Catching Up December: Random Events & iPhone Photos

Anyone that knows me, knows that I usually have my iPhone nearby. And while it doesn't take the best pictures, it is nice to have it as backup camera in those times when I would like to take a picture or two but don't have my "big camera". It is always fun to download the photos from my phone and see what is there. Here are a few of the random things that we did between going to The Great Wolf Lodge and my family's Christmas this December:

It is fun to have my sister and her family live so close by. While we don't see each other as often as some might think we would, we are able to be a part of each other's lives in a way that is unique because we live close enough to make that happen. I was glad that I was able to join their family and my parents for Claire's first Christmas program at her preschool this month. She was so cute on stage in her beautiful Christmas dress!

I have an aunt & uncle that live in a nearby town. We don't see them much, but each time that we do go visit, I think. "We should come over here more often!" Well, this month my grandparents have been staying with them, so one day my kids & I and Emily & her kids made the trip over to their part of town. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting with all of them, and I cannot say how much I love spending time with my grandparents! I wish that they were closer all the time!

For the last couple of months, Jack and Corey have spent a lot of time hunting on the weekends. Usually, Corey handles his own grocery shopping for these weekend trips, but before one weekend he asked me to go to the store for him. I asked Jack if he would like to go with me, and he said he wanted to go if he could get his own groceries. (Independence, anyone) I was a bit nervous to let him shop on his own, but I decided this was a good step in his growing-up process. I broke up the list (his part & mine), got him a little cart of his own, and let him loose. Of course, I had me mama eagle-eyes on him the whole time. He was so cute shopping on his own... and so proud of himself too!

One weekend in December while the guys were hunting, I was on Facebook and a friend posted that she had 3 tickets to see The Rockettes that she was giving away. I quickly replied that we would love to have them. That night, I swapped Cooper for Allie's friend Katie, and Allie, Katie, & I went to see the famous Rockette dancers. It was such a great show. Evidently, there was an "absolutely no photography" rule as opposed to the "no flash photography" rule that usually applies in these type of places, and as soon as I took this one photo of The Rockettes with my phone, an usher was in my face letting me know that that was not allowed. Too bad... I'd love to have had more photos of this special night! One of the most special things about the show was the Nativity that was at the end of it. Amazingly, it was a large, impressive production complete with animals... about Jesus!!! Way to go Rockettes! Thank you for including the true reason that we celebrate Christmas in your show.

As school was slowing down for us, we also had the opportunity to have two little guests come over and play. Our busy homeschool days don't usually allow for a lot of babysitting, but this month we got to watch Claire once during Jacob's doctor appointment and Jacob once during Claire's Fancy Nancy party. Both days, we had a lot of fun playing with the cousins one-on-one.