Where did the time go....?

I can't believe the year is almost over and I've not blogged in almost 2 months. Bad Emily, bad Emily. So, I guess I'll just have to do a quick wrapup for the past couple.

Thanksgiving: We stayed close to home and had dinner at D&M's house. Very easy since all we had to bring were a salad and a veggie tray! And I didn't have to clean our place! Another great perk. Guess the only negative is not having all those leftovers from all the food you cook. But we'll be okay with that.

Nutcracker 2006: Another year, another great show! The production was awesome, and Samantha had a blast with her two parts (fairy and Arabian). She was very sad the night the production closed but then, she's always bummed when Nutcracker ends. Cindy and I did our jobs as co-House Managers and for the most part, I'd say things went well. Our biggest challenge was decorating the lobby (and un-decorating). Everyone was warning us that in years past, decorating continues on into the wee hours (starting around 5:30 and ending around 9-10 pm), and is sometimes worse on the un-decorating night since folks "forget" to come, etc. Ick, that didn't sound too great.

So we recruited our little tushies off and got as many volunteers as we could. The results? The place looked awesome and we got done in just 2 hours (releasing most of our volunteers at 7:30 pm)!! On the night of the teardown, we started at 4:30 and were done by 5:30! Now, that's gotta be some kinda record. And the added bonus? Cindy and I got to watch all or some of every performance. It was great to watch our kids more than the one night that we purchased tickets for.

And the photos that were taken of the dancers turned out great! We purchased packages of Samantha alone, plus split a combo package of her with Cassie (Cindy's DD and fellow Arabian), and another with Cassie and her bro, Sean (each of them wearing different costumes). These are also the photos that get used on the annual poster so Samantha will be on there several times.

Holiday parties: We've had a handful of them this year. Between our company luncheon, my office party, two parties at friends' homes (bring a favorite appetizer), and dinner with two families who are very dear to us, we definitely got to "eat, drink, and be merry".

The last party was fun since it allowed us to have a nice dinner out (Red Lobster), then over to our home for desserts and gift exchanging. We had a fun one for the kids. Cindy had an idea to give a gift certificate to a local salon for kids (you know...hair, nails, makeup for girly girls). So Lana and I spun off from that. We did a package thing. We gave them a "Day of Pampering". First, the moms and girls will go out for lunch (location TBD). Then we'll head to the mall where each girl gets to buy a new outfit (gift courtesy of Lana's family). Then over to get their hair/nails done (Cindy's family gift). Then to dinner at Applebee's with their dads as escorts (gift cards for dinner is our gift), followed by a movie.

Similarly for the boys, we are taking them to lunch at Chuck E Cheese (and game tokens, of course), followed by a couple of games of laser tag. They thought this was a waaaay-cool gift! It's always great to see that you've given someone the perfect gift.

Oh....gotta run! Someone's calling my name....