Christmas Day

Our Christmas morning was lots of excitement.  We all wore hats, which my mother-in-law loves, and the rest of us secretly do too.

Papi looks like a king here.

Wellie was Santa's elf.  She was passing out gifts willy nilly!  

Genevieve got tons of Frozen gifts from Wellie, Aunt Rose, Uncle Paul, and Trinity's cousin, Dina.  

She received a flouncy skirt, an Elsa doll, an Olaf watch and a necklace with Anna and Elsa on it.  She was in heaven.  

Papi and Abby came through with a karaoke machine.  Abby and G sang a duet of Islands in the Stream.  

I kid.

Abby and Papi also gave her a sled.  I'm hoping we don't have 8 snow days like we did last year.  

That was miserable!

Shirley received a makeover.

That evening I attempted to get some family photos.  These are just too hilarious to keep to myself.  

Trinity is cackling here.

This one is my favorite.  We tried to coax her back in the picture and BOOM!

There she is, front and center!

We were so sad to leave everyone the day after Christmas.  

It was a very special Christmas with our sweet Wellie.

We left with an overloaded car and lots of precious memories!

Christmas 2014 Christmas Eve

Our merry little trio arrived at Trinity's parents' house on Tuesday afternoon.

Papi and Genevieve got to work right away playing with Minnie Mouse gear.  

We were thrilled that Wellie was there.  Wellie is Trinity's grandmother and she is 91 years old and sharp as a tack!

Amazing!

G wore a sweater vest that Wellie had made for her on Christmas Eve morning.  

This is what she did when I tried to get a picture of her.

Wellie can fit in my pocket.

She's about 4'9" tall.

Genevieve and Wellie got a lot of use out of G's Doc McStuffins doctor kit.  

Everyone has fully functioning hearts, throats and ears.  

We watched White Christmas, my all-time favorite Christmas movie.

I clearly didn't wash my hair for the occasion.

Abby, Papi, and Aunt Shirley led the way with making sugar cookies.  

We had a big ham dinner and then it was time for G to put on her "not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse" jammy tails.  

This is her new smile!

It was a great Christmas Eve.

Santa Lunch

Genevieve went home on Saturday morning for an overnight visit with YaYa and Bob.

She was more than happy to go.  

Megan and Kate came into town for the afternoon and night.  We spent a lot of time sitting on the couch laughing about our IU days in the late 90s.  

Miss Kate is prego and has the tiniest little bump.

She finds out if she's having a boy or girl this week.

So exciting!

On Sunday afternoon we met my parents and Robby and Meghan at the Columbia Club for lunch with Santa.  

That place holds so many glorious memories for us.  

What a difference 4 1/2 years makes! 

G wasn't so sure about the big guy.  

She agreed to a high five and told him her list from a distance.

She wants a star and Jesus.

Yes, she said that.  

We'll be getting out our nativity pronto.  

The whole family got in on the fun.

Santa offered his knee to Megan.

She declined. 

It was awesome.  

Princess Tea

Genevieve attended her second princess tea party last weekend.

This time she had a dress!

I had some lovely virus and could not get out of bed.  My precious husband agreed to take her to the tea himself.  My friends Tara and Jenny rescued him from that duty, and G happily skipped in without her father.  

Margo, Lydia, G, and Ava loved Olaf.  

Genevieve loved it!

Christmas at the Zoo

We came back to Indianapolis on Saturday afternoon with big plans to attend Christmas at the Zoo that evening.  We met Uncle Robby and Aunt Meghan, along with Jamie, Liam, and Charlotte.

Tim was saving lives at the fire station.

Charlotte took G's hand and expertly led her around the zoo.  

We started with the Oceans.

This octopus was the perfect backdrop, but Genevieve was uninterested.

I was beyond thrilled because I got my nuts and cider.  They were selling my favorite Bavarian nuts.  They also were selling a "cup 'o cheer" for $7.99.

I signed right up.

I was hoping for some mulled whisky cider, but I ended up with hot apple cider in a souvenir cup.

And free refills all night with your receipt.

 I clutched that receipt and filled up again on overpriced cider before leaving.

I won't be cheated! 

The kids loved the orangutans, and I treated my companions to my impression of Oprah announcing her guests throughout  the entire exhibit.

You know the voice.

"It's the ORANGUTAN!!!!!" 

Liam was all about the desert area, which I often confuse with the dessert area.

Robeghan just hung out and enjoyed the desert sunset on a wild Saturday night.

The only shot of super chic Jamie was this one of her riding the carousel in some snazzy boots.

We rocked the zoo from 4:45-6:45.

The secret was going early, since it gets dark at like noon anyway. This is just another reason to love Indianapolis.