Christmas Morning 2010 Video

Here is the video of Christmas Morning 2010.  It was so much fun to see the kids opening their gifts from Santa.  Even little Tabitha seemed excited.  Enjoy!!


Christmas Morning 2010 from Carrie Cooley Barbour on Vimeo.

Christmas 2010

Our Christmas Card Picture 

Well, another Christmas is over.  I have to say that 2010 Christmas was a great one.  I love Christmas.  Sure, it is stressful getting all the shopping done(Amazon is the best thing ever invented) and making sure you see everyone(which we never seem to have enough time to get this done).  And every year, we make the long trip home to Tennessee.   I have to say the kids did great this year in the truck, thanks to portable DVD players, coloring books, lots of snacks,  and Cracker Barrel, our favorite place to eat on the road.  Our little Tabitha did so good on her first road trip!

So here are some highlights of Christmas 2010:

• Meeting Mom and Dad, Ma, Vicki, J, Robbie, Mr. Jimmy, and Mrs. Jerry at Patti's in Kentucky.  I love going to Patti's.  The flower pot bread, strawberry butter, pork chops, and my favorite, the Kentucky Hot Brown.  Plus it is a great place for the kids to run around after being in the truck!
• Seeing my sweet little nieces, Sophie and Ellie.  They have grown so much!
• Going to the Garth Brooks concert.  It was amazing!!  Thanks to Amy, Susie, and Jenny for babysitting.  That was one of the best presents ever!!
• Seeing Aunt Sheila, Allison, and Andy.  It was chaotic, but so great to see them.
• Logans with Jenifer and Tristan.  Still can't believe that Tristan is thirteen and has a mohawk!!
• Dinner at Joe and Brandon's house.  The kids were so excited to see Owen, and it always great to spend time with good friends.  
• Lunch at Charlene's with Mom.  I love going to Charlene's.  Probably a good thing I can only go a couple times a year.
• Getting my hair cut and colored.  Always great to see Phyllis and have a cheeseburger from the pool room.
• Making cookies and reindeer food at Ma's house.  My kids are so lucky to have a great grandmother.  I love spending time there, and they do too. 
• Onnie telling me he was so tired of girl toys.  I think it hit him on this trip that he has three sisters and two girl cousins.  He told me he was so tired of pink and purple.  Good thing he got to build legos with Luke at the farm! 
• The suitcase of Jim's old lego.  We should have just wrapped that up for Onnie.  He was so excited!
• Los Portales-twice!!

But the most important thing is spending time with family.  And seeing the kids so excited on Christmas morning is always the best part of every Christmas.  Hey, Santa knows where the Holiday Inn is!!

  

Making cookies at Ma's house

Making Reindeer Food(which is oatmeal and glitter).
The kids had a debate on which color glitter to use, so we just put them all in.

Our Christmas tree in the hotel room

Jim's old lego

Onnie's note to Santa

Cookies, milk, and reindeer food

Lucy's Santa

Cassidy's Santa

Onnie's Santa

Tabitha's Santa

Before they woke up Christmas morning

Lucy got her rainbow from Santa

Onnie had a lego Christmas

Taking a nap with Rudolph

Tabitha's First Christmas

Buddy's Visit

Buddy and his journal

This weekend, Buddy the school "pet", came home with Onnie.  I didn't know what to expect when Onnie said it was his turn to bring Buddy home, so I was relieved to see it was a stuffed dog.  Buddy also has a journal, and it was so neat to see what Onnie's classmates had written.  The kids had a great time playing with Buddy this weekend, and Onnie drew a picture and wrote in his journal.  I think we had a great visit!

Onnie's journal entry.  He wrote about going Christmas shopping.

Cassidy's First Ballet Recital Video

Here is the video of Cassidy's First Ballet Recital.  Enjoy!!

Cassidy's First Ballet Recital from Carrie Cooley Barbour on Vimeo.

Cassidy's First Ballet Recital

Cassidy, our little dancer

Last night was Cassidy's first dance recital.  Cassidy started taking dance lessons in September and loves it!  She looks forward to her class every Monday afternoon.  So, yesterday we got to see what she has been learning.  All day she kept asking me if it was time to go yet.  We had a pretty traumatic streetcar ride(the girls and I were actually kicked off; that's a story I would rather forget), but we made it to the theater just in time.  The recital was different pieces from Swan Lake.  It was so precious.  I was so proud of Cassidy!

Here are some pictures from last night.  I discovered it is very hard to photograph little girls dancing!

