Christmas at Home

On Christmas Eve we had somewhat of a low key time. First we went to church, then we went to the Galleria for ice skating. Wasn't quite as crazy as you would think. Jenna had a great time and was proud that she didn't need any help from us. Jackson did pretty good for the first time on skates. It was more of a workout for Jason and I as our arms got most of the workout.

 

After we got back home we made Christmas cookies for Santa. This year Jenna decided Santa wanted gingerbread boys and girls. We read the Christmas story and then put out the reindeer food.

On Christmas morning we actually got to sleep in a little bit. The kids enjoyed their presents. Santa brought Jenna a Leapster and she spent most of the day playing with it. Santa brought Jackson a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. They played long enough that Jason and I could get a nap in. All in all it was a great Christmas season.

 

White Family Christmas

Later Saturday night we celebrated a White Family Christmas. Here are some pictures. My Dad went ahead and put his Christmas present on while we finished with our presents.











Then that night we went to the train museum for their display. I forgot my camera but they did take free Santa pictures for us. After the seeing the trains we went through the display of lights that San Angelo puts on down the river. It was crowded but the kids enjoyed it and were asleep when we got back to the house. Mission completed!

Mom & Dad's 40th Anniversary

On December 23rd my parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. We celebrated the day before as often their anniversary is combined with Christmas.



My sister and I treated our parents to a trip to Philadelphia in June to celebrate their anniversary. Here are some pictures of our trip.

Buse Family Christmas

Every year the Saturday before Christmas we celebrate with my Dad's side of the family. This was a special year because we were able to have a bigger crowd than in the past when Christmas actually falls on the weekend. Here is the whole Buse crew -my Dad's youngest brother Clinton, my Dad's aunt Maurine, behind her is Clinton's wife Carolyn, my Dad's cousin Judy, my Dad's sister Gladys, Gladys' husband Ed, and Maurine's husband L.D.



Here is my Dad's cousin Earla whose became a Grandma for the second time a few days earlier.



Here is my sister Dee Ann and her husband Brad.



Here is my Mom & Dad.

more updates to come

Sorry it has been so long since I have updated the blog. We had some technical difficulties. I still have more to post from Christmas but I am multi-tasking watching the Longhorns in the Holiday Bowl. Will update more tomorrow.

Christmas Party at School

I was able to attend Jenna's Christmas party at school. It was fun but I couldn't do it everyday. Here is a picture of the cupcakes that the room moms got for the class. It is cute - Tom Thumb - if you ever need one.



The kids played musical chairs with a wrap present. Everyone got one but you can see how competitive my daughter is by the way she played the game. Here is how big the circle was when they started. Her teacher, Mrs. Grimes is the one the bottom right corner with the camera.



This is when she got out.



Here is a picture of the shirts that they made specially for the party. It is a Christmas tree made out of her handprints.

Webb Family Christmas

The weekend of December 15th we traveled to Houston to celebrate Christmas with Jason's family. Jason's brother and family were flying in from Suriname so it was a special event for all of us to be in the same room. We had lots of fun. Here is a picture of the all the kids - Luke, Jenna, Chloe, Jackson, Rori and Quinn. It was the best of the 6 of them we could get on our camera. We needed one of those high speed sports camera to get them all smiling and looking at the same time.



Here is a picture of what the tree looked like before the kids hit the scene.



After presents it was time for the Cowboys game. This was the perfect time for Grandma and the kids to make their annual gingerbread house. Ok, it really is the second one they have done, but I think it should be a tradition at Grandma's house.

Christmas Haircuts

The week of December 10th was a week of preparation. First, Barney got a Christmas haircut. Who knew Petsmart was open until 10 pm during Christmas. Then it was Jenna's turn. That day it was raining and cold so it was fun. Then on Thursday I got my hair cut. Busy week, but we were ready for Christmas.

2nd Six Weeks

Each six weeks if Jenna does well on her report she gets to do something special with Mommy and/or Daddy. The first six weeks she went to get her toes done with me. The second six weeks she wanted to go to Build-A-Bear to get a Christmas outfit for one of her bears. Here are all her bears with their Christmas outfits.

little helpers

One random warm day in early December Jason was able to put lights on the bushes. We decided we didn't have the energy or ladder for the full house this year. We had some little helpers so we put them to work raking leaves. They had more fun jumping in them.

I can't be that old...

Well, I think that I have hit that mark where I completely feel old. On December 7, 1997 I graduated from The University of Texas at Austin. It was a weekend of graduation for my friends and myself. On Saturday most of my BSM friends graduated in the beautiful Austin sun. We had a fun day at the alumni center with Bevo. Check out how young we look.




Of course my graduation was on Sunday morning (check out the 10 am) and it was raining (making my hair a little frizzy). The only bonus was that it was my Grandmother's 92nd birthday and my sister's 20th birthday (yep, you do the math).







My best friend since Kindergarten who also shares a birthday with me was able to come in from Odessa. From left to right - Jeff, my dad, Kenny, my mom, Jason, me, my grandmother, my sister, Brad (my future brother-in-law), Paul (Trixie's fiancee, now husband) and Trixie (my best friend).

Sweet n' Sassy

Tonight was the first night that Jason had to work to 8 pm. So what do we do for dinner? We went to Chick-fil-A because it was kids eat free night. Sweet n' Sassy was there fixing the girls hair. This was exciting for Jenna because when we go to the salon in Southlake we are only getting her hair cut. She sees the girls having parties and she wanted to do it too. Well tonight she got her hair done, glitter in her hair and a star on her cheek. Take a look...

Try, Try Again

 

So my sister and I thought that we would get the four cousins together for a picture since we had randomly selected the same dresses for the girls. Yesterday we tried to take pictures and here is sample of the challenges that we faced with my angel of a son. Eventually we got an ok picture. Notice the pointing of the airplanes.

North Pole Express

 

On Saturday we went to the North Pole Express in Grapevine. It was perfect because the "Polar Express" was on TV the night before we went. It was a beautiful night, windy but not too cold. We found parking easily (more easily than when we went to Thomas) and walk through the various booths. The kids each got a free foam ornament kit. Then they could select any other one to make. Of course, we decided to make those later at home. If we weren't cheap you could take pictures with Santa.

We stood in a crazy line that didn't have any purpose at least in my type A personality. We got inside the tent and we sang Christmas carols, did the wave and all other sorts of things that I wouldn't do if someone I knew was there. Then some teenager that had a recording contract with a label I didn't recognize sang. They even got the kids up there to sing a couple of songs. Talk about paparazzi - children's choir has nothing on this. Jenna was on the microphone two times. Thanks to Dora the Explorer she was one of the only ones that knew the words for Feliz Navidad.

We got the train and we had really good seats. We were on the front row next to the girls running the sound system. On the way back into Grapevine Santa came and visited the cabins. All in all it was a good night and the kids were asleep by the time we got home. Highly recommend it!

Jacksonisms

As you know a two year old always has an interesting point of view. On Monday of last week he told Jason that Mommy was his best friend. While this was flattering I don't think that he realizes that just because I am his best friend I am still his mom.

Later that week Jenna was getting dressed in the morning and Jason told her she was wearing a turtleneck and Jackson said, "That's not a turtleneck, it is a zebra neck." I am sure that more exciting Jacksonisms are sure to come.