Merry Christmas to All

What a wonderful Christmas week we've had!  We had the whole week off from school but we have kept plenty busy around the house.

First up - we needed a super in-depth cleaning of our bedrooms so dad took us out shopping to pick up some new bookshelves for both my room and Sam's room.  

Here's dad and Sam building his bookshelf.

And here we are building my bookshelf.  Our rooms look amazing and are finally organized (again) now!

We took an afternoon off to go see "A Christmas Carol" at a local theater.  

It was wonderful!  

Both Sam and I wrote letters to Santa this year and mailed them at the Thanksgiving Point North Pole mail box.  Santa got our letters and . . . . get this . . . . he wrote back to us!  Personal, hand written notes on Santa's official stationary.  A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!!

Finally, Christmas Eve came.  We got to open one present each that night - - new pajamas of course.  We love that tradition!

Then we read Christmas stories.

And then - - - Christmas morning arrived - - - finally!

We checked Santa's plate and there were only crumbs and dribbles of hot cocoa left behind.

Santa was very generous to us this year.  I got some Dallas Cowboys socks and a hat.  

 I got a ski scooter, and lots of other toys and books.

Both Sam and I got a tablet.

It was a great morning!

Sam got some cool building sets.

It was a good day!

Uncle Noley and Aunt Christy dropped by for a visit and to exchange presents.

Here's Sam building his new marble maze with dad.

We got some fun craft kits from Unky and Aunt Francine.  We spent the day after Christmas building them.

And finally, we got to go see a Mannheim Steamroller concert at Symphony Hall.  It was excellent - we loved the music and lights and all of it!

Sam Alert:  Hey everyone - Sam here.  Happy Christmas!  

I love to help mom in the kitchen.  I got to be a little elf on Christmas afternoon and helped her peel potatoes.  

Mason and I both got a new stuffed animal - here is Mason sleeping with Ernie, his new elephant.

And my new friend is Blizzard, the polar bear.  

Thank you all for the gifts . . . and we hope that you all had a merry Christmas too!

Sam out!

Catching Up On December

Buckle up - it's time to do some catching up on our activities for December so far.  This month has been flying by!  And we have been having a ton of fun.

First up - I got to go on another playdate with some of my friends from school: Ben and Daniel.  We headed over to the Museum of Natural Curiosity at Thanksgiving Point and, among other things, did the ropes course that is way up in the tippy top of the museum.  I'm not going to lie, it was a tad bit scary at first being up so high hanging from a little bit of rope, but we got used to it pretty darn fast and loved it!

Then we got to pick out our Christmas tree.  We are a "real tree" family and love to choose a tree that is perfect for us.  

Then we got to go have Breakfast with Santa Claus.  It was great to talk to the big man and spend a little time visiting with him and his friends. 

Here is our official photo with Santa.

And here we are just visiting and chatting.

Mr. Polar Bear was cool too.

Our breakfast was yummy.

There were some fun activities to do as well - here we are decorating some sugar cookies.

And we got to see some of Santa's reindeer too.

We also spent a lot of time learning about computer programming.  An organization that mom works with does an event each year called the Hour of Code.  We loved it and did way more than an hour.  

Then we had our school Christmas programs.  

Mom videoed our songs and we picked a few to share:

First a bell piece called Oranges and Lemons.

Second is Winter Sleigh Ride.

Third is my favorite from this year - Havah Nagilah.

And finally, Hot Cup of Cocoa.  I've performed this one before, but it is another one of my favorites!

Here I am with my super great teacher, Mrs. Haynie.

Then Sam had his program that same afternoon.

First up is Simple Gifts.

Second is O Christmas Tree.

Third is Do You Hear What I Hear?

And finally, Santa's Usin' Zebras Now - another favorite that we love.

Here is Sam with his wonderful teacher, Mrs. Anderson.

We are loving the Christmas season.  We spend some good quality time enjoying our tree and our train.  

More fun to come - happy holidays everyone!

Sam Alert:  Hey everyone, Sam here.  We also got to go see the Christmas lights at Thanksgiving Point.  We also got to see more reindeer. 

And we also got to enjoy a special treat.  Aunt Jen Jen sent a surprise treat for mom's birthday - - - Cannolis from Carlo's Bakery in New Jersey - you know, the Cake Boss guy.  They were yummy!

Ok - Sam out.  See you soon.