Sunday, January 11, 2009

The Story of a McBrayer Christmas (Part VI..looked it up)

Chapter 6: Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house we go!

Ahh....the cool, fresh air of the mountains! We arrived to Cloudcroft on a rather pleasant day with a high of 38 degrees! There was some remaining snow on the ground from the last storm, but we held out hope that a fresh blanket of white was soon on the way.....
We settled into the cabin and unpacked a few bags, then set to work putting up our "Charlie Brown" tree. This pathetic little tree has been in the family for many years now. It is a real hassle to go out and get fresh-cut tree, decorate it, and be forced to take it down and dispose of it a week later, so we just use our skinny, little artificial "Charlie". Grandma and Paw-Paw have their real tree up at their house, of course, but those who dwell in our cabin are a wee-bit lazy......Each year, Aunt Mandy comes through for us and totes Charlie all the way from Roswell to Cloudcroft in her crammed car trunk. Grandma usually has some extra ornaments to add to it each year, and Aunt Rhona is usually in charge of making Charlie presentable (ha...what a pun). Sadly, Aunt Rhona (Seester) was not here this year (sniff, sniff), so Kaelan and mom did our best to make-over Charlie.
From the moment we landed on Planet Home........the action began! Relatives came out of the wood, er...woods! Cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, friends.........home.


Kaelan gets love from Maw (Great Grandmother).



The games.....Kaelan just loves playing good old fashioned board games with her cousins an aunts....while the dudes go down in the basement and play Wii.

COUSINS


Cold...playground fun. Gavin and Kaelan
Izi, Taylor and Kaelan Izi and Kaelan (quick, get a picture...they are not fighting)



Lexi and Kaelan Snowy walk (Izi and K)

On Christmas morning, it is pretty much standard behavior to wear your pajamas until later that night when we eat Christmas dinner.....here are a few of us keeping the tradition alive!

Unlce Jeb, Aunt Alex, Sandra and Kaelan


I scored the best present of all....

...wouldn't you agree?




Friday, January 9, 2009

More hits


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

The Story of a McBrayer Christmas (Part V...that is right, I know that one)

Chapter 5: Kaelan sings The Great Hits of Christmas (over and over and over.....)
We will now take a musical intermission.....we had to endure the constant singing of Christmas carols over the last few months. We love to hear our little one singing, but there are only so many renditions of "Frosty" a person can tolerate before going insane. We just had to share some of our Christmas "joy" with you!
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Monday, January 5, 2009

The Story of a McBrayer Christmas (Part III)

Chapter 3: While Visions of Sugar Plums Danced in Our Heads....

December was a month to shine for our little performer. Kaelan was a sugarplum fairy in a small production of "The Nutcracker" undertaken by the cutest bunch of Kinderdancers you ever saw. The night she performed for the Main Street crowd in Round Rock, she spent the majority of the performance dancing with her shadow....much to the delight of the audience.


And yes......that is Kaelan you hear above all other angelic voices in the school program!

This chapter is best summed up in a montage......

The Story of a McBrayer Christmas

Chapter 2: In Preparation of the Big Day...
Our neighborhood had a little shindig in early December to set the mood for the holidays. Even with his hectic schedule and BIG to do list, Santa was able to stop by for a visit (mom knows how to pull some strings). Here, Kaelan is seen practicing her "fierce" look for her next magazine cover. Santa looked a little puzzled when she whispered her Christmas wish of being America's Next Top Model.....can't carry that in a bag over your shoulder!
Kaelan's inability to focus long enough for a family photo was due to the enormous batch of free cookies on the table just out of camera sight.......I think you can see the reflection of "cookie heaven" in Kaelan's eyes!
"Scott Songs", our neighborhood musician, did a fabulous job leading the "Pioneer Crossing All Girls Choir" in a resounding round of Christmas tunes.....until a nasty fight broke out over who got to hold the jingle bells. Then it was pretty much just Scott singing.

The Story of a McBrayer Christmas

Chapter 1: Christmas Starts With a Little Bit of This....



The advent calendar....oh the joys of opening it up each night to find a special little treat awaiting us as we count down the days to Christmas.....that is except for that one night (that evil 9th day) when "Santa's elves" inadvertently forgot to place the special treat inside the compartment. You would think the earth had fallen off the end of the universe with the shocking reaction Kaelan gave....but no worries....a bowl of blueberries and vanilla bean ice cream saved the day......someone better get on those elves!



Nothing says Christmas like a viewing of "Polar Express" with your best bud on an overstuffed beanbag..........
Our tree....adorned with only old-fashioned, handmade ornaments.....
....or the ones on sale at Cracker Barrel.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

HAPPY NEW YEAR!


May God's favor be over you and your families in 2009!