas in Colorado this year.

This is our 3rd Christmas in Colorado actually, but we flew back to New Orleans for Christmas the first year we lived here. Then, last year, Sydney entered the scene just less than a month before Christmas, so it was definitely not a "normal" Christmas for us.

This year, we have no family visiting, noplace to go, adn we're planning a quiet day with the kids and some friends down the street.

This weekend was a bit hectic -- Sally went to Dayne's birthday party on Friday late afternoon and Andy and I dashed out for a nice dinner with Sydney.

Yesterday we had a Christmas Brunch after church and we got a sitter so we could go to a movie (National Treasure II) which was quite nice. Today is about laid-back, last-minute errands and preparing for tomorrow's Christmas feast.

Our friends Meg and Will are coming over (and MEg's dad, who's visiting from out of town) in teh afternoon to eat, play games and hang out, so it should be a wonderful day.

Sally's Christmas Pageant

Tonight we attended Sally's Christmas pageant. She was Suzy snowflake, and of course was quite adorable. The children sang several Christmas songs (and a Hanukkah song as well) and danced and it was just darling.

Santa made a special appearance after the singing, and while he was on stage, Sally marched right up to him and asked:

"Did you get me my digital watch?"

Everyone laughed of course. Santa didn't miss a beat, and promptly replied, "You'll find out in a few days."

Sydney enjoyed the show although she was a bit squirmy and we had snacks and desserts afterwards and it was a lovely time!

Birthday Parties and Loads of Fun

Sally went to Makena's 4th birthday party yesterday -- fun fun fun !

It was at a new church in Castle Rock, actually -- they have a whole "ark" theme going on with an indoor playground and the kids all had a blast.

They were sliding, climbing, running around and having a wonderful time. Then they got to decorate votive candle holders as a craft, they had cake and ice cream and slushies and hit a pinata packed with toys and trinkets.

She held up well, considering we went sledding that morning. Even Sydney had a blast, crawling around and munching on cake.

Then today, Sally attended Jamison's birthday party. Jamison's parents operate the Tumble Boogie Bus, so the party was on the bus at their house in Sedalia (not far). Man, did Sally have a BLAST at that party!

Then we had to leave straight away to attend a Christmas party in Parker. Sally got to hang with some other kids + babysitters while the adults enjoyed a (relatively) relaxed evening upstairs.

A busy weekend, but definitely enjoyable!

Sydney's List for Santa

OK, I checked in with Sydney to see what she wants Santa/family to bring her this year, and this is what she said:

- a "station" where I can stand, learn and play (I think LeapFrog makes these, among others...it might be called an "activity center" or "learning center"
- See-n-Say (remember the thing where you'd pull the string and it said "The cow says 'moooooo'" Man, I loved that thing, and she will too.
- Age-appropriate books, especially ones that have very interesting things to touch (textures, lift-the-flap, popup, etc.)
- musical instruments to teach me rhythm and help me make fun noises, especially things I can bang on or bang together without breaking anything
- fun toys for tub time - boats, floating things, stacking cups, etc.
- toys that teach me cause and effect (squeeze a foot and hear a squeak; pull a string and hear a song; push a button and see something light up)
- pictures - Sydney is SUCH a visual baby, she would love to see a photo of everyone who is so thoughtful to send her a gift -- this way, she can "see" who the gift is from.

And Sydney says "thank you" in advance!

Sally's List for Santa

Since some people are busy with their shopping and have been asking....here is Sally's Christmas wish list to Santa.

- Small plastic dolls or animals -- like Polly Pocket but bigger and without tiny pieces -- Polly Pocket has WAAAAAAY too many small parts, creating a choking hazard for little sister Sydney!
- REAL kid-sized safe kitchen tools -- Sally has learned all kinds of stuff at school, including how to cut bread, grate cheese, spread butter, etc., and she could really use some small fry kitchen tools to help Mommy in the kitchen
- Books
- Crafts are always a hit
- jewelry-making supplies. Yes, most of these kits will say ages 5+ but Sally is extremely dextrous for her age, and she LOVES making jewelry for herself and her friends. Not the toddler stuff -- the pre-teen jewelry kits are where it's at. In New Orleans of course, we call it "jewry"
- Notebooks and notepads for drawing and "writing"
- sturdy wooden kids' small table and 2 chairs
- Anything My Little Pony

There are a couple of additional items she really wants, but I'm pretty sure Santa has already taken care of those. <:o)

I know this probably seems like a lot for a nearly-four-year-old, but of course she has a birthday coming up just a month after Christmas, so it's not like she'll get it ALL for Christmas.

(FYI, I've listed Sydney's wish list separately.)

Sydney & Sally Saw Santa !

Today Sally was off of school for parent-teacher conferences at the Montessori preschool (she is doing extremely well in school, and we're working on respecting others and finishing what we start, especially in terms of the academic work).

Our neighbor Val was kind enough to watch the girls so we could both go meet with her teachers, Kris and Alicia. Which is no small feat since Val has twins AND a toddler!

Then we packed up the girls and the car and headed to the North Pole! (Colorado, that is.) Home of Santa's Workshop and one heck of a good time.

There is an actual pole there, marked "North Pole" and it is a frozen solid pole of ice. As we touched it, I couldn't help but think "ewwwwww, I wonder how many tongues have been stuck to this pole over the past 50 years!)

Despite that gruesome image, we had a blast. Sally got to feed some goats, see llamas (I didn't know there were llamas at the North Pole), ride on Rudolph on the Carousel, and see a live magic show.

To be completely honest, the magician was pretty weak. Until he actually made a live rabbit appear at the end of the show. And Sally adn Sydney got to pet the rabbit. Definitely a high point in Sally's mind. I don't know if she really followed the tricks, but she did talk about one of them for the next couple of hours. Sydney clapped at appropriate times, and was quite delighted to see the bunny rabbit. So it was definitely 15 minutes well-spent.

I had no idea this place had SO MANY rides -- and Sally was able to ride pretty much everything. There were some that Andy or I had to ride with her, adn some she could ride alone. Sydney even got to come on a couple of rides as well.

Sydney was a little unsure during the first ride (a centrifugal force kind of contraption), but she did much better on teh second ride (the carousel).

Did you know that all American-made carousels run in a counter-clockwise rotation, and all European ones are called "merry-go-rounds" and travel in a clockwise direction? Just a bit of trivia I picked up from the North Pole.

During the 3rd ride, Sydney looked pretty uncertain, but she smiled as soon as it was over. We think because she liked it, but it could be because she was just glad it was over!

The park was very nice -- it's 50 years old so you could tell some stuff was original (and not all new-fangled and glossy), and the folks working were very nice and it was nice to see that the prices on stuff were not over-inflated like certain parks owned by "the big D" tend to be.

The girls got their photo with Santa, which came out quite well, and we had a wonderful day. We rode the Christmas train around the park much to Sally's delight, adn there were no lines for anything (except Santa photos), since we were there on a Monday which was a Sally school holiday (for parent teacher conferences), but not a county school holiday.

Sally got a snowglobe keepsake souvenir (since Sydney broke her mini snow globe from Pike's Peak) and the girls slept on the drive back to Castle Rock.

It was a wonderful day!