My Merry Weekend Montage

Cutting Down the Christmas Tree...

On Saturday afternoon we drove out to the Pine Tree barn to cut down Christmas Tree 2010. 

Here we are about to board the horse drawn wagon out to where the Christmas trees are...notice Nolan in the background grinning because he has the saw!

One of Macy's favorite modes of transport.

We haven't even found a tree and Nina is over it.  She is cold and wants to go back to the barn.  At this point we've been looking for a tree for about 97 seconds.

Can you image how strange she thinks we are... hunting for a tree to cut down and drag into the house?

Dad finally finds the perfect tree.

A photo op before we chop her down!  It's pretty big, Aidan is 6'2".

Nolan goes in for the kill!

Now it's Aidan's turn (because in his opinion Nolan was too slow)

The girls just watch the men work and huddle to stay warm.

Dad steps in to get the job done.

Dad and Nolan haul away the prize tree.

A little hot chocolate while we wait for dad to load up the tree.

And a hot dog too...cutting trees works up an appetite.

Macy watches "our" horses going by.

My pretty in pink girls waiting for our tree to be shaken and tied.

The Nutcracker...Ballet Theater of Ohio...

Later that night Dart and I took the girls to see the Nutcracker, which they insisted on calling the Cracker Jack. I love ballet with little kids because they can follow the story so well.  It is like a picture book-no words.

Macy in the lobby of the Akron Civic Theater, her first time at the theater.

Nina pushing for us to hurry up and get to our seats.

She was studying her program so intently I wondered if she learned to read and didn't tell me.

Here she is star struck....literally.  The ceiling of the theater is filled with twinkling lights that look like stars in the night sky.  It is really quite beautiful and Nina was in awe.  I just adore her expression here.

We headed up the stairs during intermission for a special surprise.

Santa Claus!!!  Macy eagerly climbed on his lap and asked for make up.  Nina was timid and would only speak after getting off his lap and crawling into my arms.  She told him "I want a dolly".

Macy and Nina pose with the Ice Princess (not sure that they realized she is one of their ballet teachers). They ran to one "princess" after another having each sign their programs also known as the "cracker jack book". 

Right on Cue, Here Comes the Snow...

After a wonderful performance we left the theater and walked out to a winter wonderland.  

My Siberian princess couldn't be happier.  She loves the snow and giggled with delight the entire walk back to the car.

What is more kid-tastic than catching snow flakes on your tongue?

Macy enjoyed the frosty flakes too.  (Later that night she said, "Mama I don't have snow in China".)

I just love this picture of daddy and his little ladies.

 And Finally the Decorated Tree...

On Sunday afternoon we decorated the tree.  I put up several trees every year but this one is always my favorite.  It is the family tree (the one Santa visits) and every ornament on it has special meaning. Decorating this tree is an annual trip down memory lane.

A perfect fit in the room...Yup Dad picked the right one!

Ornaments include; macaroni picture frames, my baby shoes, ornaments marking our first Christmas together, each child's first Christmas, each country we have visited and of course China and Kazakhstan are well represented.

And just had to share the newest nutcracker added to my collection...really how could I resist this one?