Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Winter Festivities

November and December have been so full of fun activities, starting with Thanskgiving.  Sorry family, but the highlight of my Thanksgiving this year was going to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra the night before.  I have wanted to go for years, but just haven't done it.  This year since my brother and sister-in-law were in town they talked me into finally doing it, so we could all go together.  So to them I say, thank you, thank you, thank you for helping me check one off my bucket list. 
Here is what the stage looked like, from our seats, we were literally on the last row, notice the black curtain behind us.  But I don't care, any seat would have been a good seat that night.  The stage was amazing, pyrotechnics, lift arms that swung over the audience, a swinging clock that lit on fire.  It was one heck of a show.  I kept dying in anticipation for their performance of Carol of the Bells, of course, it was the finale, but my heart couldn't take all that waiting!
 
Thanksgiving went well, we had it at our house including Ryan's side of the family, and my parents.  Everyone chipped in with food and Matt and Sara were a great help with set-up and clean up, I think we were all pretty tired.  After the meal Matt and Ryan put the lights on our house and the kids got to play together. 

The following Saturday Ryan, Matt, Sara, and I went on a fun exersion for some photo taking.  To be honest the day was longer than I expected and I was getting a little onery, but it had some great memories.  Such as: eating at Porter's Place, and getting a private tour of the old buildings in Eureka by the guy who's trying to save them.
 
Also this month Christopher Pop-in-Kins has shown up at our house.  He's Santa's spy who watched Andrea to make sure she is being nice and pops in a different place every night.  In this picture he was on the kitchen light and had left magic seeds for Andrea. 
The seeds only worked if she planted them in sugar and behaved all day long. 
So was extremely well-behaved that day, luckily, and the next morning they had grown into chocolate bears. 
 
This week Ryan got most of Monday off, since he plowed snow all weekend and he suggested we take Andrea sledding.  It was her first tim,e and she absolutle loved it.  She got so good at going alone that the one time Ryan nor I were at the bottom to catch her she headed for a snow bank and went airborne.  Luckily, she hung on, landed fine, but Ryan and I couldn't stop laughing for quite a while. 
I wish we got video of her great jump, but this was how most of the afternoon went.