Christmas Glory

 

"Where do you think you're going? Nobody's leaving. Nobody's walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas. No, no. We're all in this together. This is a full-blown, four-alarm holiday emergency here. We're gonna press on, and we're gonna have the hap, hap, happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny Kaye."

-Clark Griswold 

Just stopping in quick on this Friday to share some Christmas-y photos from last weekend now that the next weekend is just hours away.  Can I get an amen on that?!  This has been a tornado of a semester and I feel like I've hit the eye of the storm.  But, we have drywall, we have siding, I'm just one presentation away from completing my first doctorate class, and I HAVE SO MUCH CHRISTMAS SHOPPING TO DO!  We keep checking things off the list and try our best to keep our eye on the prize, but life is not very peaceful at the moment!  A sense of humor is my best vice right now; that, and Christmas music, and Clark Griswold, of course.  

So how about a little Christmas glory in the midst of my chaos?  A few of my favorite Christmas things on this Friday (Friday) before Christmas.  

The kids met Santa last Saturday at my mom's open house at the Allison Library.  We're residents, now, so of course we attended...:)

Cruz was a pro and Mila screamed.  She was already mad because I dressed her in a ridiculous costume and wiped her nose and if there are two things my girl hates it's clothes and having her nose wiped.  I know Great Grandma will not like these pictures, but I kind of love a good ole screaming Santa picture at least one year.  Cruz had one, too, and now he thinks it's quite hilarious to look at.  "Here, kid, sit on this frightening man's lap while I step away and snap a hundred pictures.  It's completely fine and WE'RE COMPLETELY SANE!"  

Cruz (2011)...

And 2014, with his sister.  They look nothing alike, do they?

After the Santa's lap stint, things were looking up...

Keeping her eye on the big man from across the room...

After recovering from the Santa experience, we hopped on the Snowflake Express for a festive train deep in the snow-covered woods.  Okay, so instead of the woods we were next to a busy highway and instead of deer, we saw a Kwik Trip, but life was cozy and Christmas'y inside the train, at least for the first five minutes before the excitement wore off and we were left with four kids in a moving vehicle who typically are strapped in car seats.  Mila loved the opportunity to be out of a car seat and turned into a monster, not sitting still for more than two seconds at a time and preferring to stand up in her seat, her little plumber's crack showing as she waved and flirted with the family behind us.  The kids received jingle bells, got to talk to Santa again, and had lukewarm cocoa and sugar cookies in a church basement.  We ended the night with hot wings and beer, feeling like the jolliest bunch of a**holes on this side of the nuthouse. 

Happy Friday, everyone.  Wishing you many Christmas movie moments, whether it be Miracle on 34th Street or The Griswold's Old Fashioned Family Christmas.  My life is feeling a little more like Clark this year. :):)