Swanson's Bakery 2010

We had our annual Swanson's Christmas Bakery where we spend roughly half a day with the boys making pretty inedible holiday cookies. They are manhandled by the boys and always have a ton of flour added to them to get the cookie cutters to properly work before baking.

 
And then after baking, they decorate them in ways you wouldn't have thought possible.

Still, the boys are happy, and they seem to like eating their cookies, and that's what really matters.

We also took the time to get a picture of Chris, Al and the boys for their Christmas card. Its hard to get one of everyone smiling, but I think we ended up with a few good ones at least.

Happy Birthday, Jane Austen!

In honor of Jane's birthday today, there is an amazingly fabulous deal going on at amazon, courtesy of Sourcebooks. This blog post has all the details.

Their 10 top Jane-related books are downloadable for free today, along with the nice illustrated editions of Jane's six novels.

I have the kindle app on my iphone, and with any luck, a nice shiny brand new kindle of my own will be waiting for me under the tree in nine days. This will be a lovely way to kick-start my kindle usage!

Jane's birthday is an event well worth celebrating. Even if google doesn't seem to think so. 

I am seriously vexed, indeed!

The Police Station

Ryan's #1 wish list item for Christmas is the LEGO Police Station. It normally goes for $100, so Santa wasn't so sure this was the best gift for Ryan.

Then last Sunday, Target came out with an ad that they had the Police Station set for $74.99. Its a cool set, and while Alex is usually all about the ships and the guys when it comes to LEGOs, Ryan is always after us to build him a house. So buying this spiffy police house, which his little guys can actually use and go in and out of the doors, seemed like a win-win. Especially at the reduced price.

Except that our Target was sold out. I tried another Target, a few days later. Also sold out. But at both of these stores, they had pretty stripped LEGO shelves all around, so for some reason it didn't occur to me that it was because of the price.

I decided to order it online, and get it shipped to the house. Sold out online at Target. Sold out online at Wal-mart. Sold out online at Toys R Us. Available online at amazon, but since amazon price gauges, it was now selling there for over $150.00.

I started calling stores. One Target told me they had it, but because it was a sale item, they couldn't put it aside. By the time I got there, there were none. I tried three more Targets in person. Two Wal marts. Two Toys R Us.

No Police Station LEGO set to be found.

Frustrated, by late Saturday night, when the sale would be ending, I gave up on the sale price. I waited for Sunday, to see the ads, and see if something else magical would appear. It didn't.

Defeated, I checked the LEGO site. They were sold out online, but had some in stores, at the regular price. The thought of paying the $100 killed me, but at this point, I almost wanted the Police Station set more than Ryan. And my time was easily more valuable than the $25.01 savings I was so desperately trying to achieve.

So over lunch on Monday, I drove to the LEGO store, walked right over to the "City" section, and magically, there it was.

Just one.

One large box, waiting for me.

If this were a movie, white lights would appear with angelic music playing. I had found Nirvana, in the shape of one very large police station LEGO box.

I grabbed it, lest anyone try and run up and pry it out of my hands, and walked right up to the cash register. I hand Max my VIP LEGO card, and find out that the set is on sale for $89.99. He asks if there is anything else I wish to purchase, because if I spend $100, I save 10% - basically giving me a $10 LEGO toy for free. I find a brand spanking new police bad guys minifigure set for $9.99, and just like that, 10% off.

I also received a free Pick a Brick Box so that Ryan can come back anytime January - March and fill it up from the mega wall. Value: $12.50. And I had $5 off coming way thanks to my LEGO VIP rewards.

Which brought my grand total, including tax, to $91.18, for the Police Station, the minifigure set, and the Pick a Brick Box.

A way better value than what Target, Wal-Mart or Toys R Us would have given me.

Of course, Ryan will never know just what I went through for Santa to get him the Police Station. But why should Christmas morning be different from any other day of the year?

Ryan's Christmas Concert

Thursday night, Ryan and his class at pre-school gave what has to be, hands down, the best Christmas concert ever given by a group of four year olds. Ever.* (*with apologies to my eldest son, Alex, and anyone else reading this blog, all of whom also gave, I feel certain, an equally greatest Christmas concert ever ;) ).

But seriously... I bow down to Ms. Pam and Ms. Lindsay. They have these kids performing flawlessly. Ryan did such a great job, because, as he put it to me later, "I kept my smile face on THE WHOLE TIME."

If either of my children are destined to follow in my footsteps as a lawyer or their grandfather's footsteps as a priest, its Ryan. He's a born public speaker and a born performer. Alex even admitted that "some people like to be up on the stage, and some people like to be in the audience... I was happier being in the audience watching Ryan than when  I was singing in Ms. Linda's pre-school class."

