A Good Life . . .

My ballet dancer

She is full of personality . . .

Yet serious about her performance . . .

As you would expect, her first performance on stage was a BIG deal . . .

and as much as she loved it, 

she's done with dance (for now) and on to acting (just because she's tired of dancing does not mean she's willing to give up the stage).

For the love of reading

When I learned that the main library was hosting its first Polar Express celebration, I immediately wanted to support it.  Combine our nationally ranked library with a gathering which includes reading and a visit from Santa himself . . . what could be better?  Well, as it turns out it does get better.  Because we enjoyed the evening with a number of good friends. This is definitely a new tradition for us.

I was so envious of David in the reading room . . . 

Yea, she's pretty proud of that gingerbread man.  And rightfully so . . . Audrey's artistic skills have really blossomed since she has a teacher who is a skilled artist.  

Oh, and I forgot to mention that the Huntington train display is there.  I don't have a great shot of the display, but I do have a shot of Amelia looking stinking cute and very grownup, standing by the display.

Oh, it was a great time indeed . . . spent with new friends, old friends . . .

and capped off with the first gift of Christmas from jolly Old Saint Nick.

We really do live a good life.

And a special thanks to . . .

our holiday photographer!  Despite being absent from most of the photgraphs, David was (of course) on the Santa train as well.

Holiday Traditions

While I haven't been posting, we've been enjoying some of our favorite holiday traditions . . . and adding a few to the list.  And since I easily feel overwhelmed when I'm a bit behind, I'm just going to take it one tradition at a time.

Let's start with The Santa Train!  Audrey has officially reached that age when she remembers our holiday traditions.  On more than one occasion this season she's said, "Oh, I remember this place!"  The feeling that comes from creating family traditions for the girls, definitely goes in the list unexpected joys of parenthood.

One of the things I love about our Santa Train tradition, is that we sit in one of the rear cars so that we see Santa right away and then again at the end of our trip.  I find myself wanting to tell the people who get there early and ride in one of the front cars . . . "It's just like school folks, the fun is in the back!" Who knows, maybe they have a party up there that we're not aware of.

Oh, the excitement of watching him walk into our car . . . it's almost too much to handle!

And literally too much to handle for Amelia.  She kept her distance the first time she saw him.  And when Santa passed through again at the end of the ride, she hid under Grandma's jacket.  And was rather proud of being so sneaky.

It was the first year the girls befriended other kids on the ride and had adventures that did not include us.  I am sure that will happen more and more frequently.  But we still had plenty of our cherished cuddle and family time.

I understand now more than ever, that traditions are what you make of them.  And this continues to be a magical one for us.

Oh, and a nice reminder for the girls to make sure they are on the "nice" list!