Winter Light Delights

Thanks to Christina and Jason, I discovered my new favorite Christmas outing- a Winter Lights display at a park not far from us! It was THE MOST fun! So delightful, we walked the half-mile path twice! AND we will definitely go back with Grandma Mary Kay and Grandpa Larry- we're thinking Christmas Eve (tomorrow) would be so fun! It's just so lovely and so fun and such a nice little walk- and it's free. I have now told all my friends to go do this with family- I loved it! 

Did you know I LOVE Christmas lights? I do so love them.

Christmas is All Around

Just a few signs of Christmas around here! 

Puzzles- for sure a must for me at Christmas time.

I CANNOT find my copy of this one Christmas card and it's bothered me for YEARS. I have my yearly collection of cards that I sometimes string up for Christmas and it's missing this one card. I had a light bulb moment one day- my friend Patricia scrapbooks her Christmas cards every year and I asked her if she had this one and she did!! She'd cut it up, but hey, it's something! We look SO young!! This is from 2009.

Annabel had a quick, and I do mean quick, Jazz Ensemble performance at a nearby elementary school. It was fun and festive with their hats and music!

Grandma Cheryl has made this Raspberry Jello recipe every Thanksgiving for YEARS. Annabel finally piped up one day recently that she'd like it again at our house. So I finally asked my mom for the recipe and she sent me a picture of it. I love that I have this picture of the handwritten recipe now.

My sister went to this Winter Lights display in nearby town and I was immediately jealous and immediately put it on our list of things for us to do as soon as possible. Anyway, I absolutely adore this picture of Hannah and am putting it in here for posterity. Love this girl and her family!

 Cuddly kitty while I read with my Christmas tree- my favorite spot in the winter.

Of course I must always go to the Museum of Science and Industry every December to see the Christmas trees there- it's my favorite thing every year! We got a cute family photo op this time!

Baking All the Way

Christmas to me means time to bake cookies!!

We made a lot this year and had fun making platters for family with a large variety of cookies on them! So fun! We made the highly requested Double Chocolate Cookies (including a tin just for Grandpa Gary all for himself because he loves these cookies!). We made Rolo Pretzels and the kids immediately asked where these had been all their lives- these were clearly a big hit. Daniel asks for the Peanut Butter Blossoms every year. He also really likes our sugar cookies (not pictured). I love my Raspberry Thumbprints, so those are a must for me. We tried a couple new recipes- Maple Thumbprints (SO good!) and Coconut Praline clusters, which were fine. We made more, but that's what's pictured here! YUM!

Annabel's First Youth Symphony Concert

Annabel's first ever local youth symphony concert was an amazing treat! WOW! These kids work hard and play SO well. We were blown away by the December concert and we are already looking forward to the next concert in February. I soaked it all in. Both sets of grandparents came and were able to enjoy it as well. We had wonderful seats up in the balcony (best seats in the house- yet another fast finger game for me to play, as these seats sell out in seconds!). I enjoyed seeing the scope of musicians as they played and hearing the amazing music from up in the balcony. 

Annabel is also part of the Flute Choir and she really enjoys that. She likes the director and they play some neat music. They played before the concert in the lobby and then on stage after intermission. It was so cool to hear songs played by only flutes- I'd never heard anything like that before so I really enjoyed it. 

I'm just beyond thrilled that Annabel has this opportunity and so proud of her for all her hard work. Her chair audition placed her right in the middle, which is awesome. She's made a new friend, a girl named Ava, who goes to another school in another district, but they text all the time and have become quite close- I'm so pleased for Annabel. I love that her horizons and experiences are broadening. It's all so special and such a treat for her. 

So proud of our girl! Enjoy the pictures of the amazing performance.

This was the poster advertising the event- very cool!

Annabel looks so lovely and elegant in her floor-length velveteen gown! She'll be able to use this dress all through high school, for both the high school and youth symphony concerts.

The Flute Choir performed before the concert in the lobby. Such a fun treat!

There's our girl on stage!

The Flute Choir performed again on stage after the intermission.

One of their songs featured Hawaiian music, so they all wore colorful leis! That was fun!

Annabel looks so pretty up there- I couldn't get over it. Yes I had tears in my eyes, which would make her roll her eyes at me, but hey, I'm her proud mom. Love her SO much!

Congratulations on a wonderful concert, Annabel! We are so proud of you!!

Annabel's Big Field Trip for Band!

Annabel had the awesome opportunity to go see Hamilton in Chicago with the middle school music department!! She was SO excited! The best part was that it was at night- I mean, it was the whole shebang: they took a fancy coach bus, the ate at Hard Rock Cafe, and then enjoyed the amazing show that we all know Hamilton is! Annabel got home late that night, too- like 11 PM, which also tickled her quite a bit. 

The tickets for this event sold out in seconds. That was some fast finger work on my part- whew. That part always makes me SO nervous and anxious, but we found out within a couple hours just how fast it sold out and that Annabel had a spot! She sure enjoyed a fun night out with friends and favorite teachers (Mrs. P is the one below, her Math and PI (LA) teacher). Annabel came home with a Hard Rock Cafe sweatshirt that quickly became a favorite item in her closet. She texted me a couple pictures while she was on her adventure and then of course came home with fun stories. 

These pictures are all courtesy of Annabel- so fun!

Daniel's Big Field Trip with Auto Club!

Daniel had a really fun opportunity to go on an all-day out-of-state field trip with his Auto Club at school- and we were so excited he wanted to go and that he could do this. I mean, what a cool opportunity! They went to a racing industry expo in Indiana. He had to be at school by like 5 AM so they could drive and arrive when it opened. It was a big day- lots of driving and then several hours at this show- he got home just before dinner time. How fun is that?! We enjoyed hearing what he had to say about his day and he had fun showing us all the freebies they got, which was a lot. Daniel had a good time! I'm so glad!!