Art...

I don't think the Reliant will win this one. The Klingon Battlecruiser remains upright...

Pink Legos...

Awyn really wanted legos this year, and she sure got them. They're even pink!

Jim Recognizes Sam's toy...

Ha, Ha, ha.... ahem. Jim had a good Christmas too. Only present she got was an appointment to see a vet for shots & a checkup.

Aftermath...

Yes, we picked up paper constantly during the unwrapping. Some toys have been removed from their positions. Happy children are still playing. Thank you to everyone for all the goodies! We will be calling and writing and thanking everyone.

Lava Lamp!

I think every boy needs a lava lamp to soothe them to sleep at night...

Unwrapping...

Mojo find a good napping spot

Yes, the dog really likes the pillow pets. Nice and soft for a grumpy old man dog. Here he's daring someone to try to move him.

Pillow Pets...

It's a pet, it's a pillow. Yes, I managed to find a couple of this year's hottest Christmas toys at Walmart. Last of their kinds, all that was left were ugly bees and ladybugs. After Christmas they had the penguins, but Sam and Awyn are happy with what they got. They've been asking for them for ages.

Merry Christmas!

Note the piles of untouched presents under the tree... Another tradition in our house is that presents cannot be opened until after breakfast. They danced all around the tree, not touching a thing, excited about the upcoming wrapping paper carnage.

We're ready, Santa!

Don't they look so sweet and innocent? Of course, at our house, Santa doesn't arrive until after kids are asleep for the night. We don't put any presents under the tree until they are asleep. That's our own little tradition not borrowed from anyone, and for more prosaic reasons than I want to list here. The kids are used to it now.

Is the Tree ready?

Sam and Awyn have made the final adjustments to the Christmas Tree before heading off to bed. I like the hats, makes it more official, don't you think? Please note the plates framing the tree. This is the first year we've hung them. They are the 12 days of Christmas, and they came from Thelma and Lefty Leonard, Eric's grandparents. Thank you, Clarene, for giving them to us. They are beautiful.

Santa's Beer and Cookies

Following a Leonard tradition, Sam and Awyn leave sugar cookies (no frosting) for Santa, and a good beer. (Santa has become a bit of a beer snob)

taking a bow...

Happy Holidays!

Yes, he knows he's good...

It really shows how much Sam loves to dance on stage. He shines. He's come a long, long way.

Sam took his bow, and stole the show

The girls in the ballet company adore Sam. They are waiting until he's big enough to be the Nutcracker.

Ready to Perform

Under the marquee of the Rylander Theatre...

On stage as a polishnelle...

Waiting for the show to start...

Sam and Awyn danced in different performances, so they each got to watch the other dance. Note the fabulously spikey hair...

Stage make-up - On.

My little doll & polishnelle...

Ready for the show!

Getting Sam ready for his Nutcracker performance...

Sam at Dance

Sam and his girls...

Sorry for the picture quality, these were taken through a glass window with a cell phone. Sam adores dance, and the girls adore Sam. Not sure which child is going to need bars on their windows first. The cries of, "he's so handsome!" and the confirmation of other mothers that their daughters have crushes on him would make me nervous, but he's pretty oblivious to his conquests. This is his dance costume for The Nutcracker and The Wizard of Oz.

Dancing Princess

This is Awyn's dance costume for the Nutcracker and The Wizard of Oz. I need to take in the top a little, and I didn't have the back pinned properly. Still, isn't she the sunshiniest ballerina?

Mojo and Awyn. And missing ipod.

Awyn kept Mojo on his leash while the kids' beds were being delivered and set up. I took this picture because Mojo was actually cuddling with her on the couch, an unsual event. He was even letting her hug him. 30 minutes after this photo was taken, the ipod disappeared. We have scoured the condo looking for it, under and behind furniture, in any boxes or papers around where it is. For those who can't spot it, it's on the speakers above Awyn's head. The furniture store is denying that their guys stole it. They were so nice, and very professional that until I saw this picture it never occured to me that they would have stolen the ipod. I thought maybe we'd just knocked it off the dock or moved it. It's a situation that truly sucks.

Not sure our bedroom looks any better yet.

Well, maybe it does, but I still have a lot of boxes to go through. Eric has done most of the unpacking and putting away.