Saturday Wes listened to a lot of bassoons and oboes trying out for honor band which he said was pretty miserable this year. Then that night we had two interesting parties! The first was a Christmas party downstairs with some of our neighbors. We were by far the youngest people there...and I mean by about 40 years! In fact, as we were walking in, Wes had to help a lady up the small stoop and then keep her from running straight into the crystal clear storm door to the condo. She said she is due for a hip replacement. We did have one thing in common with another lady though. She had been on a cruise down the Rhine River similar to the one Wes and I will be going on soon down the Danube. She said a young couple helped her as they toured castles; they stood on either side of her as they walked. I suspect this is a foreshadowing of what we may be doing on our trip!!!
Our second party was a Hanukkah party at Joseph and Heather Kocevar's house. They are Messianic Jews -you should read about it if you have not heard of it. Heather is a friend of mine from high school and she got to know Wes well in college since they both play bassoon and are music teachers. We had fun learning some Jewish traditions at the party. The homemade latkes were awesome and Wes turned out to be a champion dreidel spinner!
Our tree and Willow Tree Nativity almost complete thanks to the Wes's parents who gave us the creche this year! Thank you!
Haley wondering why the groomer put a Christmas bow in her hair when it's 70 degrees outside
Friday I woke Wes up early to go to Walmart where we bought a memory card for $12.88-ahh, the rush of a good deal on Black Friday!! Then we joined my mom's side of the family for our traditional day-after-Thanksgiving-shopping-trip or also known as Wes's favorite day of the year to be part of my family! We love going shopping to get in the Christmas rush. When we were in middle school, my grandparents started taking the grandkids shopping on this day so we could pick out our own presents. My parents, and sometimes my aunt and uncle, join us too. We're still doing it even though we're all in our late 20's and two of us have husbands! In younger days, my grandad would secure a place in line as soon as we entered the Gap or American Eagle. He would let people in front of him for the hour we shopped explaining to each one what we were doing until we were ready to pay! Now since they are older, my grandparents like to pick a bench in the mall and we come find them with our purchases, but they are st
