Christmas highlights

It's hard to believe Christmas has come and gone. I let blogging slip to the wayside with all the busyness of the holiday season. Gumdrop delivered numerous missions for Summer and I to do before Christmas. We made cookies and candy with friends. We saw the new Alvin and the Chipmunks movie "Chipwrecked" with the Lynches before celebrating Christmas with them the day before Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve, we celebrated with my dad's extended family and my mom's which I have probably not done since high school. We used to do it that way every year as a kid, but after some people moved out of town it changed. So, that was exciting for me. Summer too because at age 5 you never tire of getting presents. At my Aunt Sandra's house Summer got some clothes, a unicorn diary and a fairy in a jar. She loved them all. She also enjoyed playing with her cousins outside as it was a beautiful and sunny day. She wore the dress that she had gotten from the Lynches the day before and refused to pose for a picture for me. That's pretty much normal for her though. That evening we headed to my grandad's where I have went for the past 34 Christmas Eves. I don't ever want that tradition to end, but I'm sure at some point it will. Life can't stay the same forever, right? She got "The bippolo seed and other lost stories" from my Aunt Leisa. We have read each of the stories twice, and she just loves them. She got another outfit that she has worn two or three times from my Grandad and Ella. She really loves the outfit she gets from them every year. She got a gift card from my Uncle Billy which she used to buy a big teddy bear she named Cupcake.

Instead of making cookies for Santa with me, Summer went to bed as soon as we got home from my grandads. She fell asleep in the car so her plan to trick Santa into leaving her elf was not followed through. She had planned to put him under her pillow so she would wake up when Santa came for him. That did not happen seeing as he was left in the car when I carried her to bed. She also missed out on opening the present I had told her she could open before bed. I was tempted to wake her up since she was missing out on so many of the things we planned, but I did not. I let her sleep and set the cookies and milk out myself. Trixie tried to get into them a few times before we finally headed to bed.

She was up by 6:30 Christmas morning. I told her she had to wait on her dad to get up before she could head to the living room. She complied, anxious to get in there but knowing she had to be patient. I must say I was proud of how patient she was. Her dad is a bit of a slow mover in the mornings. The first thing she wanted was her stocking. She was excited by the treasures she found inside. The thing she liked most was the bag of marbles I think. Then she started looking for her present from Santa. The remote controlled angel she asked for turned out to just be a fairy with "cut up wings" and an invisible string you attach to a hair bow and the fairy and then control or fly with a wand that you place under the string. She was not perfectly satisfied that her order had been met, but I think in time she will enjoy the fairy/angel. Santa also left her an air pogo which she had been wanting for years but did not ask for. She did ask him for a pogo stick but her Uncle Bradley had gotten her one. She was very excited to see this although it did not get hung for a few days. Once it was, a few days later, she had the time of her life breaking it in. Paw-paw joined us for the present opening which followed Santa's presents. Summer handed out most of presents and did a fine job if I do say so myself. She started with the rainbow in my room which I had found for her. She also got a dress from me and an outfit from her dad which she loved and wore right away. I was very happy with the gifts she picked out for me. Two pairs of slippers, a very fuzzy, warm blanket, an earring and necklace set and socks. Later that evening after a family gathering at Memaw's house, she got the big gift we got for her - a hammock. She likes it and had mentioned that she wanted one big enough for the whole family a month earlier, but she refuses to let me get on it with her. I'm hoping this is only temporary, but I'm not holding my breath.

The day after Christmas we celebrated with Amanda and Josh and their kids. When Summer got up, she was surprised to see the tree full of presents again. She was happy to get more Zoobles, but I'm thinking they are not going to get played with much. Amanda gave her a magic kit which she was excited about. One of her favorite gifts was a castle tent for her and her stuffed animals to play in. We have started working on a kingdom in her bedroom which is looking pretty spiffy. Today we added a table and chairs for the "party room" and a rug which definitely improves the look of the carpet underneath the end table we moved to enlarge the castle. I'm not sure what happened to the carpets, but her older sister's teenage years scared them in ways they can never recover from. I can never remember all she got, but I'm sure it was way more than she needed. I guess that is just what happens at Christmas.

The rest of her Christmas break was spent enjoying her new things and crafting. Clint's sister came down for a brief visit. Summer played a long game of dominos with us and did a great job keeping up with us. She also showed her aunt a few games on the iPad. We tried to get her in on some dancing games on the Wii, but we were not very successful at that. She did get to experience a world of fun at Chuck E. Cheese with her though. One other highlight of the break was a trip to the movies with one of her friends from school. We went to the new Muppet movie. It was great and had us all laughing. Summer even mentioned that we should get it, but I'm not sure we will. We usually don't when she says that.

As with all good things, it came to an end before we were either one ready. But, I'm sure we will get back into the school groove in a week or two. She did ask me this morning after I walked heer back to her classroom after chapel how much longer she had today. Not a good thing since chapel is first thing in the morning. But, we did NOT do rock-a-bye baby this morning like we did almost every morning the first part of the school year. Maybe it was just a fluke and she forgot with it being the first day back in almost 3 weeks. Or, maybe we are done with that. Secretly, I hope not. But, I'm not going to bring it up until she does. I hope she remembers tomorrow!!!