Sage words from my seven year old.

While I wait for Carl to find the software to reload the program that allows us to dump videos from our apparently vintage video camera, I'll make do with these photos from the night.

Alex's New Belt

Alex received his new First Degree, L2 Black Belt today.

Its even more beautiful than I've imagined. And to paraphrase Han Solo, I can imagine quite a lot. ;)

The only downside to his new belt is that there is no awards ceremony this cycle, due to the holidays. It was just waiting for him when he went to TKD class this afternoon. :( He didn't seem to mind, though. So I'll just be happy that I've got my Friday night free tomorrow, and not moan anymore about the lack of an official ceremony.

Why Didn't I Think of this Sooner?

Last night we had a late dinner, and I let the boys watch a Christmas show on tv while Carl and I cooked and puttered in the kitchen. Watching tv mid-week is pretty rare, and apparently the excitement was too much for poor Ryan to take, because he was fast asleep on the couch in no time.

We tried to wake him up for dinner, but he was out.

This morning I took Alex to school, and when we left, Ryan still hadn't woken up. He always likes to go drop him off, so I was preparing myself for an angry Ryan when he realized he had been left home.

And yet, when I came back home twenty minutes later, he was downstairs, fully dressed, and pleased as punch with himself. (Carl was still sleeping, lest you think I left my four year old home alone.) The reason Ryan was so happy?

"I slept longer than Alex, Mommy!"

Oh yes. Apparently, Ryan views this as a competition. I see great things coming out of such a competition. We are going to have our first one Friday night/Saturday morning, and I'm going to come up with a really great prize for who can sleep the longest.

Pure genius, I tell you.

I just wonder how long we can keep the competition going?

Team Blue

A few months ago, we learned that Carl's sister is expecting her second child in April.

Today, we found out that the baby will be ... a boy!

Making a grand total of four male grandchildren for Chris and Al.

Not that having all boys isn't fun, but my father-in-law either jinxed/blessed us 7+ years ago. Chris wanted a little boy charm for her charm bracelet when I was pregnant with Alex, and when Al went to buy it for her, the boy charm was over $100, but a little girl charm was only $10. Never one to pass up a bargain, Al bought both charms, thinking surely he would find the need for a little girl charm at least once in his lifetime.

Alex was born in 2003.

Ryan was born in 2006.

Connor was born in 2008.

And now Baby Boy Coberly #2  (Swanson grandson #4) will be born in 2011.

So if anyone knows anyone needing a little gold baby girl charm, I think we can work out some kind of deal. ;) 

Santa, Rounds 2 and 3

Following the success of Thanksgiving weekend's visit with Drunk Santa, and the official creation of their Wish Lists, Team Danger was eager for a repeat audience with Santa. They felt the need to "update" him on their requests. Whereas I felt the need to remedy the impression Drunk Santa had left on two indelible little boys.

Saturday's Family Christmas Party for IBM employees provided just such an opportunity for Team Danger.

Alex's updated request, in this order: "A puppy, a kitty and a gumball machine."

Ryan's updated request, in this order: "Star Wars LEGOs, Police LEGOs, and Prince of Persia LEGOs."

Sunday morning brought a surprise appearance by Saint Nicholas during Sunday School. We didn't take any photos - no other parents were, and we didn't want to appear, well, too commercial. But they had a chance to visit with him all the same. Neither list changed. Alex still wanted a puppy, a kitty and a gumball machine. Ryan still wanted Star Wars LEGOs, Police LEGOS and Prince of Persia LEGOs.

Flash forward a few hours, and we are looking through the Sunday paper. Me, with fear and trepidation, as the open records request we've been dealing with for six months finally made its appearance as the star headline, and Team Danger with joy and excitement as they LOVE all the big toy ads this time of year. And somehow, they find MORE things they want. Which prompts this request from Alex: "Can we please go to the mall? Because we need to see Santa and tell him about the new things we want."

!!!!!

Go Alex!

Friday night, Alex tested for his Level 2, 1st degree Black Belt. Its a big step - you have six months after first receving your Black Belt to reach L2 status, or else they take your Black Belt away. Plus, the L2 Black Belts are uber-cool - they are personalized with your name and everything. We've been  living for this Belt.He will remain a Black Belt in TKD for the rest of his life, even if he were to stop on Saturday* (*after the next Belt ceremony).

We forgot our main camera, so these are with the iPhone, and the quality of the "action" shots isn't the best. But still, you get the idea.

