A week of Christmas and Bryan's birthday

Each year... I get one of those cheesy personalized ornaments for both our tree and my parent's tree.

Here is our ornament this year... I think the date is clear?

As I took them off the tree... I grabbed a shot of them ALL.

Although it was missing 2 that had fallen off the tree (found them later)

Next year... These will get their OWN table-top tree.

Christmas, for us, started last Friday.... When we had dinner at our house with my brother, Richard and his wife, Patricia.

The food was our traditional steak/fries and lobster

Maybe you can catch a glimpse of our tree back there. It was the first year we had it in the den... Not the front room.

(yes... Paige was fresh out of a bath... Great cropping)

Our parents with Rich and Patricia. (shhh... She's got a bun in the oven)

Cutting dessert....

Gift giving time -- why he posed like that... Don't know but I love it.

She must really, really love him. He's my brother... I know.

Patricia's original gift (wrapped by the sales staff at NM) was SWITCHED at the store. It was supposed to be a robe... She got a purse)

My parents went back to NM the next day and straightened it out.

My mother was NOT HAPPY, but Rich made the best of it by 'opening' the x-box remote he grabbed on the table - and acted as happy to get it as Patricia was for the purse.

I was lucky enough to have off both Christmas eve and day, so we had good times with good people and great food!

Dinner at my Mom's house. Christmas eve..

Gotta love the place-cards (as if we couldn't just say... You sit here... And you sit there. )

My parent's home also has a photo wall... Such good grandma and grandpa!

Paige was ready to eat.

Time to open gifts... Hard to believe next year will have one more. (my brother's)

Ready... Set...

Go...

Still going...

Found these children's aprons at a local craft fair.

The biggest hit of the night were FURBY's - one for each kid

Paige woke up this... Christmas morning

Older girls got these....

Don't look over her shoulder... Aw, you looked!

Wade's big gift... Don't judge, ok, It was bought BEFORE the school shooting stuff.

Done!

Christmas dinner was at Bryan's brother's house... not too many pictures were taken. Sad... I'm usually better at the camera than this.

Bryan's mom... Christmas day... Piling candles on his cake.

Poor Bev... It's been her job for 43 years now.

But on his ACTUAL birthday (26th)... He belongs to us!!

Happy birthday, baby!

Wonder how (and where) we will be celebrating your NEXT one!!

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Our clogging team performed in Disney!!!

OMG... Such an exciting weekend it was!

The South Florida Cloggers took a road trip to Orlando....

(Downtown Disney to be exact)

Here's a quick recap, from my viewpoint anyway.

Even though the majority of our team stayed at a different hotel, my mini-group (Olivia and Meredith) and my next-door neighbors (Alison and her daughter, Jessica) went rogue and stayed up the street.

No photos of us getting ready... Which is good because it basically involved a lot of me wigging out.

We met the team at the Wyndham hotel (@3p) and the Countdown was on to our 5pm show time.

Me and Carmen (Briana's mother) waiting in the lobby as the group gathered.

Her daughter, Bri... And me. I love this child... Just as beautiful inside as out.

We all piled into assign groups to carpool to drive the short drive to Disney.

My personal car was loaded with the 4 kids from our street.

(Olivia, Meredith, Mia and Jessica)

The view from my seat... Yes... I was put to the backseat of my own car.

John / Becky were the leaders of the car-line. (we only had 2 traffic lights but keeping the group together was challenging)

Arriving at Disney Performing Arts headquarters...

Our mini-group (Arrowhead Davie) residents.

(Mia, Meredith, me, Jessica, Olivia... Getting read to practice)

One of MANY group shots. This was outside the practice area.

Shots like this is what happens when kids are left alone with the camera.

(no clue what Mia was going for... But she screamed it out, right?)

Final pep talk as we lined up...

The announcer for Disney (same guy that announces the Electrical parade, i think) announced our arrival and asked everyone to come to the arena area to watch.

That was when I knew this was going to be big.

Stacy (Mia's grandmother), Ellen (Jessica W. mom) and me. I gotta stop taking the self photos. My arm isn't long enough

Our view from the stage. It's only HALF the viewing area. It was packed!

Snapshots of us performing the first act... Our Elvis themed mix

Olivia, Skylar, Sunshine, Mia, Bri, Meredith, me, and Jessica W.

What the backstage area looked like. We had a costume change between 2 five minute performances.

Our second act,... Country mix.

the ending... Sha-zam!!

Afterwards.... We walked around Downtown Disney

Meredith's face when she realized we were not going to an actual park...

Actually... Adding a park would've been too much.

Lots of practice... Totally worth the experience. I don't think that the kids would've done as good if they had been nervous.

We perform SO much that I don't think any of us were nervous... The stage was slick, which equals falls... That made me nervous.

As FB pics pop up....I'll steal them and create an awesome post on the SouthFloridacloggers.blogspot.com

Visit you-tube to see the videos.... Just search SOUTH FLORIDA CLOGGERS &, hopefully, it'll pop up soon.

Thanks for looking!!

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