62 Degrees? In December? Well, Let's Pack a Picnic and Head to the Park!

Hard to believe. Tomorrow is January 1 and we are at the park having a picnic! Now this is my idea of a good winter!

Merry Christmas!

What? The picture is crooked? No. Really? I could claim to have done that on purpose, you know, artistic liberty, but I won't this time. No, I can't tell you how many "takes" we "took" to try to get a timed picture with the 3 of us, with me setting the timer, pushing the button, running to the fireplace, while snatching up Sprinkles on the way, and hoping Kayli was still where I told her to be, only to find that Sprinkles was a blur, or Kayli's dress was hiked up, or one of us wasn't looking at the camera...then, finally, I looked through the lens and thought, hmm...I think this one will do it, then I noticed the camera was tilted, ugh!
I made a few more attempts after getting the camera leveled again, and this was the grand finale, complete with Sprinkles giving Kayli a "big kiss" right as the camera snapped the picture...

 Anyway, to recap the festivities a bit, a week before Christmas there were all kinds of fun holiday activities at school, like Kayli's class caroling at the nearby mall...

then, there was the day the 1st grade decorated small gingerbread houses...

and, of course there was the holiday school party, which included...

this shot just cracks me up!

there were more than a couple opportunities to visit good ol' Santa. Amazing how he can magically change the way he looks from place to place, just to keep everybody guessing...

we spent some time at home decorating our big gingerbread house...

we left one of these gingerbread cookies for Santa and he ate all but one leg, yummy...

then, just a few days before Christmas, Kayli and I 

went down to the market with Aunt Marion and Nick, to see the Grinch, as a little pre-preparation for the annual Grinch party I was going to honor again this year!

My nephews continue to request that I host this annual traditional party, even though they are not little anymore, a couple of them are away at college, but they all ask me every year to pick a date so they can get it on their calendars! I've tried to keep it as a "kids only" party over the years, so it's "about" the kids and not the adults. We usually have plenty of pizza, chips, cookies, candies, pop, and lots of laughs! This year, we decided to put the two little girls in the wagon and walk the couple of blocks to the adjoining neighborhood that has every house decorated to the max with Christmas lights! The girls oooed and ahhhed the whole way! Everyone came back and climbed into the hot tub to tell stories and talk sports! We ended the evening watching some funny video clips on Youtube and laughing ourselves silly!
Kayli greeted everyone as "Rudolph" this year, complete with flashing nose!

Once Christmas Eve arrived, Kayli and I went to a beautiful church service, that ended with everyone singing "Silent Night" to candlelight, it was quite moving. Then, back home, I prepared each of our favorite meals...for me, sirloin, for Kayli, mac 'n cheese... we were both thrilled! Later, when we had finished our "family photo session", we turned on the "Santa Tracker" on the t.v., and began watching "Santa's route". We remembered to get the reindeer food sprinkled out in the front yard, and put out the cookies and milk for Santa, when we noticed that Santa was already in Mexico! I had our globe handy, and I pointed out how close Mexico was to Kansas, and I didn't have to say another word...Kayli grabbed Sprinkles and was headed off to bed!

 It didn't take long before Kayli was sound asleep, and soon after, the magic began! Santa left some wonderful gifts under our tree! Some fabulous art supplies...

some great crayons, and paper that already has a frame on each page for every special creation!

A Rapunzel baby doll with magical light-up rattle, and very cool doll crib with musical mobile...

a bag full of accessories...hair bows, earrings, that shiny red necklace she asked for...

a beautiful Barbie, wearing a pearl necklace and holding one for Kayli!

and so much more...

Santa didn't forget Sprinkles...

this bacon flavored ring kept her busy ALL morning!

Kayli got her "wished for" Rapunzel/Tangled vanity, which required a bit of assembly...

and with a little team effort...

the result? A very satisfied princess...

there was even a long beautiful braid for Kayli's hair that had fiber optic wire braided through it, and lit up, just like Rapunzel's hair!

We had the whole day to "play with our toys!" Then, we headed out to have a bigger celebration with the whole family at Laura & Mickey's house. Eileen and Gary picked up Dad from the rehab center, and brought him over. We had plans to skype the gang in Redmond, as the party got underway. Robert and Ann were hosting the holiday dinner at their house in Redmond, with about 26 family members from Ann's side. We had our dinner planned with 18 in our dinner party. As always, the food was fabulous! After dinner, we began the gift exchange. I got some really cool ankle jewelry from Jamaica, and a pedicure set. Oh, now I just want to go to a beach!

  Kayli opened her gift from Adam, and even though there were several gifts in the giant bag, she would have been happy with the first thing she pulled out...the princess Belle Christmas socks!

 but, there was more...

and still more...

then, it was our turn to give Kayli's grandpa a gift, and Kayli helped him open it...

there were a lot of gifts exchanged, then, I decided it was time for the moment I had been waiting for...the gift from grandpa to Kayli (coordinated by me)...the minute she saw the picture of the F*resh Beat Band, she let out a sound that was somewhere between a gasp and a squeal!

then, there was a custom made "iron-on" t-shirt that she didn't waste a minute putting on!

what you see her holding, is the rest of the gift, a mini mp3 microphone and amplifier that conveniently (wink wink) had 3 F*resh Beat songs downloaded to it!

to say she was excited, would be a huge understatement! This kid went wild when she saw the microphone and heard the music start...ohh, she thinks her grandpa is the GREATEST!!!

I didn't get the spontaneous performance she launched into when she first opened her gift (darn) but here's a little sample I took when she and her cousin headed to the basement to try out a little performing to the beat of the F*resh Beats!

The F* resh Beat Concert is the end of February, the weekend of Kayli's birthday! We have VIP tickets, 1st row, with backstage passes to meet the band and learn a song and dance routine with them! Another countdown begins!  Merry Christmas!