our annual card

merry christmas

grandma & grandpa came to spend the days around christmas this year with us.  i did lots of cooking, and we played games, exchanged gifts, and generally hung around the house.  on christmas morning, we started first with the gifts brought by santa.

 then the rest of the gifts were opened by everyone else.

 later, more family came over for dinner. 

pre-christmas

my sister and her family came up to visit for a few days before christmas.  it was good to get the cousins together.  we all exchanged gifts and ate lots of food, before they headed home the afternoon of christmas eve. 

christmas dessert

little sister helped me make an easy holiday dessert to enjoy this weekend when grandma & grandpa are coming to visit.  we changed up the flavors a bit, but got the basic inspiration for the recipe here.

new jammies

i feel so lucky to have found a set of christmas pajamas that the girls could agree on - a short sleeve/shorts set, and a long sleeve/pants set.  so cute!!

lady lobos v rodriguez

little sister played in another basketball game tonight, and her team came out winning 8-4.  the coaching strategy was a little different this time, and little sister was subbed in and out rather than just letting a set of girls play out a whole quarter.  she did very well, almost making a layup and even earning a foul while guarding another player.  she seems to really be enjoying herself.

take n bake

today was our 4th annual cookie take n bake.  we had a nice turn out: 7 adults & 7 kids, and we baked lots of goodies.  the kids "painted" some holiday sugar cookies to keep themselves busy.

🍪grinch cookies🎄 🍪palmiers🎄 🍪brookies🎄

🍪rolo surprise🎄🍪cake mix sprinkle🎄🍪chocolate chip🎄🍪seven layer cookies

cultural night

tonight was big sister’s cultural presentation for her AP human geography class.  she and a partner did research on malaysia (after not being able to get their first choice: japan).  they have been working for two weeks on the poster display, and we were able to find “cheongsam” dresses to present in.  don’t they look so cute??

let's get ready to rumble!!

tonight little sister played in her very first basketball game of middle school.  she is playing on the c team, which has 15 players.  they take turns having 5 girls play each quarter.  she played the second quarter, then was also one of the 5 random players selected to play in the last quarter.  they play 5 minute quarters, with 1 minute between each.  they only stop the clock for time-outs or foul shots, so the pace is very quick.  although she didn’t score any points, she did rather well for her first game.  they ended up losing 6-12, but at least she had fun.

 

christmas together concert

 tonight it was big sister’s turn to showcase the holiday songs they have been learning.  first the symphonic band performed, then it was time for symphonic winds.  they played 3 songs:

song 1 - twas the night before

song 2 - blue ridge saga

song 3 - the american red cross march

last to play was winds ensemble, and then as a special treat – the metropolitan winds played for us to really get us into to holiday spirit.