Snow!?

What a surprise this afternoon to suddenly see a few flakes falling from the sky! Within a few minutes, it was coming down hard, and the streets were turning white. Unfortunately, the girls were at school. We figured it would all blow over before they even awoke from their naps, but...nope! As flakes began to pile up higher and higher, we figured we'd better finish up our trip to the grocery store and head up the hill to get the girls. Wow! By the time we were on the road, 45 minutes later, traffic was a mess, cars were sliding off the road, and we still had to get up the hill. Thank goodness for four wheel drive! We saw more than one car sliding sideways, unable to get to the top.

By the time we got home with the girls, safe, and sound, it was dark. We knew we couldn't pass up some snow time though, so after dinner, Brian and Camryn headed out to our sloped driveway for some sledding with the disks that Santa brought. What a fun winter surprise. :)

The big day has arrived!

The girls were SO excited, but SO exhausted too, from the Christmas Eve festivities, that I actually beat them out of bed! By about 7:30, Camryn dashed to the living room, and everyone was awakened to shouts of, "Santa came!"

Just. So. Excited.

Camryn found a little something snagged just inside our fireplace. Somehow bells from the big guy's sleigh got left behind, AT OUR HOUSE! She was very concerned about contacting Santa ASAP and getting them back to him. We told him we'll do that this weekend, since he was probably sleeping in after such a long night. :) The good news? Everyone in our house was able to hear the sweet tinkling of the bells, which of course, happens for only those who truly believe...

Aubrey would have been perfectly happy with only her first find of the morning. There's nothing better than a day that begins with a candy cane!

Yes, there is. A day that begins with a candy cane AND chocolate!

The big man came through and delivered the bug vacuum...

...and an mp3 player

Baby Girl got the hang of the unwrapping thing pretty quickly!

One of her favorite gifts? Boots! (She's got a thing for shoes...)

The aftermath...

And the craziness continued at Grandma's for the rest of the day:

Aubs amidst the chaos: 3 wild doggies, 2 grandparents, 2 silly uncles, 2 crazy aunties, 2 tired parents, 1 sugared sister, too many cookies (and a partridge in a pear tree!)

See what I mean about the sugar?

We finally made it home late in the evening, and sent the girls straight to bed. They were so tired that they didn't even argue. What a long, fun, exhausting, crazy, amazing day. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve has always been a big tradition on my mom's side of the family. Though the details have morphed over the years, the basic idea remains the same: get together with family, eat, drink, and be merry. We were all happy to be able to do this with our family this year, but none more than Camryn and her cousin. They just adore each other, and love making all kinds of fun and mischief together.

Camryn and cousin Z

Time for presents!

Changed into jammies, and enjoying some quiet time with gifts before heading home

Merry Christmas from the Baileys

Cookies

'Tis the season to bake and decorate cookies! Yum!

Silly girl

Our baby girl is turning into more and more of a ham every day...

Early Xmas

This weekend, we got to celebrate an Early Xmas with the girls' Mimi and Papa. Friday night, we opened gifts, Saturday we played, played, and played some more while cooking up a yummy dinner, and on Sunday the girls assembled a gingerbread house with Mimi. We had enormous fun with our Mimi and Papa, and are so glad we got to spread out the holiday cheer a bit. Happy Early Xmas!

Happy Birthday Katie!

It was so good to see my friend and former teaching partner, Katie this weekend! We helped celebrate her "29th" birthday with a night on the town, some adult beverages, and lots of laughs. We sorely miss having her nearby, but take comfort in the fact that we know we won't lose track of one another, and that when we do see each other, we always pick right back up where we left off! Happy Birthday Katie!

Winter Showcase

This week, Camryn's dance studio held their Winter Showcase performance. Though it's not the "biggie" recital that is held each spring, we wanted to make sure Camryn had her chance to perform, and went to watch and show our support. Let's just say that I'm putting it mildly when I note that we were packed into a small studio room, there were a lot of performances to sit through, that it went much longer than planned, and that Aubrey was significantly more difficult to entertain than the last time Camryn performed.

As a result, our photos and video are sadly under-representative of the excitement and talent our daughter displayed that night. :( It had already been a long school day (for all of us), it was past bedtime for the girls, our camera wouldn't cooperate, and I was woefully lacking the physical space and the extra arms needed to figure it out, while monitoring my wiggly toddler who kept whacking, kicking, and generally getting into the personal space of everyone. anywhere. near. us.

The important thing, I guess, is that Camryn had a good time. She didn't chicken out when she saw the masses in the audience, and she danced her little heart out. You just can't tell from our photo, because she was pitifully pouting at the precise moment our camera decided to finally cooperate. Oh, well. Maybe next year?

