If you read our
family blog, too, you saw these pics already. Oh, well--some of you only read this one, so here they are again!
One of my favorite weekends of the WHOLE Brenham year is the first weekend of December, when they hold the Stroll and Lighted Parade downtown. Daddyboy is in charge of Germania's float, which means we don't see him much for a couple of weeks and, of course, that we get to ride on the float. Also, every year until this year, we have a huge family group at the parade which, honestly, is both wonderful and stressful. But since nobody--yup, nobody--was able to come this year, it made us realize that the wonderful cancels out the stressful. So next year, we'll be MUCH more appreciative! And now I need to figure out what to do with all of the cocoa, cider, and cookies I'd stored away for the annual event at our house... :)
We started off the day yesterday with a snowman building competition. This is one of my FAVORITE classroom/family night activities EVER...so we do it at home at least once a year. I know, I know...
That led into a lazy morning of Christmas DVDs and a family nap on the couch. I can't remember the last time we just...sat. It was awesome! We got up and around in time to get to the Dallmeyers' house for Alex's birthday lunch, and that was really fun, too. Daddyboy got to try out his new camera and the kids and I had fun visiting with friends. And the cake...let's just say, Noble's hands may permanently be stained orange and it was fun to cuddle with a cake-scented baby yesterday!
Here we are arriving at the parade...Haitham gave me this coat for Christmas last year, and I've never had an opportunity to wear it. I LOVE IT!!!! And with our candy cane scarves...let's just say, you'll be seeing me in this coat anytime the temps drop below corduroy jacket! (And ahem, look at my shoes. No animal prints--just Mommy Nikes. So they have a little silver, sue me...)
This is Germania's float--I'm a bit biased, but I think they've got a shot at the big prize this year. It's all bragging rights, no money or anything, but they worked so hard and it looked GREAT. The theme for the parade was Candy Lane Christmas, and the Germania float committee did a great job of bringing the game of Candy Land to life! What you can't see is that the gingerbread house puffs out sugar-cookie scented smoke...it was too, too cool!
Today looks to be another laid-back day; we've already been up for hours and it's already time to wind down again. We had planned to put up our outside lights today, but the rain is probably going to prevent that. But you know, it's okay--we're heading into a busy week, and it'll be nice to have another day of rest under our belts before things get too crazy. With everything going on, work-wise and personally, it can be really easy to get lost in the busy-ness of the season and forget to stop and enjoy the little moments. I think that's why I'm sticking with the Favorite Things posts, so I have to stop and take a minute each day to just appreciate one of the special things about this season. :) Remind me of that tomorrow, after I commute...
