Christmastime!

As I was formulating this post in my mind, I realized that I write a lot of lists on this blog. I write down lists of things I accomplished, lists of things that I want to accomplish, lists of awesome things that I like, etc. Huh. I guess that's indicative of my personality. What can I say? I like lists and organization. And I suppose I measure the passing of my life through lists and accomplishments. In some ways, I guess my life is one big "To Do" list.

That being said, gear yourselves up for a list of the things that our little family has done this holiday season. Although we didn't feed reindeer or go to a Messiah sing-in this year, we still got to do a lot of fun things. And I think that we are finally ready for Christmas to come.

We kicked off our Christmas festivities this year at the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI). We watched the Christmas ship parade outside the museum with our friends Meka and John. It was at this event that Sam got to meet Santa Claus (and where Sam also learned the non-committal response that the "mall Santa Claus" figures give to little children who ask for specific toys: "Well, I'll see what I can do!").

We went to Snowflake Lane a few weeks ago. It was fun, although we were standing by a self-conscious high school drummer who seemed a little inhibited. The drummers across the street seemed much more energetic and lively. Sam especially liked getting a peppermint Tootsie Pop from one of the drum line helpers (he was eating it when I took this photo).

We have gotten to visit with dear friends. This picture was taken on our recent trip to Texas. We visited some art museums (including an art exhibition on Caravaggio) and also visited my dear friend Katie.

Sam had a great time playing with Katie's little girl, Haylie. I'm vying for an arranged marriage between these two, but that might not even be necessary. Love is in the air, don't you think?

Last week we went to the Garden d'Lights at a nearby botanical garden (which we have visited before). However, this is the first time that we have seen a smoking dragon in the Japanese garden. Sam was pretty excited about this new feature.

On Monday J and I got to see the Northwest Boychoir perform in Saint Mark's Cathedral. It was a fantastic concert, and the acoustics were great. I especially liked hearing the boy sopranos - what a clear, beautiful sound! You can see a video clip of their performance last year on YouTube.

We decorated a gingerbread house last night. My Grandma S mailed Sam a cute little gingerbread kit that includes characters from Rudolph the Reindeer. I especially love the gumdrop Abominable Snowman!

As you can see, we've gotten to do a lot of fun things. I also wrote a family Christmas newsletter this year (for the first time!). Sam has written his letter to Santa, too. Yesterday I even made treats for some of our neighbors: peanut butter blossoms (notice how the linked recipe says that the cookies are a "beginner" skill level) and my friend Kelly's amazing fudge.

I don't think that there's too much more to do, in terms of Christmas activities. (We have plenty of other things to do around here, but that's a story for another day.) The presents have been bought and our visiting family members will begin to arrive tomorrow. I think Christmas can officially arrive. Merry Christmas, friends and family!