Merry Christmas!!! (warning.... LOTS of pictures!!)

We had a few Christmas celebrations this year.... our first one was at home.. with the kids and my parents. The second was one with the Hartzler clan, held at the retirement home where my parents live, and the 3rd was with Scott's brother and his family, held at a restaurant and then at their home. Good times had by all at all three! :)

Always fun to get a shot of the kids coming out on Christmas morning. We only made them wait about 5 minutes in their rooms... :) 

Aaron was excited to see what Santa brought... a fun new game table! 

Allison loves magic and is amazed by Houdini! 

Aaron immediately began reading all the books he got about football! 

When he wasn't pretending to be buried by his gifts. :)

Even on Christmas morning we have to practice our gymnastics! 

Excited to have a new leotard! Actually there were 2 in the box. Yahoo!!

His old "earth in my room" bit the dust during our move, so he got a new one. Gotta love how he has a cinnamon roll mess on his face in EVERY single picture! :)

He wanted "something MarioKart" for Christmas. I thought the can of soup was cute! He laughed and then ate some and said, "This is the best soup I've ever had!" Ha! 

Allison got a beautiful Sugar Plum Fairy snow globe from Grandma Sonja! 

He is studying dinosaurs in class, so Allison got him a big book of dinosaur facts. He loved it! 

As well as his videos about the US from Grandma Sonja!

Hard to pick out clothes for her, but I KNEW she'd love this! 

The newest Taylor Swift CD

He got football pennants and helmets. A BIG project is in the works to display these! 

Duh! Of course we had to get her a nutcracker! 

Papaw enjoyed opening up a new book while eating some yummy sausage we got him! He and Nana both wore the reindeer antlers all morning- good sports! :) 

The "boys", putting together the game table! 

One of my favorite gifts. Aren't they cute? Now it's fun to make Allison her over easy eggs... one at a time! :) 

Papaw and Aaron started playing pool as soon as the table was up. It's obviously still not regulation size, but it's about 3 times the size of his old one. SO much fun! 

Allison changed into her new gear and worked out on her bar a bit. 

While the boys played with a cool remote controlled car toy that you control with an app. It was WAY COOL!!!!

Two days after Christmas we drove to KC, checked into our hotel, and napped! 

Mom and Dad rented out one of the big dining rooms for our event. We ordered in Jack Stack BBQ (tradition for YEARS now!), and everyone enjoyed a delicious dinner, game playing, pool playing, movie watching, gift opening, etc. I took a ton of pictures and they were all bad. UGH! Something weird was happening with my phone.. or maybe it was user error? Yes, it was probably that! 

But I did manage to capture a few cute pics of Aaron playing with his cousin Cooper. They are the same age, and when they get together it's like they've never been apart. They have so much fun together! 

Aaron's teaching Cooper how to play... so cute! 

The next day we lazied around a bit and then headed to a bar and grill to watch the Chiefs game. Aaron likes to keep stats on the game...he's a numbers guy for sure! 

Allison was just thrilled there was salmon on the menu! She and I would take breaks from the game and walk around the strip mall a bit. I love football, but I can't sit still and watch for 3 1/2 hours!!! The boys? No problem sitting! 

Of course she HAD to do her splits and such while we walked. :) New leggings compliments of cousin Jennifer! 

After the game we returned to the hotel for a short rest and then headed down to the Plaza (SO pretty when it's all lit up this time of year!) to meet for dinner. It was funny cause we let them pick the restaurant and they chose the same one where we ate in Denver for Thanksgiving- the Italian place where we ate in the "Pope room". We didn't get the Pope room that night, but the food was still SO delicious, and it was fun to catch up with family! After dinner we headed back to their place to open gifts and chat. Again, took lots of pics and they were mostly "ick". :( But here is Allison, opening a new leotard from her cousins. She loved it and immediately got to work practicing some moves with her cousin, who used to compete in gymnastics. Allison was in a little bit of of heaven! 

Aaron was happy to show off his favorite present, some Nebraska pajamas, once we got back to the hotel! SO cute! 