The idea that here is my little seven year old Alex, sparring against this giant thirteen year old girl, who is almost twice his size ... and holding his own.

We were super proud of our little super hero, let me tell you.

Go, Alex!

O christmas tree

Wednesday was December 1, so we wasted no time getting the Christmas tree decorated. This year was the first time I've been brave enough to let Team Danger decorate the entire tree, and not just a choice few non-breakable ones. But they did a great job, and even managed to limit the dancing, wrestling and light saber play for a few hours.

Wednesday was also the start of the advent calendar. Mom passed our family advent calendar down to me when Alex was born, and they take turns decorating it every day.

This was also the second year of the LEGO advent calendar. Each day has a LEGO surprise. This way, we have two happy boys each day, and they don't fight over whose day it is to hang an ornament on the tree.

Christmas 2010

With Love Blue Christmas Card

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Christmas is Coming

We spent Sunday decorating the outside of our house, as well as part of the inside. The tree itself still has to be done, but the outside is always my first priority.

The boys spent a good part of the morning while we decorated going through the christmas catalogs and newspaper ads, and making their wish list books. Hence the extremely happy smiles on their faces here.  

And the finished results out in front of the house:


The left side of the driveway (we're on a corner lot, so its a big, awkward space).

And the right side of the driveway, in front of the main part of the house:

Next up: the tree!

One more from the weekend

Another picture from the weekend, with editing by Carl.

And lest I get in too much trouble for forgetting to include the ONE photo he specifically requested I include, lets just say that this one was worthy of its own post, and leave it at that.

A Family Thanksgiving

This year, we spent Thanksgiving with much of my family at my uncle Bobby's property in Concan, Texas. Its a beautiful little piece of Texas we'd never visited before, and we had a great time enjoying the outdoors, nature, and family.

Team Danger shared a house with my cousin Julianne, her husband Mark, and their six month old baby, Graham, aka the Next Generation in the extended Caran-Cary-Coffman-Cox-Olsen-Rouquette-Swanson family. Our house was along the Frio River, and the boys loved walking across every morning to try and skim stones across the river (they always sunk, so clearly we need a bit more practice). They also enjoyed finding "gun" rocks because if Team Danger can find a way to turn something into a weapon, they will.

Back at the main house were my mom, BeBe, Margaret, Cheryl and Glenn, and Bobby. And Bobby's three dogs, Cheryl's two dogs, and Julie's dog. Not to mention the roosters and chickens, which Alex particularly enjoyed chasing.

Ryan's highlight of the weekend was baby Graham. He just adored his latest little cousin. Ryan loves little children, and has been asking us nonstop when we'll have another baby. Since that isn't likely to happen, having a new cousin was the next best thing. He hung out with Graham non-stop.

Where Graham was, Ryan was not far behind. ;)



On Thursday, Alex thought the temperature was just right for an impromptu dip in the river.

Bobby has an old-fashioned trolley, and he took us for a ride after the turkey dinner. This was right as the cold front rolled in, so we definitely put the "chill" in chillax by the end of the ride.

On Friday, we went fishing at Garner State Park, which is about ten minutes away from Frio. Alas, the fish were not biting, but we had a lovely time enjoying this beautiful fall in the park.

 

 

(I know, this is a gazillion photos, but I just love them all, and since I've just purchased 20GB of photos to use with this blog, the photos, they-are-a -comin'.)

The best part of the weekend was getting ready for Bobby's "Its a Concan Christmas" extravaganza, which is sponsored by the town of Uvalde, but is on Bobby's property. Alex dressed up as an Elf, and shockingly, he just LOVED being an Elf. He wore that sucker for about six hours straight - longer than he has ever worn any costume at one time.

Three bands performed that night, and there was also petting zoo, a pot bellied pig, fake snow, more trolley rides, hay rides, and lots of vendors showed up, which gave us the chance to become the owners of yet two MORE lighted swords/lightsabers. I do believe we now own more of these suckers than the Jedi Council . We roasted smores at our own private fire pit, and we even got to visit with a drunken Santa. The "real" Santa called in sick for the night, so after a few rejections from some of the more sober folks - I'm looking at you, Carl - Bobby picked the only person intoxicated enough to agree to dress up and play Santa for scores of children.

 

 

  

Santa looks particularly festive in this photo with baby Graham.

We had a great holiday weekend with everyone, and our only regrets were that we were missing our California clan: Beau and his family, as well as my cousin, Lauren (who lives in San Diego). Still, I think that this marks the most of our family together at a non-wedding event in decades, which is definitely a reason to be especially thankful.

And if you haven't seen enough photos of the weekend, check out Julie's blog of the family fun.