LONG Overdue Christmas Highlights

I apologize for the long wait for Christmas pictures. I have not done well with organizing and editing them, and this post is a backwards, jumbled mess. If you want it to make a bit more sense, start and the bottom of the post and read the captions from the last photo up to the first! Ainsley helped Aunt L and Uncle J open their "Mystery Gift!" They were the grand-prize winners and lucky them. They received a massive supply of household items, both necessary and unnecessary. Ainsley's personal favorite, the jumbo puppy slippers!

This is what the big kids do on Christmas...play Yahtzee. What's at stake? First, second and third place "Mystery Gifts."

Bennett sported her new "detective" hat at Grandpa and Granma's. She found a huge magnifying glass to complete the look. My, what a big mouth!

Bennett, Aunt K and Cousin S, hangin' in the playhouse for the annual playhouse Christmas Tea. It was really cold and snowy and the playhouse was freezing, so we skipped the tea and treats and had about a 5 minute party this year. Boo!

Bennett and Ainsley enjoyed making antique funny faces with Cousin A.

Christmas at Grandpa L and Grandma L's!

The second annual reinactment of the Christmas story took place this year. The cast was cute and cooperative!

Lots of cousins, decorating birthday cakes for Jesus!

We had a Christmas sleepover at Grandpa L and Grandma L's house this year. We had a loaner Wii and it was lots of fun! Here is Bennett doing a little bowling. She threw a strike, I'm sure!

Grandpa and Grandma D. with all 9 great-grandchildren.

"Santa" a.k.a. Grandpa C. came over Christmas morning. The children were not pleased with his gag gift...grapefruits! He presented them each with a can of pop and a candy cane. That's more like it!

Christmas morning at home was low key. We read the Christmas story, prayed and the girls opened a few gifts. A favorite of theirs was the Pink Panther 5 Disc Collection!

On Christmas Eve we were thrilled to hang out with Uncle B and Aunt J! We had pizza and hit the town to look at Christmas lights.

I still have Christmas pictures I need to post, but I am just struggling to get them edited and organized! In the meantime, I'll show you an interesting item I found on the kitchen counter a couple of days ago. It is an index card with the head of a wolf, cut from a magazine, pasted onto it. It also references a lovely song from the '90s. I'll give you two guesses who made this, and the first one doesn't count. We could make millions of guesses as to why she made this, and we would still never know. She is just a random sort of kid! We love that about her!

A Glimpse Into the Future...Oh, Dear

So, birthday parties have really evolved over the past several years. I remember the days when you went to your friend's house, ate a piece of cake, played a simple game and went home with a balloon. No more! Parties are much more complicated these days. Bennett attended a classmate's party over the weekend. It was a salon party. I thought, "Oh, how nice. Bennett will get her nails painted and a couple of cute clippies in her hair." Little did I know that I would drop her off as a child and pick her up as a WOMAN! Yikes! Here she is, about 20 years older than when I dropped her off! The child had her hair, make up, nails and toes done. She was just thrilled!

Check out the hair! It was pinned up with 752 bobbie pins, sprayed with glitter and felt like astroturf. They did a beautiful job. Now we just need a tiny prom dress.

Ainsley loved her big sister's new look. She decided to give herself a fancy hairdo as well. Lovely! At least she still looks her age. This experience was very fun for Bennett. I'm glad she was able to partake. However, the next morning she said, "I really want to wear lipstick today," to which I said, "I'm sorry...no. Chapstick...yes." She quickly followed with the question, "When can I start wearing a training bra?" Oh, dear.

Snow? What Snow?!?!

When the weather hands you lemons, make lemonade...have a beach party!!! This was all Bennett's idea, and a fine idea it was! The girls had a blast using the ball pit for a mock-swimming pool. They suited up, put on the sunglasses and imaginary sun block and had a blast! Bennett even said while lathering up with invisible sun block, "Oh, this sunblock smells soooo good!" Hilarious!

Also hilarious is that Ainsley had a baby doll stuffed down into the front of her suit the entire time. Her suit was a swimsuit/baby carrier. That girl is almost literally attached to that "Yellow Baby" of hers at all times!

Ainlsey's Major Haircut!!!

It was a day of mixed emotions at our house. Ainsley had a major haircut. We hated to say goodbye to her long golden curls. But after over 30 minutes of ripping through tangles yesterday while she screamed, "I can't take this much longer!" it had to be done. Below are some before and after photos. Before...

Before...

After! Now, the stylist always gives the girls a fancy little hair-d0 after she cuts it. Therefore, it's a little hard to tell what her actual cut looks like in the pictures. It is just a little bob with a slight wedging. It is much shorter than before, obviously!

