Another great Christmas

The weather certainly cooperated, and Daddy was home at a reasonable time on Christmas Eve. So there was plenty of time for a nap, and then a yummy turkey dinner. Daddy and Allen worked on a gingerbread house with runny but yummy boo-been icing, and we all made cookies for Santa.

Mommy spent her calorie budget on warm sugar cookies from the oven. Mmmmmm. Some of them eventually made it on to Santa's plate.

The kiddos got to open one present each... Allen picked a Beyblade, and Emilyn got rainbow shoelaces that promise to stay tied.

On Christmas morning, Allen ripped into his Beyblade bounty, and there was much spinning. Emilyn got Mario Kart for the Wii, a pair of super comfy pajamas and two funny books on the foibles of texting. She also got (from Daddy) two tickets to the Harlem Globetrotters! They're going Jan. 6! Whoooo!

Daddy got an excellent neon yellow cycling jacket that will make him so very visible to passing trucks. He also got a book written by the Stig from "Top Gear," his favorite show.

I got a fluffy new bath mat from my girl!! And a Total Pillow from my boy. And Steve got me a set of sheets, with the promise of an excellent SelectComfort sleep number bed to follow! WOW! Now I've just got to clean my bedroom to make room for it...

Merry Christmas, everyone. Thanks for all the cards and gifts. They are truly appreciated.

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree

... How tall and skinny and lopsided you are. But beautiful!

We were almost ready to go back to Ted Drewes to get a Dottie tree, and I was fighting that migraine... But then we found this lean beauty down on Manchester Road, at a price that wasn't astronomical. It's so skinny and fits SO well in the corner... I want to prune all our trees down to this shape!

But it does have a fatal flaw... bad center of gravity. It's the first time a Crabbe tree has ever fallen over. Scared the crap out of all of us, but surprisingly little damage was done! A couple of books under the tree stand to tip it backward did the trick.

An old-timey Christmas in St. Charles

The annual fest in St. Charles got off to a controversial start this year, because the town fired the beloved Sugar Plum Fairy -- for saying a bad word that wasn't "sugar." And NOT while she was on the job as Fairy, either. On her own time! Well, I say &*$% that! heeheehee

Anyway, it's still a fun parade to see... and it was plenty warm, so we went to check it out (though I suspect most of the Crabbes just wanted to go to The English Shop for funky British candies. I made just one rule: No more Sugar Mice! Blech!).

Jack Frost and his lady friend sure weren't doing much of a job... It was balmy and near 60 when we went. I was fighting a headache, and we had to go get a Christmas tree, so we didn't stay very long... but we got some good shots of the Santas from around the world! Steve says he wants to be a Czech Santa next year... For the rest of our pictures, click here.

The Crabbes get rockin' jolly

Oh, what a great holiday run-up vacation it's been for Mommy!

We went to hear the Gateway Ringers at a church in Webster Groves. We listened to all the beautiful singers at Emilyn's choir concert... Grandma was here, spinning anything that could be spun with Allen, and she watched the kiddos while Daddy and I got to go actually out on an actual Saturday night with our friends Hania and Raul... to Bailey's Chocolate Bar! My new favorite place! (Helpful that Hania and Raul are moving right down the street from it! heeheehee)

And there was much shopping, wrapping, decorating... But it all culminated in our trip to Scottrade for the afternoon show of Trans Siberian Orchestra. Suffice it to say, our merry minds were totally blown!

At first blush, as we snacked on spiced nuts and watched the crowd build, it seemed that our seats were pretty far from the action. They were carefully picked, though, by me, so that we had a dead-center view of the stage and were far enough away so that Allen wouldn't be overwhelmed by the noise and action. As the show started, this proved to be pretty wise... It was kind of like watching a giant movie, where the players on the stage weren't nearly as important as getting the full experience of the amazing light, video and pyrotechnics show. It's utterly indescribable. (This grainy video and hitchy sound really doesn't do it justice.) You simply have to see it!



I'm so glad everybody had a great time... I think a new family holiday tradition may have been born! As long as we bring the ear protection and prepare to be blown away! Ho ho ho!

It's bee time again !

After Emilyn's spelling bee triumph, she made it again to class champ, this time for the Geography Bee. We hustled off to school again to hear lots of nifty questions about geography, land forms, capitals... you name it! Some were plenty hard even for trivia buffs Mommy and Daddy!

Emilyn made it through seven preliminary rounds, missing only two questions, but she didn't quite make the finals. But she got another great medal for winning her class bee! And she had the biggest cheering section! A bunch of her friends showed up to lend their support! I was so proud of them... and her! (And Emilyn is really enjoying social studies this year. That's a win in my book!)

Now it can be told - Christmas card 2011

I don't like to share our Christmas card photos online until I'm sure everyone has received their Christmas card... I sent out nearly 60 (!) this year. I'm pretty sure that's a record. The list keeps growing because so many of my friends and colleagues are leaving the paper and heading off for other opportunities. So, sadly, I expect the list will only grow.

Weather on our potential shoot days was iffy at best... and we weren't sure where we were going to go for our backdrop this year. Last year's card at St. Charles was really a hard one to beat. But we got a nice, warm day and a few minutes to throw it all together -- let's try the porch! Coordinated outfits, as usual, started with Allen... then all of us had to find something to match. I must say, I think they turned out really amazing.

Merry Christmas, everyone! And happy 2012!