Fine Dining

"At last, I have been invited to dine at the table with my peers.  They have finally acknowledged my superior manners and familiarity with traditional dining etiquette and have consented to have me in their company.  I am honored to be in your presence, my lords and ladies."

("Never mind the piece of chicken clinging to my chin, of course.")

"This dish is quite savory, and would be greatly enhanced by a fine glass of HEB milk, 2012 vintage, served in my fine plastic sippy cup with the race cars on it."

"Lady Cha-Cha is the most pleasant of dining companions.
Bon appetit, everyone!"
(Adam, reading this over my shoulder, says I have been watching too much Downton Abbey.  Ha ha ha!)

Concentration

Blueberry Pancakes

Princess Bike

For anyone who may be wondering, yes, Charlotte really loves her new bike.  And yes, she really looks ridiculously grown-up and adorable riding it, especially with her hot pink helmet.

Charlotte and I went out for a little bike ride (I walked) the other day to get the mail.  On the way there, she stopped paying attention and rode into the gutter and collided with the curb.  When I picked her up, I realized that her shoe was missing.  She had kicked her very cute pink Croc off and down into the storm drain right below where she crashed.  Goodbye, little pink Croc! You will be missed.

Christmas, Part Three (The End)

Sunday:  Ariel led the choir for the Christmas program at church, then we came home to open Christmas presents, had  prime rib and twice-baked potatoes, and went across town to see a neighborhood completely bedecked in Christmas lights.

Christmas came on Sunday this year, and since we are church-going folk, we had to be somewhere at 9:30 a.m.  That means that Charlotte and Grey only got to play with the big presents Santa left unwrapped for them in the front room before being shuffled out the door to church.  Well, Santa, the BIG problem with the gifts this year was ...

...that you left the green teeter-totter for Grey and the princess bike for Charlotte.
And guess who went for what?  (Poor Grey.  He looks so happy on his sister's bike.)

Dear Charlotte, I'm saving this one to show to your high school boyfriends.  Love, Mom

Frolicking among the presents after church

My and my Grey-Grey

Adam really spoiled me this year.  On top of the Kindle Fire I knew I was getting, he surprised me with this new lens for my camera.

What's Christmas without a little chocolate?





Grey opening his Tag Jr. from Mimi.  The kids both love it!

I love how my kids' faces light up when they get a book in their hands.

Grey's favorite Christmas present this year: Thomas the Train set.  He carries the trains all over the house and will play with the track and ramps for long periods of time by himself.  He may love princess bikes, but he is all boy at heart!

Mikey likes it!

Showing the camera some love and appreciation.

Ash and Michael are so good looking that they generally look like they just walked off a magazine cover when they pose for a picture, so I love it when I get a shot like this of them acting goofy together.  Love you guys!

P.S.  The observant viewer may be wondering where my parents disappeared to on Christmas ... My dad got sick as soon as we came home from church and spent the whole day in bed, so he didn't open his presents, and my mom didn't open hardly any of hers because she didn't want my dad to miss it.  Sweet, huh?  

Christmas, Part Two

Saturday: After the choir rehearsal and breakfast at our house, we did a lot of present wrapping, cooking, shopping, watched the Nutcracker ballet, and then went to cousin Shelly's house to spend Christmas Eve with our Ferrin cousins.

On to Christmas Eve ... Charlotte's face here really expresses all of the joy, excitement, and anticipation of all of the fun to come as we prepared to head to Shelly's.  Or maybe she's just being silly ... 

Aunt Cara and Grey

Ashley, Caroline, Mom

Last year, Charlotte's great-grandmother Laughton sent her this cute little dress.  I was glad to see it could still work as a tunic with some leggings this year.

Christmas Eve dinner on Shelly's new dining table

A very enthusiastic Grey

Charlotte's first Nativity, with her second cousins Bella, Micah, Audrey, and Ian.



Grey's first year hitting the traditional Christmas Pinata.  He's a fan now.

Looting after I took a knife to Rudolph the Pinata.

And ... we ended the evening with two serious meltdowns.  It took both of my sisters holding her down to get her hair dried before bed that night.

Grey wasn't much better off!
To be continued ...

Christmas, Part One

My mom, stepdad, brother Dallin, and sister Caroline all came to our house for Christmas this year.  It was one wild, crazy week, especially Christmas weekend.  This is Part One of what went down:

Thursday: big dinner and singing with the missionaries from our church and our bro-in-law's dad

Friday: Shopping, mini-golf and race cars at Mountasia, big Soup and Bingo party that night at our house with all of our Ferrin family in town for the holidays and also our in-laws, the Deveaus.

I used to feed Dallin his food while he sat in his little high chair as a baby.  Now he is feeding my baby.  Sniff, sniff.

Charlotte tries her hand at cinnamon rolls with Grammy.

Singing carols over and over around Christmas = family tradition.  This was Thursday night.

Mom, Dallin, Dad at a local mini-golf/race car place, where we came for some fun on Friday.  I thought this place would be packed since it is a) next to the mall, and b) a day that most people had off from work, but I guess all the Houstonians were scared off by the fact that it was only 48 degrees.  Sissies!!!

Grey and Gram

Cha-Cha and Uncle Dal.  When she was Grey's age, she would scream every time Dallin came near her.  Now they are BFFs.



Our Christmas Cherub

Charlotte gets some golf lessons from her daddy.

My mom and stepdad.  Still getting better looking every year!



My mom, my kids, my bro-in-law.  This pic gets the award for most random grouping.

My brother-in-law Michael, sisters Ashley and Caroline, brother Dallin, me, Charlotte, and Adam
waiting to ride the race cars.

It was great that the teenage boys running the place weren't paying any attention to the fact that Charlotte was like a foot too short to be riding these with me.  She had so much fun!

Singing pt. 2--the night of the Soup and Bingo party.  There were like a million people
squished into the house.

Aunt Carolyn, who directs middle school choir and orchestra, was keeping us in line.

Saturday morning choir rehearsal/breakfast.  My cousins and aunt were rehearsing their number ("What Child is This?") for the program.

Meanwhile, Grey was in the kitchen sneaking bites of the orange rolls.
To be continued!