[I give up. I'm admitting defeat and moving on. I simply don't have the hours it would apparently take to get my poor little malfunctioning computer to download, edit, and upload the dozen or so great photos that belong in this post. You'll just have to imagine the cuteness!]

Christmas Adventures!
Celebrating Christmas this year was a two-week-long event! We took advantage of our current East Coast location to see all the extended family, and celebrate Christmas twice! The adventure began with another set of flights--this time with just the girls and I (we headed out earlier and returned later than Daddy and saved hundreds of dollars--none of the grandparents objected to additional time with the grandkids either!). I think the entourage considers themselves seasoned travelers now, and they did wonderfully going through security, take-offs and landings, etc.

Christmas with Mommy's family this year was particularly exciting because all five of Mommy's siblings (even the one who's a missionary overseas) were home for holidays! When you throw in significant others and the addition of two new cousins I think we had a crowd of 17 people staying at Grandma and Granddad's house. So much fun! The girls loved meeting their baby cousins and particularly getting in some playtime with R, who at 9 months old is into everything he can possibly reach.

I think the girls favorite traditions at Grandma and Granddad's house were the abundance of Christmas cookies (yum!) and the filling of the stockings. Santa doesn't visit here, instead everybody helps fill each others' stockings with the requirement that only $1 or less may be spent per person. The girls were very excited about purchasing monster erasers for the aunts, uncles, and grandparents and googly-eyed books for the babies, then sneaking them into everybody's stockings.

Other highlights of the visit with this side of the family: Visiting the local science center, where we got to watch a dome theater show about the solar system (Goose fell asleep partway through, but the big girls thought it was pretty cool). I have also now been informed that I need to teach them more constellations. The also loved part of the temporary exhibit this time--something I think they called the Imagination Playground, basically a big open space full of huge foamy blocks, wheels, gears, etc. that the kids can use to build their own structures. Getting to see the original Chrismon tree, a 30-foot tree covered in ornate Chrismons from all over the world. Very impressive. Going for a hike on the riverwalk trail, I don't know how far we went, but the girls loved spotting some turtles, crossing a former railroad bridge, and just having open trail to burn energy! (They were less than impressed with the multiple dams we saw on the river, but then I realized the last dam they saw was the Hoover Dam, and I had to agree with them.) Learning about Grandma's fish pond, I wasn't involved in this exploration, but in addition to admiring Grandma's flora and fauna, the girls learned about water quality, the life of algae, fish hibernation, etc. Playing piano with Aunt E is always popular if she's around, but this time I requested a slightly more formal interaction with the piano, and they all had a blast. She taught them about how a piano works, the difference between high and low notes and loud and quiet ones, following patterns, creating moods, using each finger to play different notes, etc. By the end of the week, she led them through a pre-readers rendition of a couple of Christmas carols. The suprise of this interaction is that Goose was enthralled by the piano! She requested multiple lessons per day, and loved having time to just experiment and make up songs on her own. She would even stand at Aunt E's shoulder (or sit at the top of the stairs at bedtime) to listen to her play. (I see piano lessons in my future!)

Next we headed for a second Christmas with Daddy's family! We decided to break up the all-day drive to get there by taking a break to visit Daddy's and my alma mater. We got to show the girls the buildings were we lived, worked, and took classes, and gave the girls a chance to get their wiggles out on some of the hills, fields, and common areas.

The girls have favorite traditions at Nana and Papa Bear's house too! As soon as we arrived, they headed for the coffee table of Christmas toys--nutcrackers, matryoshkas, a snow globe, and a collection of Rudolf and company dolls.  I don't think they remembered the Christmas Eve tamales from last year, but all three girls enjoyed them (I think they ate them as leftovers at ever possible meal after that night). We also made and decorated soft gingerbread cookies--so much fun and so delicious! The girls were really looking forward to opening their new PJs Christmas Eve, and Nana did not disappoint--they love their cozy footie PJs!

Other highlights from our visit with Daddy's side of the family: Cooking lessons with Uncle J, the girls were fascinated by the whole process of brining and roasting the Christmas turkey and Uncle J was happy to explain it all to such as eager audience. Later in the visit they got to eat at the their favorite sushi place and drive through a Christmas lights display; the girls had a great time with Nana and Papa Bear while Daddy and I got an overnight getaway in nearby downtown Nashville (that might have been my favorite part of this whole trip). Later we took the girls into Nashville to visit the Parthenon--they were duly impressed with the temple and huge statue of Athena. That event was made all the more interesting because the girls remembered our studies of ancient Greece, remembered the scene from Percy Jackson that takes place their, and even made the connection between the Amazons featured on Athena's shield and Wonder Woman. Of course, no visit to Nana is complete without a shopping trip! The girls got to visit a music store where Bug was able to hold and play a violin (her potential instrument of choice), and Monkey got to play a snare drum (a long-term musical interest of hers). We also stopped at a Lego store where the girls were excited about all the Master Builder creations on display, and ate lunch at the Rainforest Cafe--huge automatons! Of course, my girls were excited! Back at Nana and Papa Bear's house, the girls and I also had fun braving intermittent rain showers to explore a new trail around the lake behind their house, and play biologists collecting clues about a animal who left evidence behind--several holes in the ground, half eaten acorns on the ground, and scattered nut shells on a picnic table. After running through the list of possibilities the girls decided it must be a squirrel, a hypothesis confirmed by Papa Bear.

Celebrations at both houses included an additional party--Goose's 4th birthday! At Grandma and Granddad's house, she put in a request with Aunt E for mini chocolate cupcakes. Aunt E even made a special one just for her that was topped with as much frosting as it had cupcake! At Nana and Papa Bear's house we had a breakfast birthday celebration with glazed blueberry muffins. Goose was very excited to celebrate twice with all her family!