2013 holiday card

taking to the ice

the girls tried ice skating for the first time today.  they were all smiles, at the beginning...

but big sister hated it.  she reluctantly made one lap around the rink, clinging to the wall the entire way.  then she got off the ice and was done.  she spent the rest of the time upstairs in the warm viewing area, snacking on cheetos from the vending machine. 

little sister had a better time, and she skated for about 30 minutes or so before getting a blister and tiring out.  she did a great job and only fell a few times that i saw.  i think it will be a while before we try this activity again, but at least they tried it.

elf adventures

our little elf, nicole kristine, watched the girls all the days leading up to christmas.  it was fun to wake each morning and search for her.  little sister was usually the one that found her first.

one day while were were doing some shopping, little sister spied a set of 2 skirts for nicole kristine to wear.  1 skirt was make of shiny red tulle, and the other of a candy-cane stripe fabric.  we left the 2 skirts out that night, and she chose the shiny red one.  she looked so very festive now, and the girls were pleased that she had accepted our gift.

the girls wanted to take nicole kristine with us to san antonio, but knowing that one of the rules is that we cannot touch her, we reluctantly said our good-byes to her before we left town.  but, do you know what?  when we woke up on monday morning in san antonio, there she was!  she had magically followed us, and had teamed up with cousin josh's elf, nicholas.  and together, they watched the kids and reported to santa right up until christmas eve.  we said one last good-bye on christmas day, and then both elves disappeared on christmas night.  until next december....

merry christmas!!

6:15am - the kids wake up and discover that santa came!  he really came!!  they can barely contain their excitement.  they spent the next hour inspecting boxes, shaking gifts, and taking guesses as to what was in their packages.  we had to wait for grandma and papa to arrive before tearing into the gifts. (such torture!)

 

7:15am - grandma and papa (finally) arrive - let the gift opening begin!

ready for santa

christmas eve

the tradition is to open one gift before heading off to christmas eve mass.  the girls had their choice of which gift they wanted to open.  little sister went first...

and got soccer-themed pasta!  (she was very gracious, but a bit disappointed)

big sister went next...

and got turbo on dvd.

and the rest will have to wait until tomorrow morning...

gingerbread cookies

the kids enjoyed decorating gingerbread cookies tonight.  i'm sure more icing was consumed than was used to actually decorate the cookies, but isn't that how it is supposed to work?