Miss Rachelle, telling the story that the girls were about to act out in their dance. It went something like this: Once upon a time, the mischievous little forest gnomes (2 and 3 year old ballet students) chased all of the animals (4 and 5 year old students) and caught them, and put them into cages. Later, the beautiful butterfly fairies (7-10 year olds) flitted into the forest to release the animals and let them dance freely and happily forever. The End.

Miss Kitty Jaguar running from the gnomes.

At the end of a long evening...

Christmas Cheer

Ugly Christmas sweater: $20.
Assorted Dollar store accessories: $3.
Starting a new tradition: Just our dignity.
The looks on our students' faces this morning: Priceless.

Santa!

Tonight we continued our stumbled-upon tradition from last year of visiting Santa in the evening, during the school week. We had a yummy crock pot dinner waiting for us when we got home, and then it was into the Christmas dresses, and off to the mall!

After one minor meltdown, and some social skills coaching for Aubrey (no, we don't touch/pat/hit other kids we've just met), we hopped into the short line and waited to see the big guy. Aubrey was thrilled with the "snow" lining the walkway, and kept screaming, "Bubbles!!!" Camryn was much more patient, and fielded all of the compliments about her red shoes.




Finally, it was our turn. Camryn hopped right up onto his lap, while Aubrey was a little more hesitant to approach. When he pulled out the candy cane, though, she went for it!

Camryn's pick for her Christmas request this year: a bug vacuum. She saw it in a catalog, and though I believe it's meant for bug enthusiasts to collect and study specimens, her intent is to rid our house of all insects. (Where does she come up with this stuff?)

Aubrey asked for a baby doll of her very own. When it was time to thank Santa for his time and candy, I prompted her by asking, "What do you say to Santa?" to which she replied, "Ho, ho, ho!" (Silly girl...) :)

Shhh! We awe hunting Cwissmas twees!

This morning we bundled up (think: 3 layers, including long underwear, fleece, multiple pairs of socks, ski bibs, hats, and mittens) and braved the 30 degree temp and bitter wind to pick out the perfect tree. This is the first time in 3 years that we've made it to a tree farm to choose our tree. Last year, Aubrey was just too little to justify all of the hassle, and the year before that I was hugely pregnant, tired, and in no mood to wander over muddy stumps in the cold. This year, I think it's safe to say that Aubrey was the one with the most difficulty walking. Her get-up was faintly reminiscent of a scene from A Christmas Story, where the younger brother is dressed in so many layers before walking to school in the snow, he ends up crying, "I can't put my arms down!"

Though it took us a good 45 minutes to get everyone sufficiently bundled and out the door, we finally made it, and enjoyed our little walk through the "woods." We picked out the perfect Grand fir, and of course, the experience was enhanced by a tractor ride back to the car, and candy canes to top it all off!

Later this evening, after much tree-wrestling, a few choice words, and one trip to the store to purchase a new tree stand, we finally had the tree up, and together we decorated it. Mewwy Chwissmas!

"We can't put our arms down!"

"Shhh! We awe hunting Chwissmas twees!"

The tractor ride was fun, but the rushing air was bitter cold!

See, so cold, that her face froze...

Ahhh! Candy makes it all better!

Preoccupied while Dad ties the tree on top of the car

Decorating...

All done!

Farmer Aubrey

What is it about overalls and pigtails that is so irresistible?

The end of basketball season

Today was the Red Blazers' last basketball game! It was a little bittersweet, but fun, nonetheless. We are sad to see such a fun season come to an end, but on the other hand, we are excited to free up our Saturdays again. Camryn has learned an incredible amount from Coach Z., including basic basketball skills, teamwork, sportsmanship, and perseverance. It has been a great experience for her (and us).

After the game, Coach Z. congratulated the team on an undefeated(!) season, and we met up again for a party this afternoon. When it was Camryn's turn to be congratulated by the coach, he called her the team's "sweetheart," noting that when she approached him during games, it was often to to make sure that everyone was getting a fair chance to play. He was impressed with her compassion for her teammates, and her desire to achieve fairness for all. (We're not really sure if that was really her goal, or if it was her inner control freak wanting to micromanage things.) :)

In any case, she must have enjoyed herself today, because for the first time ever (EVER!) she asked to go to bed early. She was tucked in at 7 p.m, and didn't look back. As we kissed her goodnight, she told us she wants to "sign up for basketball again, and try soccer, and keep doing dance, and go back to swim lessons too." Micromanager or not, at least we know the girl's got goals!

Mewwy Chwissmas!

Because we all need a good laugh this holiday season...