december daily: I want a dog for Christmas Charlie Brown...

"You HAVE to give me a CHRISTMAS PRESENT! It says so in the BIBLE!!"
~Lucy

This is our new favorite Christmas movie this year.....or I should say it was.... Hunter is quite sick of this movie now as we have watched every night for 4 nights in a row. Tyler loves this movie...he laughs out loud each time he watches it and he quotes "Rerun". Rerun is the super smart little brother of Lucy & Linus. Tyler has also decided that he should learn to play Christmas carols on the piano (Just like Shroeder) and he has been asking a lot of questions about Beethoven...."Mom, did you see Beethoven play when you were a little girl?".

hurricane on the bayou....

The kids had no school last Friday, so we had the chance to go to the Imax to see this film. It was about Hurricane Katrina, but from the perspective of what happened to the wetlands and the wildlife when this hurricane lashed down on Louisianna. Tyler was fascinated by the impact on the crocodiles and how many croc babies were simply blown away by the hurricane.

the apple dumpling gang.

"If we meet again in that big roundup in the sky sometime, I'm gonna spread my blanket 'side of yours, just the same as always."

~Amos to Theodore in the Apple Dumpling Gang

Remember this movie? 1975. Walt Disney production. I remember watching it as a kid. We rented it recently for the kids and it was one of our best family movie nights ever. The kids thought it was hilarious. How could you not laugh at a pair up of these two men? The facial expressions and the eyes. Kids don't get that in the movies made today. Some of the movies produced for kids today don't even have a consistant plot . Take "Winn Dixie" for instance. Great book. Bad movie. But this was pure delight to watch for silly fun.

whales....

Happy 2007!!

Ron was back at work today and the kids and I had just finished breakfast when a friend called and asked if we would like to join them on a trip to the museum today. Her little boy and Tyler are good friends. So after my doctor's appt. and x-ray to deal with my sinus infection, we set off to meet them. We went to the Science Museum, which is not very far away. This museum houses many interesting science-based exhibits, and an Imax Theatre is part of the facilitites. So today we visited the Imax for the very first time to see "Whales". This was a beautiful documentary on whales shot off the coasts of Alaska, Hawaii and Newfoundland. Tyler loved it as he has a special interest in sharks, whales and all things related to the sea in general. Viewing the whales on the large screen was awesome as you could really feel their massive size and hear their beautiful "singing". As I was sitting beside Tyler in the darkened theatre, I kept looking at him in disbelief at how much he has grown since last Christmas. His little legs hang well over the edge of the seat. He doesn't want a booster seat in the theatre anymore. Then when I looked to the other side of me to see this girl who is almost as tall as me sitting there, I felt completely overwhelmed. How did she get to be 10 years old already? Our conversations are almost eye to eye now and that's scary, but scary in a good way. The average height of a female in Canada is 4'4" and if she reaches that, I will be so happy!

We enjoyed our trip today so much that we purchased a one year family pass, which includes half-price admission to Imax movies. It is so cool to live in a large city and be able to take advantage of some of this stuff. At home, the nearest Imax was over an hour's drive away, which is not easily accessible, when you consider road conditions, time, etc. Now we are only 15 min. drive from the Imax. It was a great day to get out of the house as we did not go anywhere yesterday.

elf.

Last night for a bit of spontaneous fun, we decorated our Christmas tree. Last year we went "artificial" and it is much easier to deal with, especially in terms of spontaneity. No picking and choosing, no thawing out, no vacuming needles. I never thought I would be an "artificial" type, but the trees you can buy now are so beautiful compared to years ago. Tyler entertained us with Christmas carols. Then we watched the movie "Elf" with Will Farrell. Sometimes, in our house, it is not so easy to find a movie that pleases both the 10 year old and the 5 year old, but this movie fits the bill. Great laughs all around-even from the adults. Will Ferrel is so silly in this roll. As a special treat, I made cinnamon buns for a bedtime snack. Tyler says that he loves "an old-fashioned Christmas!".

So Hunter & I went to the Symphony on Saturday night. It was their Christmas concert with a special guest conductor, an incredible jazz singer named Denzel Sinclair, two guest choirs and a dance troupe from the local school of performing arts. The performance hall was in the heart of the downtown, so we left plenty early to allow time to get lost and then find a parking spot. Well, we didn't get lost and found a magical parking spot right across the street from the Symphony venue, so we had a little time to walk around and enjoy the Christmas light displays in the downtown. It was a perfect night-not too cold and lots of hub-bub around. We went to Second Cup to enjoy a cuppa hot chocolate and then on to the concert. We even made it home in time for Ron to go to hockey in another part of the city. It was a wonderful evening.