The next morning, Scott had a business meeting, so the kids and I hung out at the hotel. I was trying to read, and they thought it would be fun to play "ride the horsee" on my back. Good times! Then they both got books, came back to my back, and read while laying on me. I love my children!!

That got old after awhile, so we went outside and enjoyed a great walk on a beautiful morning! 

So fun to watch them cartwheel through life! 

And climb trees... and just BE!

:) 

Now we are home... thinking about how we'd like to celebrate New Year's Eve.... hmmmmm. 

'Twas the night (okay, a few nights included) before Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!! Almost Happy New Year! Finally found a minute to come down here and download our pictures from "post Nutcracker till today". There were a LOT! So, I'm dividing it into 2 posts. :) Here's post 1!

Christmas Eve always brings the opening of one gift.... the NEW pajamas! It was a tradition when I was growing up, and I'm happily passing it along. It's fun, AND it means the pictures on Christmas day will be of kids in new jammies! :)

They kind of act like it's no big deal, since they know what's in the bag, but as you can see, they still get a little excited. :)

Love our little Santa and elf! 

Earlier in the day, we had signed up to be bell ringers for the Salvation Army. Scott's idea, and it was a GREAT ONE!! We stood outside our neighborhood grocery store on Christmas Eve from 12-2 PM, and there was a CONSTANT flow of people in and out of the store, gathering last minute items. Almost everyone was in a good mood, and when they saw the kids ringing the bells, well..... let's just say it brought a LOT of people to the bucket. We're estimating we collected upwards of $250 during that short time.  It was a super easy (okay, not that easy... it WAS cold and a bit rainy... and we were TIRED by the end of it!) way to serve and to teach the kids a little about giving back. Papaw joined us, and fun was had by all! We went home, chilled for a couple of hours and then attended Christmas Eve services at our church, which, as always, was a wonderful experience. Love it when the kids do church with us and we all get to sing together! :) 

Came home and made cookies for Santa. Usually we make a bigger deal of this, but due to illnesses and our schedule this year, everything was scaled back quite a bit. It was still fun, of course, just not quite as "ta da!" 

Big fun was had playing Rumicube with the grandparents. I'd highly recommend it for anyone over the age of 7. You can play it easily and then as you get older, you add more strategy to your game. 

Zoey was not as interested in game play as we were!

Neither was Tye! 

Added extra... I was not able to make it to the kids' parties at school this year, so one of the moms sent me this picture of Aaron with a couple of his buddies. :) 

And this is Allison's latest drawing. Pretty kitties, huh? 

Stay tuned for Christmas pictures... it's almost midnight and my bed is calling me! :) Hope everyone reading this had a very merry Christmas and is looking forward to a happy 2015!!

The Nutcracker Experience!

Since this was just about "the best thing that's ever happened in her life", according to Allison, I'm going to try and document as many details as I can remember.... so this could get lengthy! Last year when we were in KC and tryouts for The Nutcracker came around, Allison wasn't able to try out because she didn't meet the 48" height requirement. :( So this year, when auditions came around, she was excited that she met the requirement and could try out. What I've learned since this process began is that if you're a part of the St. Louis Ballet School and you want to be in The Nutcracker, they will pretty much find you a role. It might not be what you WANT, but they will fit you in somewhere. The commitment is a HUGE one, so a lot of people don't even bother trying out. And there are always two casts, allowing for those who do try out to be placed somewhere. Then, the kids from the school join about 20 members of the St. Louis Ballet to put on a fantastic show!

Once auditions were complete and roles were decided (almost everyone who is in level 2 and 3 at the studio.. (Allison is in level 2), get roles as mice or bunnies), rehearsals started- that'd be back in early November. Every Saturday she would have her normal Saturday class and then Nutcracker rehearsals for an hour or two in the afternoons. It was not a problem to get her there, but it did cut into our ability to do things on the weekend as a family... just a note for next year! I loved peeking in on the rehearsals, but they keep the studio at a balmy 80 degrees, so I never stayed long! I could tell from my peeking that her role was more than just a "get on stage for 2 seconds and jump around", so that helped me buy into the rehearsal times! :)

Allison's shows were Friday day, Saturday night, Sunday afternoon, Monday afternoon,  and Tuesday night. She had one stage rehearsal and one dress rehearsal prior to the shows, held at the venue on the campus of the University of Missouri, St. Louis. I hung out for one of the rehearsals and then chaperoned at the 2nd one. I hung out for the Friday show, chaperoned the Sat, Sun, and Mon shows, and attended the final performance. All in all, from the rehearsal times at the school to the rehearsals and shows at the venue, it totaled about 50 hours. CRAZY!! Worth it, but CRAZY! 

