Christmas 2011

We had another great Christmas this year.  It was a very busy holiday weekend with family, some which we don't see very often.  We started with lunch at the Porcupine Grill after Shaun and RJ got into town and then dinner at Grandpa Old Guy's and Grandma D's.  Christmas Eve was at my moms where we had our usual clam chowder, ham, and funeral potatoes.  It was so good! We opened presents there and then we headed home to wait for Santa.  Shaun and RJ stayed at our house that night so they could watch the kids in the morning.  It was really nice to have them there and I'm glad they could share the morning with us.  Grandma Kathy, Grandpa Bill, Great Grandma Holt, Grandpa Old Guy, Grandma D, Matt, and Lexi also came over to see what Santa brought.  Then we were off to Uncle Mike and Aunt Robin's for brunch.  We hung out there for awhile and then back up to Grandpa Old Guys for dinner. On Monday morning we went to visit Great Grandma Nancy and then Monday night we had a big family dinner for the entire Farr side.  It was nice to see them because it has been about a year since we have seen many of them. Aunt Janet and Anthony were also in town and visited us on Tuesday.

Santa didn't disappoint us this year.  We muse have been really good this year, or maybe Santa was just too busy to notice.  Paige got lots of clothes, books, pi's that match her American Girl doll, lots of toys, and her Kindle.  Allison got her vacuum (she has already killed the batteries in it), pink and blue diamonds, clothes, toys, and an Innotab (which is a kiddie version of a tablet).  They were spoiled!  Mike was excited about the XBOX 360 and I got a very nice new camera.  No more point and shoot cameras for me.  Now I just need to figure out all the settings.  

Christmas Programs and Cookies

This year Paige had two holiday programs at school. The first one was her orchestra concert.  It was the first time she has played her violin in front of people and she did an amazing job.  She has improved so much over the last few months.  We now here music instead of a screeching instrument!

The other one was her yearly singing program.  Every grade sings a couple of songs.  They did a great job.  Paige was the teachers helper and turned the music for her.  It made it a little harder to see her because she wasn't under the lights, but we were able to get a little closer to her.

Nice work Paigey! We are very proud of you!

The weekend before Christmas we decorated sugar cookies and made chocolate chip cookies.  The kids love doing this and I love that we have these traditions.  I don't think it would seem like Christmas without all the cookie and candy making.  

Ready for Christmas

We have been busy the past couple of weeks getting ready for Christmas. Now that it's Christmas Eve the kids are bursting at the seams. Here's what we've been up to the past few weeks.....

 We decorated our new tree.  This year we ended up with a huge 9 foot tree.

 We went to zoo lights. This year it was pretty chilly, but it was still fun.  The only bad part was trying to find parking.  It was a lot busier than it has been in the past.

 We decorated ginger bread houses, cookies, and made some yummy candy at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

 And of course we went to see Santa.  I wish I had a picture of Santa's expression when Allison told him she wanted a vacuum for Christmas.  I think he was pretty shocked, but he told Allison it would be on it's way....

California

I am really late with this one, but we've been busy getting ready for Christmas and I have been adjusting to my new job.  I figured I better update it now before Christmas comes and I'm even further behind.

We had so much fun in California.  A huge thank you to Grandma EJ and Burny for making it all possible.  The Disneyland hotel was great, it was so convenient to just walk to Downtown Disney and hop on the monorail.  We spent everyday but last in at least one of the parks.  I loved that we were able to easily bounce between both parks.  Alli's favorite rides were the Tea Cups and the Matterhorn and Paige's favorites were Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain, and Space Mountain. This was a perfect time of year to go.  They park was all decorated for Christmas Disney can even make it snow on demand.  After one of the fireworks shows it started snowing all over the walkways.  Too bad our snow at home isn't like that.  I also loved the facts that there were hardly any lines!!


Club 33 was great and the food was amazing!  It's so hidden I would have never known it was there.  The inside is nicely decorated with dark woods and a very cool phone booth and french lift.  We had our own private little room for our group off 33 and the sign on the wall said max occupancy 33.  33 was all over the place that day.  The service was excellent and we left with some cool Club 33 gifts. I think Mike had a pretty good birthday.  I know he loved spending it with family and friends.

We were also able to have dinner with my Uncle Richard and Aunt Anita.  It was so good to see them and I'm amazed at how well my Uncle has done after his heart transplant.  I just wish I was able to see them more.

The day we went home we decided to head to the beach instead of the parks.  So we headed to the Santa Monica Pier.  This was Allison's first time at the beach.  She loved playing in the sand, but wasn't thrilled about putting her feet in the cold water.  

 We were able to sit in both the very back and the very front of the monorail when we went.  You get a pretty good view of the parks from those seats.

We also saw lots of Disney characters and the girls had fun getting autographs from all of them.  They loved them all. Well, Mickey made Alli cry because he covered her eyes with his huge hand and it scared her a little.  As we were leaving the area Mickey was in Alli was crying, "I want Minnie!"  Poor Mickey felt so bad and tried to make it up to Alli, but she wouldn't budge.  Love that red headed stubborness. 

 We had breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen on Mike's Birthday.  The girls loved it!!  It was a tad pricey for a buffet, but the food was good and so was the entertainment.  They had all sorts of Disney characters walking around and every half hour or so they would play music and the characters would dance with the kids.  I would do it again in a heartbeat.


Our Club 33 Pics....

 I love this picture of Alli.  As we were walking on the pier one of the random guys trying to make money put this bird in Alli's hands.  She wasn't sure what to think of the odd guy with all the birds, but humored him and me while I took a picture.  Paige on the other hand is always happy to see an animal.  We gave him a few dollars and off we went.  I love all the odd people you see at the beach!

We had an amazing trip that I will never forget.  I'm so happy for the friends and family that we able to join us, but really missed those that weren't able to make it.