american idol

Pictured is Scout, as Willie Nelson, for her first non-paying modeling gig. She will be the star on this year's poster publicizing the annual music festival at her preschool. These are some of the outtakes from our photo session the other day. I don't know yet which picture made the final cute, but I do know that the braids are itchy--Scout reminded me several times.

After seeing all the fun Scout was having, Tillie wanted to audition for the part. Although it would be cute to have "Tillie Nelson" represented on the poster, she wasn't as easy to direct as the other one. I think the braids stayed on for 15 seconds. And she also wasn't wearing any pants.

let it snow

Here is proof that there's snow (and Santa!) in Texas. Of course, the Santa suit is rented and the snow is manufactured, but this afternoon it was a winter wonderland in Central Austin as we celebrated the birthday of Scout's preschool friend. Alex was there to help man the sledding station for most of the party while I sipped a bloody mary and marveled at the Texas children going crazy in the snow--I felt like we were on the set of a movie. Tillie, on the other hand, was not into the snow so much. After one slip and landing face first in a pile of cold wetness, she decided the swings were a better option.

it's a marshmallow world in the winter

And here you have another one of the Wheat family's favorite holiday traditions: gazing upon the fancy gingerbread creations at the fancy Four Seasons hotel in downtown Austin. There's merry music, free cookies and cider and--most importantly--free sparkling wine for the adults. Santa is there, too (and he's a really good Santa), but we didn't wait in line this year since we just saw another pretty good Santa a few days ago. The theme for this year's gingerbread houses was Candyland. Yep--just like the game. A pretty ingenious idea for a gingerbread wonderland, don't you think? I'm sorry my pictures didn't turn out better. I had to elbow my way through an enthusiastic crowd of young children while holding a glass of sparkling wine in my camera-free hand.

better than disney

...NOT REALLY!

However, Catcher did high-five some Star Wars guy (forgive me for my ignorance in not identifying him; they all look the same to me) and Scout got a hug from Snow White. In what circumstances--outside of Disney, of course--could these two actions happen harmoniously? In the annual Chuy's Children Giving to Children Parade, naturally. (That's another check on the list for good old-fashioned holiday family fun if anyone's keeping track.)

This was our first year attending the parade, and I have to admit that I was slightly impressed. There was something for everyone: princesses galore, mutant turtles, storm troopers and giant balloons (of the Macy's parade variety). We got there early and had front-row seats as a giant Cookie Monster came barreling down Congress Avenue ducking light posts along the way. It was pretty cool; no one can have a bad time when a giant Cookie Monster is hovering mere feet above you.

the first santa of the season

Maybe it's the Disney still lingering inside of me, but I'm really feeling the Christmas spirit this year. I want to pack in as much good old-fashioned [holiday] family fun as possible! Starting on Black Friday, when half of the crazies were looking for deals on giant TVs and various other electronics, the kids and I were with the rest of the crazies lined up to meet Santa Claus. Scout and Tillie entertained us with some serious interpretive dance moves to Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree while we waited. And then we played outside for two hours because we're in Texas and it was 75 degrees the day we met Santa.

the rest of the story

Better than spontaneous outbursts in song and dance and better than perfect weather (except that one day at Animal Kingdom), and even better than the smell of hazelnut wafting from the bathrooms was the time our family was able to spend together in Disney World. I think this was the first time Alex ever spent five consecutive days with all the children, and we only see our East Coast cousins and grandparents about once a year. This is what it looks like when you put together one ten year old, one eight year old, one seven, one six, one five, three fours and two twos--in the happiest place on earth, no less. Of course I couldn't quite get a picture of all that chaos together, but cheers to family: