Apple Fangirls

At our house, we have totally sold out to the dark side.  Years ago Damon started his career as a strictly PC guy, but after I got a Mac Mobile Laptop Lab in my classroom and a free iPod touch, we liked them so much that we jumped on the bandwagon and went full-Mac right down to our Apple TV.  A couple of days ago I snapped this shot of the girls having fun on their "iPhones."  

Following this picture, Stella told me, "I have the BEST PHONE EVER!"

The Family Christmas Party

One of the big events we look forward to all year long is our annual family Christmas party with the Cline bunch.  We revived this tradition the first year that we had our house, so it has been going strong for 7 years now!  Aunt Ruby graciously volunteered to host the soiree this year, and we all really enjoyed being in her lovely home.  From the way the kids were eyeballing the pool, I think that most of them were wishing our summer gathering could be at Aunt Ruby's house as well.  Speaking of kids, here are three of our favorites: Madison, Benjamin, and Grace...  

Stella was eager to get a peek at Reid...

What a good looking couple! Wish we got to see more of these pretty faces...

Shannon's guest regaled Damon with tales of his son's exploits as a professional competitive eater.  I think Damon has a new life goal now and it involves Nathan's hot dogs...

Cille found this green pillow and claimed it as her own...

Looks comfy...

Every year Jeremy reads the Christmas story for the family.  The level of difficulty goes up each year, but this time he proved that he is a man who can multi-task.  When Cille wondered over and stuck her nose in the Bible, Jeremy just scooped her up and kept reading...

Benjamin was chagrined by my gift of batteries.  Turns out I had accidentally left the toy that the batteries went in at my in-law's house.  Oops!  Thankfully Pawpaw went back and got it for me.  Cille was just fascinated by everything Benjamin did...

She even ended up opening a couple of his presents for him...(Sorry, Benjamin!)

The latest addition to our family: Mrs. Potato Head!  Mr. Potato Head doesn't have to be lonely anymore!

Stella was thrilled with her magic reindeer food...

Another good looking couple...(They are the ones responsible for those pretty girl cousins Damon has!)

Cille had a tendency to be underfoot during the party and she pouted a little after she got tripped over...

But all she needed was some snuggling from Madison to turn that frown upside down...

Shoes!  Cille's favorite!

She didn't want to waste any time trying them on!

Chad, Alaina, Reid, and possibly the most appropriate bib ever for this bunch...

I love how this picture makes Cille look so gentle and interested in her baby cousin.  She was actually just trying to steal his noonie...

Our two newest family members had people lining up to love on them...

As you can see, Stella had a great time playing with Anna...

Cille was in hog heaven with all the attention the big kids gave her...

All the excitement had the twins "Tucker"-ed out...

Cille loved cuddling with Kelly...

...even though she refused to look at the camera for me...

As the evening wore on, even Stella got a little sleepy...

But Uncle Chad helped her perk up...

Madison found the way to Cille's heart...through an iPhone!

Benjamin was trying to take Cille's picture but instead of posing all she would do was yell for him to give her back the iPod...

Our whole family had a wonderful time hanging out and celebrating the birth of our Savior.  Can't wait to see you all at the crawfish boil!

Stella's Christmas Program and Party

Last Friday Stella had her Christmas program at school.  Things looked promising as the program began...

But quickly went south when the kids playing Mary and Joseph entered the room.  To choose the actress from Stella's class who would play Mary, the teacher drew a name out of a hat.  Stella did not agree with the casting decision, to say the least.  About a week before the program, she began telling her daddy and me that we needed to tell her teachers that she needed to be Mary because she was a good actress.  We tried to explain to her that everyone needs a chance to be the star, but apparently we had not gotten this point across by program day because she dissolved into tears at the sight of Mary and ended up sitting in her teacher's lap and sobbing for that entire portion of the program...

She did bounce back at the end and sang the Santa songs beautifully, but since she never went back to her seat it was hard to get a good picture of her.  After some birthday cake for Jesus in her classroom she was all smiles...

I think she was telling Damon how upset she was over the Mary thing in this one...

