Merry Christmas!

Wow! Am I glad that I don't live in snow country. My sister Yvonne sent this photo to me. It's of her front yard in a suburb of Denver. The good news is that it has only snowed in Denver 14 times on Christmas Day since 1900. Not too bad I guess. I just know that Jeff will not drive there during the winter again. Not fun when you have to deal with snow chains and maniac snow drivers. We had a great Christmas with our friends and family that we saw. We look forward to seeing the rest of our family in the next two weeks while Jeff and Isaac are off from school.

High-Wire Act

We did another "Grandma Tour" the other day before Christmas. We went to the Los Angeles ScienCenter. Upon arrival Maxwell was able to lift a pickup truck up by pulling on a rope attached to a giant lever. Way to go SuperMax! We checked out the new Imax film "Sea Monsters 3D". I've never seen an Imax film before. It was really cool. There was a school class down in front of us and it was fun seeing them all reach out to "touch" the fish swimming by and hearing them scream. After the film we talked Annette into riding the high-wire bicycle. We tried to get her to rock it side to side to flip over but she wouldn't...it was only 3 stories up from the floor. What a chicken! There were so many neat "hands on" things for the kids to do. We watched what static electricity does, how magnets work, how inertia works on roller coasters, and how you react to fear. The "Creep Show" exhibit was fun with all the different aspects of fear...from insects crawling on you to loud sounds to falling over. It was nice being able to hang out with Auntie Charlotte, Auntie Nette, Daddy and Grandma C.

"While Visions of Sugar Plums Danced in their Heads"

That was Isaac's line in the reading of "The Night Before Christmas". Yesterday Isaac's class put on their Christmas performance at school. The teachers split the story into 40 lines and each child then recited their line in turn. They did a great job. They learned 6 songs in two weeks and the last song they performed was in sign language! Wow! He did a fantastic job! Isaac was so happy that he was able to be in the performance. We've been struggling a little to get his homework in on time and his teacher told him that if he didn't do it, he wouldn't be in the performance. Well that lit a fire under him! Isaac is truly blessed with a wonderful teacher. And the added bonus...she loves teaching boys! We scored when we got her!! Overall we've had a great year so far and look forward to finishing it off well.

Martha's House Tea Room

Today Charlotte and I took Grandma C to a Christmas Tea for her 81st birthday. The tea was at my friend's Sharon's house. Sharon has been doing teas for a couple of years now. They are WONDERFUL! Our luncheon started off today with holiday tea and fabulous warm scones with Devonshire cream and jam. We then had fresh fruit or soup. I chose the mushroom soup. Yum! We then had 3 different kinds of sandwiches which were very good also. Dessert is always amazing! Lemon bars are my favorite and the cherry white chocolate dipped cookies were first runners up. Charlotte and I have been able to attend a tea or two each year that Sharon hosts. We have brought friends and family with us and everyone seems to enjoy themselves. It was quite festive with all the Christmas decorations and happy chatter going on. Thank you Sharon for opening your home and sharing your talents!

Snow at Disneyland

The boys and I went to Disneyland with our friends, Darla and Kyle, to see all the pretty Christmas decorations and lights. The snow comes down on Main Street in the evening before and after the Christmas Parade. The snow is actually soap bubbles that really does look more like snow than the confetti stuff did. Where was this technology when I worked there in Custodial? We had to bring out the supervacs to clean up after each shooting. This stuff is great! It just evaporates. The boys loved it and enjoyed trying to catch some. We went on a few rides and Maxwell was finally tall enough to go on Star Tours. Unfortunately we went on it first so I was not feeling so hot the rest of the time there. Of course, going on Space Mountain with Isaac was not a good choice so soon after Star Tours. Overall, the day was great. Crowds not too bad and the fireworks show was great!

The Chronicles of Narnia

Charlotte, Grandma C, the boys and myself went to experience "The Chronicles of Narnia" at my church. The experience began with entering the "wardrobe" and crossing into snowy Narnia. The church incorporated live drama and snow during the film which included the housekeeper, the Professor, Mr. Tumnus, Lucy, the White Witch (Ice Queen), Father Christmas and Aslan. Yes, we actually had a real live lion come out on stage (thankfully in a cage). His trainer got him to snarl and swipe towards us. After the film we were able to view the lion, a lioness, a cub at the stage and out in the foyer Father Christmas in his sleigh and a real reindeer were there to greet the children. Even though I had seen this film before, I was really impressed with the live drama. I can't wait to see future productions put on by Crossroads.