Fancy Family Night!

We drive by Salvatore's every day.

Dyleva is mezmerized by the holiday lights and extravagant decorations.  Dylan always asks, "Mommy, when are we going to go in there?"
We have been there for banquets and buffets.  But never just to dine.
This year in lieu of the Nutcracker, we went to see 'A Christmas Story.'  It was produced locally and the Lancaster Opera house.  So we figured we would make a night of it; dinner and a show.

Eva and Dylan got all dressed up. We put on holiday music.  Spirits were high!

Dinner was fantastic.  Dyleva loved having their own personal waiter at their beck and command.  Dylan had filet mignon.  Eva had ravioli. Then we explored and looked at all the decorations inside.  

And later Santa showed up.

I had high expectations for the show.
It was long, and a little boring.  The theatre was at least 85 degrees.  I could not take off enough clothes.  The fact that 'A Christmas Story' has a narrator, one man was responsible for 80% of the dialogue.    There was less acting, and more speech.  Not highly engaging for two children.  

Don't get me wrong, the acting and production was lovely.
But the combination of heat, and rampant dialogue was a recipe for disaster for the Wagner family.

All in all, it was a fun night.  Our fancy Christmas night out!

To Indy and back...

It was the smoothest road trip ever.

We drove to Indy to celebrate Thanksgiving with Jeff's cousins.  

This year for the ride, we rented audio books.  It was awesome, because they were long, engaging and took up a bulk of the time!  

We arrived about 12:30.  Dyleva was wide awake, so we decompressed a bit, and then fell asleep.

We woke up to cousins next door and the Thanksgiving Day parade.  We hung out in our hotel room a bit, and then made our way to the house.

The gang followed us back to our hotel for an afternoon of swimming.  Too much fun doing tricks in the water!

Later, we got ready for dinner and then returned to the house.  It was a delicious Thanksgiving dinner!

That weekend we also took all the cousins to a magnificent children's museum in the city.  It was lovely; but we could have used an entire week to explore it!

We left Saturday morning for another eventless drive.  That is my favorite kind!

Tiny, Tiny Balls of Water from Tiney

There must be more than 1,000 little mini water balls that have grown in the past week.

There are no bowls left in my kitchen.  They are all around the house filled with balls.

Dyleva is playing with them.

They play with them everyday.  They are a great distraction during homework.  

Eva put a bunch in her Barbie hot tub.

Dylan squeezes them all over the house.  

Jeff just walks by and shakes his head.  "I just don't get it," he admits.

It's a sensory thing.  Right Dyleva?

Incredible Moments

This is the evidence of success.

Gatita y Raptor

From the tent

Innocence

Peaceful playing

Be a goat; not a sheep

It has been brought to my attention by a close friend, that what I have is highly coveted.

As much as Dyleva and others drive me nuts and stress me out, it is better than have, than to not have.

Here are some simple shots of the beauty in my life.