Merry Skylanders Christmas

 All this little boy REALLY wanted for Christmas was the video game Skylanders Swapforce.  Santa bought it back in October when it came out and it has been hiding in my closet at school every since.

 To play the game properly new video chairs wer a must.

Here's what the rest of Christmas break is going to look like.  JD playing his new game sitting in his new chair.

Trail of Lights

 After several years of being AWOL the trail of lights is BACK!!  We tried a new strategy this year and got our parking pass online early.  We were there before dark to enjoy the Christmas tree and beat the crowd.

 Once it was completely dark we started our hike down the trail.  The entrance is my favorite part.

 Lots of the displays have been around for YEARS - some probably since I was a kid when you used to drive through the trail of lights.

 There was a spot for you to take a picture with the Austin skyline in the background.  JD can't just stand in a picture and smile he has to make a silly pose.

 I liked this display sponsored by our favorite Mexican restaurant.  If you aren't from Texas you may not be familiar with the Jackalope.  It is in the same species of animal as the unicorn - pretend.

Being Austin, you have to have a free speech zone.  JD stood in front of this sign and started, "I have a dream . . ."  It was a proud moment for his social studies teacher mother!

Memphis and More

 Our family went to see the musical Memphis.  YEA - JD is standing in front of the M in the sign.

 After two "fancy" events (his school class went to see the Nutcracker) JD said he wanted a suit.  We went to the mall and tried on this suit coat.  I took a look at the price tag and told him little boys don't need suits.  He did look handsome though - so I'll do some shopping and see what I can find for him.

At our last cub scout meeting of 2013 the boys tied knots.  I'm really not sure why boys need to learn this skill but it is a long standing boy scout tradition and who I am I to question that?

Christmas Traditions

It's time to bring out our December traditions.  JD still loves the Elf on the shelf.  Every night it reports to Santa and then returns to our house in a new location.  Dad helps him with this since JD and I go to bed way to early to monitor where our Elf is going.  The Elf has found himself in some interesting locations.

The Lego advent calendar is fun.  Every day you open a door and build another part of this Lego city scene.  By Christmas it turns into a regular village.

We decorated a Gingerbread house which was fun -- BUT -- not as fun as watching Gumball figure out that the house was edible.  She quickly removed some of the decorations.

Next, with a little help she discovered that the roof tiles were actually yummy cereal and that plucking them off and throwing them on the table was great bird fun.

Santa says, "HELP, a giant bird is biting me."

 

 

 

The Patience of Gumball

It is easy to see why Gumball is JD's best friend.  She is the only one who will sit and watch him play video games.

No Bullies

JD had a speaking role in the 3rd grade play - No Bullies.  He did a great job and had fun working on his lines.

Thanksgiving Visits

We were very happy to have the Ridings come visit us over Thanksgiving.  JD was especially happy to play with Uncle Keith.

 We visited an arcade where Uncle Keith was patient enough to play to the very end of the shooting Giant bugs game.  I never get past round one!

 We went to the Wildflower Center with Nina. 

The Wildflower center is always fun but this time we had a plant expert along.  JD and Aunt Nina inspected things closely.