Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

It was time to go and see the BIG man in the RED suit the other day and tell him what Tyson and Taryn wanted for Christmas. This Christmas Tyson has been a lot more quizing about Santa and his reindeer. For example: "Mom, can I see Santa's Reindeer?"
"Mom, how does Santa come to our house when we don't have a chimney?"
"Mom, why can't I go to the North Pole?"
And the list goes on and on.....Last year he was just understanding the concept of Santa bringing presents, this year it is a whole other ball game. He wants to know everything and I am running out of creative answers. I really hope Christmas comes quickly before I run out of ideas.Taryn, on the other hand, is not impressed by the Jolly man in the RED suit, not at all! She sat on his lap and began to scream......reminds me of my little sister Danielle, whom to this day still doesn't like Santa...Taryn might be just like her Aunt D. So, Tyson had to go back to Santa and tell him what Taryn wanted for Christmas. (What a good big brother)

This is how these two usually spend their mornings, or at least the mornings Tyson doesn't have school, and while mom is in the shower. They will sit by each other and watch cartoons. I love it!

They are the best of buddies. Taryn wants to be right by Tyson, doing what he does and if she can't she throws a fit! Such a girl.

Kentucky Interview

It is already the middle of December and WHOA do the weeks just fly by. I swear it was just Monday of last week and here I am starting a new week. I have no clue where the times goes, but it goes fast. Vaughn has been gone about one to two times a week with interviews for residency. We were lucky enough to get about 12 interviews, which I am told if you have about 10 you are 99.9% guaranteed a spot. Let's hope those statistics are right. We got lucky this last interview to be able to tag along. It was in Louisville, Kentucky and about a 6 1/2 hour drive. We figured the kiddos could handle the ride if we broke it up a little. I had no idea that Tyson would ask, "When we going to get there?" so many times. It was like a broken record, over and over and over.....

Here they are about 1/2 way to Kentucky. By Tyson's expression he is ready to be out of the car. Thank goodness Taryn was good.When we finally got to Kentucky, Tyson was elated because the hotel, the hospital put us up in, had a heated pool and a big one at that. We swam for an hour and then while Vaughn went to the dinner portion of the interview, the kids and I ordered Papa John's Pizza and watched "Prep and Landing" on ABC. I love pizza in a hotel room. I think it just makes it taste better.
This was Taryn's first experience staying in a hotel and she loved it. She explored every inch of the place and loved opening and shutting all the drawers. We were fortunate enough not to slam any fingers in the process.That next day while Vaughn was at his hospital interview, Tyson, Taryn and I decided to venture around Louisville for a bit. Now, being a VERY small town kid myself ,this big city was a bit intimidating, but thank goodness for the GPS, early Christmas present, because without it I would still be lost over there. We found a mall about 10 minutes away and set out to see a few sights. On the way we passed the Cardinal's Football stadium. Nice facility.

The mall was fun and I had "Chick-fil-a" (I think that is how it is spelled) for the first time. It was delicious. Good thing we don't have one close in Auburn Hills that I know of, because I would be 300 pounds.....Very good food.Vaughn's interview went well and as soon as he finished we met him back at the hotel, packed up and headed to the race track. We couldn't leave Louisville without seeing the famous Churchill Downs where they have the Kentucky Derby.

Even though we couldn't go inside, and it was frigid outside, we still got some awesome shots of the place.

It was fun to actually go with Vaughn to one of his interview places. We got to see a lot of beautiful country and go through some amazing looking cities. I just wish the kids liked the driving scenery as much as Vaughn and I did, but all they cared about was "When we going to stop and eat?" and "When are we going to get home?" AH kids, they make life interesting!

Me, Being Martha Stewart, HA!

I decided to try out my not-so-crafty skills and make a Christmas wreath for our front door. I have a TON of Christmas balls that I never use and thought, "what the heck." This isn't something you'd see in a magazine, but....it is as good as it gets for me. My little sister got the artistic talent, I got in the wrong line when they were handing that out. So no laughing....

Dancing to "Away In A Manger"

Grandma Jackson sent the kids an early Christmas present which is a Fisher Price Nativity Set. It comes complete with Mary, Joseph, Shepards, animals and an angel that will play "Away In A Manger." When Taryn figured out that it plays music she was all about playing with the set, or should I say the angel with the music. She will push down the angel and let it play out while she dances away. I have watched this video countless times and I never tire of it. It is just too cute. Hope you enjoy it as well.

The Good Piston Seats...Thanks Doug!

Doug, the guy that works here at Lake Village who always gets us the Piston tickets, came through again. He got us tickets to see the Pistons vs The Clippers on Friday night and the best part is, we were in the lower, nicer seats. It was great to be down lower and actually see the faces of the players instead of looking at the jumbo tron.

My mom has never been to an NBA game and we made sure she had a great time. It was even dollar hot dogs night and they were pretty good.Taryn got to sit in her own seat and loves every minute of the game. She only cried when they did the opening fireworks and then she settled right down and watched the game.

Our friend Doug was also there with his wife and family, (I forgot to get a picture of him). He is the nicest guy around. Thanks for the tickets Doug! The game was great and would have been a wonderful time, but they lost which put Tyson in a foul mood. He hates it when they loose. Oh well, the rest of us still had a good time.