[kml_flashembed publishmethod="static" fversion="8.0.0" movie="http://www.curbyalexander.net/family/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/my_gallery.swf" width="640" height="480" targetclass="flashmovie"]

[/kml_flashembed]

As you can see from the photos, the boys have really been enjoying the Christmas season this year. We started things off with their Christmas program at school, which was very cute, but it ended kind of quickly. It took us about 20 minutes to get the boys dressed and slicked back, 10 minutes to get there, and the program was about 15 minutes. When I consider the alternative, I am grateful for a short program.

The next big activity was the boys' Christmas party at school. They got to have pizza for lunch, which is something they don't eat very often. By the time I got to the school, they had already eaten two pieces each, and Nate was on his third. After they ate, the class worked on making a craft with pipe cleaners and beads. Sam and Nate each made a candy cane ornament, which they promptly put on the tree when they got home. Their favorite part of the party was when they got to decorate their own cookie with frosting and other goodies. It was a lot of fun watching them put their cookie together then eat it. I was hoping they would ask the parents to join in, but I just got to watch this one.

The next day, the boys wore their PJ's to school because they were going to be watching The Polar Express. They were sick last year and missed this activity, so  they were looking forward to seeing this movie at school this year. I have to confess, we own this movie and they have seen it about a dozen times. But there is something special about watching it at school with all of your friends and wearing PJ's.

Today, we decided to take a trip to Sundance Square in downtown Fort Worth to see Santa. We had heard he took a break from his work to visit some children in Texas, and we wanted to see him before he had to head back to the North Pole to finish all of the toys. Sam and Nate took a few pictures with old Saint Nick, then he asked them what they wanted to for Christmas. Their answer is always the same: a blue SUV. I hope Santa was taking notes because the boys are pretty serious about this one. One funny thing I noticed about this Santa is that he had a Texas accent. Never knew that about the old guy. After we visited Santa, we went to a pizza place for dinner. We took one last look at the lights then headed home.

I know we will have a lot more memories before this holiday season is over, but things are off to a good start.