Snow? More Like Ice!

Pictured below was the beginning of our ground coverage. Every bit of it was tiny pellets of ice.

Well, tomorrow is Wednesday, and Claire will be returning to school for the first time this week. For the past couple of days, we have been encased in ice. On Sunday, all of the kids were so excited about the prospect of snow. The parents, on the other hand, seemed to be more worried about ice and possible power outages. I am happy to report that all was beautiful, and there were no power outages! Unfortunately, however, the "snow" turned out to be a fairly hard sheet of ice. That being said, the girls still enjoyed getting outside for a bit to play. Not much of a snowman kind of day, but shovels and sand buckets worked wonders!

Winter Wonderland

Last week I decided to take the girls to our hands-on science center for some winter fun. The center was at the end of its "Winter Wonderland" exhibit, and it was complete with a snow room and a giant slide in the place of an escalator! We all had a fun morning.

A White Christmas

Good-bye Mr. Jingles, the elf! We will see you next year!

Claire's Christmas dreams came true with an (as seen on TV) "Tricky Worm", and a gumball machine. The gumball machine was actually Claire's only official request to Santa. I'm pretty sure that she feared if Santa had any other ideas, he would not get her the gum. Needless to say, she was excited.

Jeremy built this clothing rack to help the girls keep their dress-up clothes organized. We left it out Christmas Eve and Santa filled it with new dress-up clothes!

Emma trying to catch the snow on her tongue. . .through the window.

Starting to stick!

Christmas Night at the Beach
Look! It's Auburn's #1 fan!
Sunrise. . .
Emma with her "Dorothy" pigtails. . .

This year was most definitely a white Christmas. We went from snow at home to the white sands of the Gulf Coast. Both places brought cold temperatures, but the warmth and excitement of a very special day. It was a Christmas to remember!

Sugar High!

"The Cookie Crew"

What better way to get ready for Christmas than by coating everything in icing and sprinkles?! We have certainly been sugaring it up this week. Earlier in the week we had some friends over for cookie decorating, and today the girls and I decorated gingerbread houses. I'm not sure how much of the candy decorations made it onto the houses, but the girls seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves.

Zoolight Safari

Chick-fil-A was an event sponsor. :)

I tried to get a picture of my two little elves, but one decided to look down right as I snapped.

I'm pretty sure Santa is about ready for his long winter's nap. . .

This past weekend we went to the zoo for its annual "Zoolight Safari". It was fun to take in all of the Christmas lights by wandering through the zoo and riding the train. And, of course, we had to stop for some hot chocolate along the way. Upon entering the zoo, Claire ran into the jolly ol' man himself. She gave him a quick preview of her list of wants, and then later sat on his lap to make sure that all had been officially said. Although slightly chilly (it is December after all), we had a very fun evening.

Yep, That's Cold

Recently, it has been mighty cold for us warm-natured southerners! The upper teens is not something that we are generally used to. While out shopping last week, I took the above picture at our local outdoor mall. Other than the words "That's cold!", my mind draws a blank.

Class Photo

Claire's Kindergarten class - December 2010

The Yearly (dreaded) "Christmas Card Photo Session"

Above, is the Christmas card runner-up for this year. It was a cute one!
Below, the winner!!

The Faces of Emma

Sweet sisters. . .together forever.

Each year, I strive to capture that most perfect Christmas card photo. As most of you know, capturing a perfectly posed, sweet-smiled picture of two little ones (at the same time) is not easy!! Emma has an endless array of faces, and she seems to thrive off giving a different one for each picture. All of that being said, we managed to capture some sweet photos. The winner of the card contest this year was a picture of the girls hugging. Claire loved it, and was very excited to have it printed and shared. Jeremy and I also felt like it showed the most accurate portrayal of the girls, their personalities, and their relationship with each other. Not "perfectly posed", but perfect for us.