Christmas (and other December stuff) in August?

Summer is almost over! I am sure it just started. That's what happens when your semester goes until late July. I was going to get all caught up...not because anyone reads this anymore but because last year was such a whirlwind that if I don't document something somewhere then it might be entirely erased from history. The good news is that fall semester will be my LAST, and then I will FINALLY have my Bachelor's Degree. It's funny, people keep telling me how impressed they are that I did this and how fast I got it done. I have to keep reminding them that I started college 22 years ago. So yeah, definitely not fast and not that impressive really, but hugely exciting for me.

As for catching up, I am just going to go through my camera(s) and whatever is on them gets dumped here, and everything else gets washed out into the abyss. To be honest, I can barely remember the events that have photographic evidence.

Let's go back to December....

We celebrated our 15th anniversary! Dan got us a room at his hotel and took the kids for the night (thanks!). We went to an Improv Comedy Show and to Morton's for dinner. Yum! Our menu was personalized and they took a picture of us and then framed it and put it on our table. It was finals week, so my eyes look very tired, but it was nice to have a night out. Photobucket is being stubborn so I guess that picture will have to stay sideways.


Decorating the tree. Alyssa's hair is in her Winter Show bun so I guess that means we did not accomplish this task until December 20th. I am pretty sure Christmas was all thrown together in less than a week.
 
We like to send all the girls on the team something in the locker room so they can carry it out for the finale. Alyssa and I made candy sleighs and attached them to balloons.

 
Back to decorating. Here are this year's ornaments.





Christmas Church clothes. Pretty sure Alex didn't get anything new. Actually, nobody did now that I think of it, but I took a picture of them on Christmas Sunday anyway.





Christmas Eve chowder by candlelight.
 
Christmas Cookies




 
Christmas jammies...which were all sold out by the time I got around to looking (on Christmas Eve). We found some for Chloe, but I had to improvise for the other two. 

 
And Packers jams for us as well. 
 
Christmas Eve overnight lights
 

Here's what "Santa" did while the kids were sleeping.





 

Now let's add some people to those presents.












A few days later....we had a birthday to celebrate. Yes, it is lame to lump Chloe's birthday in with the Christmas post but she had a fun half birthday party this summer to make up for it so I don't feel as bad as I have in years past.

After Christmas she said she got everything she wanted, except that she kind of wanted another American Girl doll. That is the upside of having a post-Christmas birthday...you can immediately let your parents know what you wish you'd gotten. Seth went down to Chicago the day after Christmas to get a new doll. One of the Chicago Bears had rented out the place to shop with his kid, but Seth eventually got in and got the goods. We put something else in the AG bag, because we are mean. She was happy with the other stuff she got...
'
 
But even more excited that when she walked around the corner and saw this...


 

 
I always love when I see her big sis playing with her. 
 
I am guessing we also took her out to dinner or got a cake or something, but again, I honestly can't remember. I usually don't forget much, but as I look at these pictures I realize to what extent I was on autopilot last year.