At the stage rehearsals I caught the mice lining up to go on stage... apparently they had run out of pillows, so all the mice looked puffy except for A.... we called her the starving mouse! :) 

Nine mice entered from one side of the stage and nine entered from the other side. They went into the audience and passed out little pieces of cheese (sponges) to members of the audience. :) 

Allison was first in line, following the lady mouse.... I was thrilled with that placement because it made it very easy to spot her the night we viewed the performance. :)

On the night of the first performance, she was puffy right along with the other mice. They are all looking up at the tv above the doors, watching the performance before they headed in for their part. So cute! 

I LOVE this profile picture of Allison. She is totally absorbed with the show above her! 

But she stopped watching to give me a smile! 

Pretending to eat her sponge of cheese. :)

Every day/night, we'd enter at the special door for performers. It was fun to be part of the "backstage action" of it all. I learned a lot and enjoyed the experience. 

By the 2nd performance, the girls had their getting ready down to a science. It was soooo fun to watch them before each performance... getting ready and getting excited together. 

I loved how they'd turn their backs to have their friends help them get into costume. 

After one of the shows, Santa made a special appearance. Allison is in the center with the purple backpack. Next to her is her best buddy from ballet class, Malini. 

After the "next to the last" show, they had a gift exchange (20 girls exchanging little presents-it was quite an experience!) and then attended the cast party! It was really crowded in the hallway so I didn't get any good pictures, but here is Allison, handing out gifts to her new friends. 

I didn't sign up to chaperone the cast party, so I really shouldn't have been in the room, but oh my gosh, there was no way I was going to sit outside on a chair for 2 hours and wait for her. I wanted to be part of the FUN! There were several moms who "snuck in" (no one really cared), and we enjoyed watching our kids have a BLAST with fellow cast members, including members of the ballet company. It was a GREAT night and a super fun party!  We of course waited until everyone else had been served, but then we enjoyed a WONDERFUL catered meal of delicious Italian food. :) 

The party room was decorated beautifully... a great "almost" ending to the experience! 

Allison wanted to get autographs in her program... all her idea.... it was SO cute! I called her over when I saw the choreographer all by himself. :) She was able to get several autographs from the professional ballerinas, and it was a joy to sit and watch her ask for them and to see the sweet looks on the faces of the professionals. :)

Okay, Allison and her buddy Malini are in the center... one of the members of the ballet that was in their cast (and who sat at their table and entertained the girls all through dinner!) is going to MAKE THEIR NIGHT in just a few seconds! 

Yep... he is getting ready to swoop them up!! 

They swung around and around and around... giggling like crazy. It was THE cutest scene! What a great guy for making their night so special! 

I love Allison's expression here as they came down for a landing! 

As we exited the party, I took her picture by the lovely decorations lining the hallway inside.  She said, "This is like a winter wonderland". And it was! The lighting makes it look like she's wearing some sort of Julia Roberts high boots... she's not! :) Ten minutes into the ride home.... "Mom, can I please fall asleep?" And she was OUT! It was a precious night for a precious little mouse! 

On the final night of the performance, Nana, Papaw, Aaron, Scott and I went to see her. I can't even describe how it made me feel to watch my daughter on stage, dancing alongside professional ballerinas. No pictures could be taken. No video allowed. But it will no doubt be in my memory forever! 

Afterwards she had her picture taken with some cast members... and as she walked away and toward me she said, "Mom, I really, really want to do this next year!" 

On Christmas morning she found a little gray mouse, waiting for her in the tree. Hopefully something that will remind her of this experience... performing in her first Nutcracker!