Goodbye, tangles!!!!

Candle-Kazam...The Final Challenge!

Saturday brought us to our final Candle-Kazam challenge for 2009! The challenge: Let the girls decorate your feet with magic markers!!!
Above, Bennett is just getting started.

Oh, a lovely blue snowman, drawn by Ainsley.

The completed masterpieces!

This is obviously the foot Bennett did. It says something about Octavius and I think I see a Roman guard-stick man of some kind.

This year we decided to give Dad a silly prize for his efforts. It's a t-shirt from Shirt Woot entitled "Smores Code." You know, kind of like Morse Code only made with smores ingredients! Thanks to a wonderful dad for being up to the challenge again this year. He was a very good sport and he has helped make great memories for our family!

Candle-Kazam #6

Candle-Kazam challenge #6 - Dad had to wear his clothes backwards to a local eating establishment for family treats! Wearing clothing backwards is harder than you think! Here he is, ready to head out the door and into complete discomfort and embarrassment! The girls were quite pleased.

Unfortunately, when we arrived at our destination it was completely packed with people for a Christmas concert. We decided it was not worth the trouble to stay so we left. We ended up getting treats via drive-through at another restaurant. Therefore, this challenge didn't provide quite the entertainment it could have. Dad did actually go into the place he was required to though and he did have his clothes on backwards in front of the masses, so the challenge was completed!

Snowtocross and Candle-Kazam #5

Snow? What snow? We have been having lots of fun with all the snow that fell last week! Dad did some sled-pulling in the yard while I ran errands over the weekend. Here is his newest invention...Snowtocross. It's like motocross with ramps, speed and catching air. The difference is the use of snow and sleds instead of dirt and dirt bikes! I think Ainsley expression says it all. She actually lost a boot, sock and mitten in the landing on this one!

Last night brought Candle-Kazam challenge #5: Run around the perimeter of the yard twice in the snow wearing a t-shirt, shorts and no shoes! The deep snow definitely made this challenge more fun! Above, Dad is getting ready to run!

Here he comes, sprinting down the long stretch. He was also yelling and laughing. It was pretty fun to watch!

The girls examined Dad' really cold feet when he came inside. His feet remained numb for a long time, poor guy. I don't think any serious damage was done though. Only two challenges remain...stay tuned!

Candle-Kazam #4

Candle-Kazam challenge #4 took place last night, and it was Dad's most difficult challenge to date: Hug Bridget (Grandpa and Grandma's dog) and kiss Otis (other Grandpa and Grandma's cat.) My, my, my. Those of you who know Dad well, know how much he despises animals of all varieties. This is no joke. I am shocked that he could even muster up a fake smile in the photos. The dog looks alarmed and it's understandable why. I imagine she knows how Dad feels and she is in shock. She probably thinks he's about to strangle her, as a hug would be completely unexpected!

Here is Dad, making eye contact with Bridget just prior to the embrace. It's as if they both are realizing what is about to take place.

Next up was the attempt to hug Otis. Now, Otis is really more of a stray cat than she is a tamed pet. In fact, it was assumed she was a boy for a very long time because she couldn't be captured to determine otherwise. It wasn't until she had a litter of kittens that everyone found out, and by then her name had been made permanent by the grandchildren. Anyway, the attempt to catch and pick up Otic was made, Grant went in for the smooch, and the claws came out. Above, you can see the rear left paw scratch in action!

What a wound! Bennett examines the worst of the scratches. As you can imagine, both girls were very concerned for their father.

Here is a somber man, after completing his challenge. He had to use a Dora bandage on his main scratch, as that's what grandmas of young girls tend to stock in the medicine cabinet. It was difficult, but he managed to do it yet again and Bennett and Ainsley were thrilled! Four down, three to go!

Candle-Kazam #3

Candle-Kazam challenge #3 took place last night! Another easy one for Dad...he seems to be saving the best for last. Tonight's challenge: Do a lip sync to The Village People, YMCA! Again, the girls were thrilled! Do you like how the decorative grass behind Dad's head makes him look like he has green, spikey hair? It's the longest his hair has been in years!

Dad, passionately doing a "Y" during his performance. Bennett is also participating, and with a safari hat and a lemur on her head, no less!

If I had a dollar for every time that ridiculous Webkinz lemur causes a problem, I'd be rich. "Leemie" ruined a perfectly good action shot of Dad. The point of posting the picture is just to show you how much fun the girls had while the lip lync was going on. There was a lot of action going on in the living room. Ainsley was getting down with her bad self, too. I just didn't capture it on camera. Again, way to go, Dad! Only four challenges left!