Carmen's new cello

Carmen didn't get her real Christmas present until the day after Christmas. We figured now would be a good time for Carmen to have her own cello, so a week before Christmas we went to Lisle to see if we could find a cello to buy using her rental credit.

They had two there, one we did not like and another that was ok. We took the ok one home with us over Christmas so she could test it out while we waited for them to bring in another one they had at a different location. In arrived around Christmas, so we came back the day after Christmas and compared the two.

We all liked the new one better, but we wanted to get a second opinion, so we borrowed it and took it to Carmen's cell teacher's apartment to make sure she approved. She agreed it was a good cello, so we went back, bought the cello, bow, and soft case. Carmen was very happy.

Christmas

When the kids finally got their sleepy parents going, we had a great Christmas day. We started as always by opening up our stockings, youngest to oldest.

Then we took turns opening presents. Miles got several Rubik's cubes, Lego sets, books, and a renewal of Currency Club, and a subscription to NitroType.

Damon got two sets of markers, a Lego set, a giant d20, and a marble maze.

Carmen got a mini camera, popcorn maker, flute music, and license plate holders.

Olivia got a puzzle, Barbie movies, car error monitor, and boots.

Amber also got all the kids shirts with an animal playing their instrument.

Amber got a bidet, Hues and Cues, a crocheted honey-pot from Carmen, and a paper cutter.

I got some homemade ties from Carmen, puzzles, Lego sets, and boots.

We also got some cool family gifts, like a 13,500-piece Star Wars puzzle from Glade and Amy, and a sand art machine from Amber's parents.

Once everything was unwrapped, we played with our new toys (or took a nap).

Christmas Eve

We stuck to tradition this Christmas Eve, starting off with clam chowder in bread bowls.

Followed by a rather good reenactment of the nativity.

By this time, the kids are ready to open presents, so of course I force them to sing Christmas carols around the piano first, then the kids opened a present from their siblings.

Finally, once everyone was nestled all snug in their beds, Santa Claus came to fill all the stockings.

Gingerbread creations

With all the things going on before Christmas, we barely managed to find time to bake and decorate our custom gingerbread creations just a couple days before Christmas.

Amber and I made the Alamo, Olivia made a pineapple, Carmen made a standard house, Damon made the coaling station from my old train set, and Miles made a Rubik's cube. Carmen helped put the Texas flag on the back of the Alamo, which I thought was a nice touch.

Elf Jr.

Miles auditioned for and got the part of Buddy the Elf in his school's theater production of the musical Elf Jr.

The musical is an adaptation of the movie, where a human is raised as an elf at the North Pole with Santa Claus until he discovers the truth and leaves to find his dad in New York City. Miles did a great job playing the always-happy elf who loves to give hugs.

As the main character he sang and danced in almost every song and even had a love interest.

There were two performances and we went to both and he killed it both nights. On the second night, the Goldrups and DiValls came to support him too.

ExxonMobil Christmas party

Like last year, ExxonMobil put on a huge Christmas party for the entire company.

It was essentially the same as last time, but this time the theme was regions of the world. We first passed through India and and saw a dragon dance in China.

Next we trekked through Africa, with lots of African animals, until we made it to Texas, where we had dinner.

We hurried to the other side to catch the drone show, then made our way back through European towns to the Middle East where we danced with some drummers.

All along the way there were performers, musicians and activities, like the llama petting zoo and the dancers we saw in South America.

We stopped back in Texas to let the kids get roped by a cowboy while we finished our ice cream, then we headed out.