He Who Shall Not Be Named, Etc.

Eliza Grace's big ticket Christmas gift was the Lego Harry Potter Hogwarts kit. I thought Will's motorized AT-AT Walker was a big kit, but Hogwarts had even more pieces and three really thick building books.
Eliza Grace announced that she was going to build the entire kit all by herself and that no one was to help her. Fine by me!

It took her a little over a week, mostly because she worked on it for hours at a time for several days, then got burned out and took a couple days off. Don't blame her one bit.
This thing has some serious detail. Moving stairs. Revolving platforms. Sliding doors. Even a chicken for the table in the dining hall.

Boo Slytherin. Yeah Gryffindor!
Watch out Harry and Filch, there's a Dementor on the roof!

{Spoken in pretentious British school girl accent} "It's in your blood, Harry. See? Your father was a seeker, too!"

This particular kit is especially popular because of the large amount of mini-figures that come with it.
The Hogwarts staff.
Hermione, Harry and Ron.
Wait a minute. Did you notice something strange about Ron?

Oh that's right. One of the biggest complaints about this kit is that it does not include Ron. Never fear, Obi Wan Kenobi's body and Luke Skywalker's head (and some other dude's hair) with red paper taped on top will do the trick!
The kit also does not include that certain white-haired boy that we all love to hate. This time a Star Wars Clone body with Luke Skywalker's hair brings the infamous Draco Malfoy to life.
Look at him just standing there with Filch and, wait, who is that? It's Val...I mean, He who shall not be named!
Eeewww. Does he have green lips?
Watch out Harry! Hop on that Nimbus 2000 and get out of there!
Continuing in the Harry Potter vein, Eliza Grace and I have been working on her Harry Potter-themed cake for her 9th birthday celebration this weekend. If you want to know how to make a golden snitch out of fondant and edible sparkly dust, lemme know!

The Post-Christmas...Er...Post

A few sights and sounds to wrap up our Christmas holiday.

What a blessing it is for my children to have their Grandmother read them "Twas the night before Christmas" on the night before Christmas!

Sleepy heads eying what is under the tree!

Midday was spent playing Raving Rabbids Wii and
Littlest Pet Shop DS in their new ergonomic game chairs

Here's a little live action of Christmas morning.
Admittedly, this video is fairly Lego AT-AT Walker heavy

Although we did not see any real snow during the daylight hours, overnight provided a big, fluffy blanket to play in on Sunday.

I would say we got somewhere between 6 to 8 inches by midday on Sunday.
And now I begin my annual post-Christmas clean and organize phase. The clutter is already getting to me and no amount of snow will keep me from getting out there to buy more storage tubs!

A Very Lego Christmas

Thanks to gifts from Aunt Michelle and family, we had a fun Christmas day putting together our first ever official Lego kits.

Eliza Grace and I put together her horse barn that had all kinds of intricate details. Will helped "supervise" Scott's assembly of the fire house and trucks, which were even more intricate. It was a wonderful way to spend time together in our jammies in our warm, cozy den on Christmas day. Couple that with our traditional Christmas morning sausage and egg casserole and it was a good as it gets!

On the 26th, a big chunk of my extended family came over to share a meal and watch the children open gifts. I took some nice pictures before everyone arrived, however, in the midst of the hustle and bustle and eating and chatting, I forgot to take pictures of the actual people, save one! The tables did look nice, but I would rather have had more pictures of my loved ones! I vow to do better next time.

The kids table

The grown-ups' tables

The one picture with all the ladies we did get!
L to R: me, Martha (Mom), Christina (niece), Kelly (sister), Ashley (niece), Heidi (sister), Dawn (sister). Eliza Grace, my baby, in the front.