Taking a Bow

Christmas Town

Cassidy with Santa

Last night, the kids and I went to Christmas Town.  Jim had to work, so our good friend Anita went with us.  We had a great time!  Christmas Town is an annual event at one of the conservation areas.  Tickets are hard to come by, but I got ours on the first day they were available in October(which was an extremely frustrating task).  So yesterday, we picked Onnie up at school and headed out to Christmas Town.  After fighting traffic for over two hours, we finally got there.  We had missed our sleigh ride, but had a great guide walk us out to "Santa's cottage."  He told the kids a great story while we walked along the trail.  When we got there, we went to Mrs. Claus kitchen to decorate cookies and have hot chocolate.  Of course, this was a big hit!!  They also had a craft to work on while we waited for our turn to see Santa.  Finally our turn came and one of the "elves" came to take the kids to Santa's cottage.  Mrs. Claus was outside and she took the kids in.   The kids were so excited!  When you gave Santa a high five, his gloves lighted up.  That was cool.  Lucy was a little unsure, but she told Santa she wanted a rainbow for Christmas.  Onnie said lego(big surprise there), and Cassidy said a Barbie and a warm hat.  Tabitha wasn't impressed.  Santa asked what she wanted, and I told him I think she just wanted to be fed!

After we saw Santa, we took a sleigh ride back to the conservation area.  Anita took the kids to the play barn while I fed Tabitha(that made her happy).  Then the kids went to Elf School to do different activities and watch "How The Grinch Stole Christmas."  We had a blast!!

One the way home, the kids all said it was a great day.  Cassidy even asked when we could go back.  Christmas Town was a huge hit!!

Cassidy decorating cookies

Lucy

Lucy, Onnie, Santa, and Cassidy

Onnie and Santa

In the sleigh

Tabitha and Anita

Building at Elf School

Elf School

Lucy and Tabitha

Lucy

Putting Up the Christmas Tree

Onnie putting on lights

Lucy

Cassidy figured out she could use the chair to reach up higher.

 This weekend, we decorated for Christmas.  I love Christmas time, and I love decorating.  Jim is hit or miss.  Luckily this weekend, everyone was full of the Christmas spirit, especially Onnie and Cassidy(and Lucy once she figured out putting the ornaments on).  Onnie and Cassidy set their alarm clocks and woke up early Saturday morning.  They got dressed and got Jim up to get all the stuff out of the storage room.  Sure wish they were that motivated to get ready for school!  So after we had breakfast, we put up the tree.  Fluffing the branches was a test of patience, but then Jim taught Onnie how to put on lights.  He did a great job!  Tabitha hung out in the sling while I unwrapped the ornaments.  Jim and I have always had this tradition of getting an ornament whenever we go on a trip.  A little reminder of all the places we have been.  Now it is a reminder of life before kids because they are all breakable!  For example, the hand painted goose egg from Poland(which is now on one of the top branches).  Cassidy decided that she only wanted to put on "breakable"ones, which were exactly the ones we DIDN'T want her touching(she has a special talent for breaking things).  But, we got through the ornaments without breaking any.  Lucy thought that if the ornaments were the same, they had to hang on the same branch.  So, we have several "groupings" of ornaments.  It may not be perfect,  but I think the tree looks great!

Now if we can just get through Christmas without turning over the tree(Cassidy actually did that at a neighbor's house a couple of years ago) or breaking too many ornaments, we will be good.

Tabitha hanging out in the sling

We watched White Christmas

One of Lucy's branches

Where Not To Put Play-Doh

Kids are gross sometimes.  From spit-up(which I am currently covered in, thank you Tabitha), to poop, to runny noses, life gets pretty messy.  Today though, Cassidy really grossed me out.  At Halloween, I had the brilliant idea to buy mini play-dohs to pass out to trick or treaters instead of candy.  Since we didn't have a lot of kids come by that night, we were left with several pots.  I should have put it away for next year, but Cassidy and Lucy latched onto it.  There has been play-doh all over my living room for the last three weeks.

This morning, Cassidy was playing behind the couch(where most bad ideas occur), and suddenly stood up and said "Look at me, Mom."  She had packed one side of her nose with black play-doh.  I immediately started trying to figure out how to get it out(she had really packed it in!).  Cassidy's proud moment turned to panic when she tried to get it out.  Jim just happened to be working out home, so we were all trying to get it out when Cassidy had a big sneeze, and all of it plopped out.  Gross!!  Jim wanted me to take a picture, but I vetoed that idea.

I think we learned a valuable lesson today.  Play-Doh does not belong in your nose!!

Fun at the Zoo

Lucy

Yesterday was a beautiful fall day.  It was warm, the sky was blue, and the sun was shining.  The kids were out of school, and Jim surprised us by taking the day off.  So we all went to the zoo.  It was great!  There wasn't a crowd, so the kids could roam.  All the animals were out enjoying the sunshine too.  Cassidy kept saying she loved nature and animals.  Lucy wanted to see the zebras and practice her lion roar, which is pretty good.  Onnie wanted to see the safari trucks.  Tabitha slept most of the time but was glad to sit in the parent station and get fed.   We saw jellyfish, giraffes, lions, zebras, and tons of other animals.  We walked so much that all the girls fell asleep on the way home.  It was a great day!!

Cassidy

The kids loved the lizard

Tabitha

Onnie and Cassidy

Climbing

Balancing

The jellyfish were a hit

Onnie, Lucy, and Cassidy

Cassidy has been singing the "Alice the Camel" song at school

Mountain Goats