She got to decorate a Christmas tree (ice cream cone) with yummy treats...

Her BF Molly sat next to her...

I love this one.  It pretty much sums up Stella's personality at this stage of life...

This is Stella's friend Jacques decorating his tree.  I think he did a fantastic job, don't you?

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours! 

Celebration in the Oaks

It just doesn't feel like Christmas until our family does the annual Celebration in the Oaks Race at City Park.  Unfortunately, this year Cille was under doctor's orders not to attend the race.  She was recovering from an ear infection and having tubes put in and her adenoids taken out on Monday, so the doctor thought hanging out in the cold weather was probably not in her best interest.  Geeze.  Then Friday night while Tripp and Aunt Sarah were having their weekly sleepover and Daddy was taking the first shift, I received an early Christmas present from one of my students: a stomach virus!  Whoo-hoo!  That, and the fact that we couldn't find a sitter, pretty much sealed the deal that I would be the one to stay home with poor Cille.  

But, I digress.  Back to the race.  It would not be a true Celebration in the Oaks if the Pourciaus were not A) late, and B) in possession of an exhausted child.  As you can see from this picture of Stella, we accomplished B, and most of our friends can testify that we also checked A off the list again this year...

Since it was going to be a bit nippy, I made sure to send plenty of warm clothing for my Stell-Bell...

I am sorry that your eyes are closed, Damon, but I love this picture of our sweet monkey...

That girl loves her daddy!

Again, Damon, I apologize but this kid is precious!

Part of our tradition is the group riding of the carousel...

Skyler was really excited that he would actually get to see the lights this year...

Our carousel action pics all turned out a little blurry, but you get the point.  Our buddy Cohen and his family were there...

Along with our friend Mattie Ann and her family...

Stella helped entertain Skyler by playing patty cake with him...

From the look on his face I think he was enjoying it...

Aren't they sweet?

Later Stella and Mattie Ann got fresh with the three little piggies in Story Land...

Pawpaw helped them explore the belly of the whale...

Not sure what they're looking at, but it must have been amazing...

Two little pink princesses ready for the ball...

She's king of the world!

Lyons decided the pirate ship was a cool place to pose with the ladies...

Looking for mermaids...

Squashing the life out of Snow White...

After Story Land, it was time for some rides...

Pawpaw won the first race, but Stella demanded a rematch...

Practicing driving on the wrong side in preparation for our next trip to the UK...

It's more fun on the right!

I don't know about you, but to me it looks like Daddy was making Stella do all the work...

Finally, as the finale of this post and your reward for looking through all my pictures and perhaps chuckling at one or two of my dorky jokes, our annual Celebration in the Oaks Santa-less Group Photo.  If you check our old Celebration in the Oaks blogs, here, here and here, you will see that our group grows a little every year.  The first year we had 10 people, including Stella as the only child.  The next year the photo mysteriously didn't make it to the blog, so I have no idea.  Then last year we had 17 people in the photo, including 3 kids, and one stowaway (Skyler-so there were technically 18 people in the photo.)  This year we had a whopping 20 people in the photo, including 6 kids, and one stowaway Rane-drop (technically bringing us to 21!).  Plus, just check out this photo...everyone looks great!  Romaguera Photography really outdid themselves on this one, even if my buddy Ralph was not the one behind the camera this year.  I do have a couple of complaints about this photo, which I will voice now, but which were in no way under the control of the photographer.  First of all, Matt?  Where ya at, dude?  And your sister too!  We expect you both to wait for the group photo before heading to dinner next year.  Also, Jamie...don't be a skipper!  Katie's dad was also present but ducked out on the group photo, so I will let Katie deal with that one.  And there are also two special representatives of the Roussel-Zeringue clan that I was expecting to see in the photo and missed.  Mrs. Paula...I know you are an occasional reader, so tell Skyler's Pawpaw to get ready for his close-up next year!

Hopefully we will be able to add myself and Cille to the photo, plus all our missing folks, and that sweet Baby Raney will make his/her outdoor debut in next year's photo.  I have to go now so I can text Ralph and tell him to get a bigger backdrop...