Memories from December

December was a very busy month this year.
It wasn't always busy-good, but nevertheless, there was always something happening.

First, the moms' Christmas party. I played the piano and helped the girls who were waitressing (I cleared one glass).

That's the table from the dinner they had. It was actually really pretty! I got to try the pecan pie and it was delicious!
Then, we had a busy Saturday. We don't have very many of those.

 We went to the farmers' market. Some of our friends were there. We had a good time. Even if it was sort of researching so we could think about the possibility of us setting up a stand to sell our artwork. I don't want to part with my art!

Then we drove to Gulf Breeze for Geoff's piano competition. He won. He was excited.
After that, we had a semi-boring week, with errands and school and stuff.Then we had our homeschool skating party. I didn't really skate, but I had a good time nevertheless!
I'm posting this picture even though I look awful in it (but then, so does everyone else) because I know you guys all understand. Plus, it best captures the essence of my skating party experience. Whoa! Something got messed up with the layout! Sorry! I can't help that the computer is stupid. :(


 Then, we went to Bellingrath Gardens with our homeschool group.
Out of about four hundred pictures, very few of them turned out the way I wanted them. Of course, I'm very picky about my art. (snooty artist face) After we went to Bellingrath, Dad got a call from my uncle that Grandpa was having some trouble speaking coherently. Grandpa told me later that, fortunately, he could still say, "Oh, forget it!" perfectly. Now you know where I get my sense of humor from! Grandpa is even joking around when he might have something wrong in his head!!! Anyway, Dad took off for Mississippi with Cameron and was gone all week.
Then we had our homeschool skating party. I didn't really skate, but I had a good time nevertheless!
I'm posting this picture even though I look awful in it (but then, so does everyone else) because I know you guys all understand. Plus, it best captures the essence of my skating party experience.
Then we had a crazy day at our homeschool co-op. Yes, it was crazy and I have pictures to prove it.

There are pictures of me, but let's just say that they might have involved chocolate frosting on my face and me laughing like a buffoon. And it was so bad that I will not even be sharing it with you. You know, I might need to make a new folder for my photos called "Bad pictures of me" to save time.
Then we had our SGA Christmas party, but I was working there and didn't get any photos. Sorry! I was decorated like a Christmas tree. I thought I would hate it, but it was fun. The price? I lost all of the small amount of dignity I had. Oh well. Egos heal.
That night we had rehearsal for our church's Christmas program. So I went. And I sang. And I went home. And I slept.
Then Dad and Cam came home.
The next day (Sunday) I went and I played the piano for Azalea Trace's church service.
That night was the Christmas program. I love singing in a choir, so I had a good time.
The next day, we all had vacation, so the whole family did some Christmas shopping. Mom and Dad gave all of the kids some Christmas money so we had all these places we wanted to go. We found this really neat store in Cordova Mall called Earthbound. It was full of all kinds of cool things. Everyone found something(s) they wanted. I got two necklaces, both of which are gorgeous. Then, we got another call from my uncle, but this time we found out that my great-grandma had died. She was eighty-something, I think. Dad and I ended up traveling up to Ohio on Tuesday. I ended up getting sick, which was no fun. Of course, going to a funeral is no fun, either. I had an interesting time meeting all of these relatives on the Stemen side. Let's just say some of them were a little strange. The night before we left, I had a good time playing pinball with some more relatives. I had never played on a pinball machine before, and I couldn't quite see all the way up it, so I had to stand on my tiptoes, and of course, everybody teased me for it. But they stopped laughing when I whipped them thoroughly. :) One of my dad's cousins is a bouncer in a bar, so he's a big, stocky guy. He didn't like that I was winning, so he started talking smack to me. But since I'm a big kid now, I smack talked right back--in your face! Anyway, I had a good time.
Then we went down to Mississippi for Christmas. We had a good time. We ate Burger King for our Christmas dinner. (It's OK, we made it up on New Year's Day)
We went shopping in MS, too, and I got some sunglasses, about three necklaces, and some other random stuff. I had a good time.
Then we came home and had a blast on New Year's Eve with our friends. The Air Hockey Incident didn't even ruin my night, even though all my makeup ran and I was kind of a mess. A hot mess, that is! :)
Had a good time there, then screamed out 2011! I kind of miss it now, though. A lot of good things happened in 2011...still, no use crying over spilled milk! Hopefully December 2012 will be just as wild! I love it that way--just no more funerals. I learned a lesson at the funeral, too. Always wear waterproof mascara to a funeral. Yeah, I was a mess there, too.