Christmas, Winter Break, and First Time Cake Attempts

So I said I wouldn't take long to update after Christmas...well I lied. My defense is nobody else has updated either so HA! So lets start at Christmas Eve. This year it was just Kate, my mom, and my dad. We went to church, then watched the Polar Express (I never fully appreciated how much better it is in English instead of French...). We opened the usual one present on Christmas Eve, and it was pajamas, like it always is. Woke up at like 8:30 Christmas morning. Opened presents. This year I got a North Face jacket, gray short Uggs, a printer for camera so now not only can I take pictures, I can also print them out INSTANTANEOUSLY! I got lots of books and money, and clothes. My sister got more or less the same thing, but she got a brown North Face, brown tall Uggs, and a video camera instead of a printer. Oh yea, we also got Snuggies.





So during Winter Break, Aunt Marion and Liz came 'Back to America', which what my dad calls it. The first morning they were here, Aunt Marion and I went out to go get taylor ham for sandwiches and we bought some for Uncle John. Apparently all he wanted from New Jersey was some good Taylor Ham. We went to the grocery store at like 8 a.m. I swear, it was as cold as Minnesota. Then My mom, Aunt Marion, Liz and me went shopping at the outlets. Kate doesn't like shopping, and she had a basketball tournament anyway. Liz got Uggs, and I actually went back to buy another pair of Uggs that I liked (my 5th pair! but they are the only shoes I wear so it's ok). Then we went to the cheesecake factory for dinner. The next day we went ice skating...well me, Kate, and Liz did. I might of hurt my ankle even more, but I have to go to the doctor anyway. My mom and Aunt Marion were our paparazzi.





Also, Aunt Elizabeth took us on our annual trip into the city to see a show. Getting there was a challenge. Everything that could have gone wrong...went wrong. First the roads had an hour delay. Then we decided to get on a train, and the doors closed just as we got on the platform. Finally we got on the right train in Newark, and then the exit was flooded. We got there just as the show was starting. We went to go see The Nutcracker from the New York City Ballet. I absolutely loved it, and my sister and mother actually liked it too. I wasn't sure because they have gone to go see my Nutcracker every year for 7 or 8 years. It wasn't that different. My favorite dance was Sugar Plum Fairies 2nd solo. I now want to go see Romeo and Juliet or Swan Lake in February.


We spent New Years at the Santos's. It was fun. Then Aunt Marion came back and Uncle Mike came over. That day I tried to make a cake with the help of my father who just does what I say (a blessing and a curse). First, I forgot to grease the pan so I lost like half the batter. Then I put it in to back and made icing. When the cake came out, I flipped it out of the pan (with the help of my dad), then flipped it again, so the whole top came off. My dad, sister, and I ate the top off the pan. Then I did not wait long enough to ice it, so the icing had chunks of cake in it. I made some reddish pink icing and globed it on, hoping to make it look better. My cousin Meave thought they were strawberries. Uncle Mike came over, and everyone actually ate it, and said it was good. I guess it's because it was all homemade. My dad wants me to make his Birthday Cake next week. Also, January 7th was my mama's birthday!!! She turned 29 (again). We got her earings, really good headphones, and a Christmas/Birthday present was her Nook. For Christmas she got an iPod touch, a necklace, and her usual snowflake crystal. My dad got a bunch of stuff for his walking. I will write more about my parent's birthdays neat time, because we sort of celebrate them together.