Christmas Is Here!

The girls show off their presents.

Under The Tree

Santa delivered some nice things.

Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony

Watch the lighting of the tree.
This year's tree lighting ceremony at Shadow Lake Towne Center was a special one.

While I don't believe we have ever attended one at this popular shopping place in Papillion, we had good reason to be there this year. That's because the tree that is on display came from the yard where Jon Brooks grew up. His dad donated it in memory of Patti, who died a few years ago. Because of this, we enjoyed a nice view from the VIP section next to the stage.

We enjoyed pretty moderate weather conditions (though the wind did kick up a bit at the end) and the ceremony itself was very nice. It included a concert by the "Peppermint Elves," as well as several characters from "Frozen" and other Disney movies – plus the entirety of the Papillion-South Titans marching band. That was impressive.

Here are a few photos: 

Santa Claus was there, along with radio personalities Chris and Ricky from Star 104.5.

The tree looked much larger on display than in Jon's front yard.

Julia got her picture taken with the Grinch. Well, kind of.

Olivia (right) and Julia posed in front of the tree.

Lauren was helping out with Neil's children and Emily was in Colorado.

This was a nice sign to help remember Patti.

I felt like I was live tweeting an event...

Here is Santa's arrival.

Christmas Morning

There would be no "White Christmas" this year.

Santa Claus delivered customized pillow cases this year.

Santa Claus also left some Reese's Peanut Butter trees. Our favorite!

We always enjoy Santa's notes.

This was a new one. And these "lumps of coal" tasted a lot like Oreo brownies.

Letter To Santa

Here is what was left for Santa at the apartment. Very healthy!

Julia and Lauren split the duties of leaving a note for Santa.

Here is the note Lauren wrote and left at the apartment:

Dear Santa,

We are at a hotel tonight. 

Please enjoy the snack we are leaving for you. The vegetables on the deck are for your reindeer. Have a nice night!

Love,

Lauren and the Weide Family

And Julia left this note in the room at the hotel:

*Anywhere there is a blank, that's for you to answer*

Dear Santa,

What time is it? _______ I have been tracking you for a long time. I can't wait to go home and see what I got.

How tall are you? ____________. Do you have any other outfit other than a red suit, or do you even own a red suit like everyone thinks? ____________________

Do you have any electronics, iPhones, iPads? _________________

Also, do you take selfless, or have a social media account that no one knows about? ______________ 

What is your favorite kind of cookie? _______________ About how many more stops until you are done? _____________

Love,

Julia Weide :)

As mentioned in Lauren's note, we also sprinkled oatmeal onto the deck and left a few lettuce leaves out there as well.

All We Want For Christmas ... Is Good Health

We managed to get everyone up off the couch for one Christmas Day photo.

Christmas 2012 will go down as the "year that we were all sick." Well, not all of us were sick - but most of us. Julia (fever, cough and sore throat) was worse off. Veronica was also saddled with a fever. Lauren started feeling bad at some point. Not long after that, Olivia was down and out.

So Emily and I were pretty much the only two "doing fine." This explains why no one wanted to go swimming in the hotel pool this morning. Well, Olivia wanted to, but she said it wouldn't be any fun if there was only one or two of us there.

It wasn't long before the 11 a.m. checkout time started creeping up on us, so Emily and I began cleaning and packing up. Though not pictured here, getting the luggage cart from the lobby is always a fun time and Julia and Olivia were up to the task.

Upon our arrival home, we found Santa had visited us overnight. His note answered Julia's question about what time he arrived.

Santa's note. He enjoyed Olivia's cookies.

Poor Olivia. She fell asleep like this in the living room.

So we moved her to this chair.

Lauren made me this terrific piece of artwork. Nice foil background.

Emily made cheesy potato casserole (with help from Aunt Bridget.)

Saint Nicholas Day

Gifts were aplenty when we arrived at the service course today.

It's Saint Nicholas Day. Did you know that's a big deal here in Europe?

We left some unusual gifts in our shoes: from carrots to tires.

From wikipedia:

The tradition of Saint Nicholas Day, usually on December 6, is a festival for children in many countries in Europe related to surviving legends of the saint, and particularly his reputation as a bringer of gifts. The American Santa Claus, as well as the British "Father Christmas," derive from these legends. "Santa Claus" is itself derived in part from the Dutch Sinterklaas.

Basically, this is the morning kids here in Belgium are waking up to presents and candy. But you had to remember to put out one of your shoes last night – and especially leave a gift inside. Ours ranged from carrots, to nuts to Park Tools and even Continental Tires.

Santa's Reply

Lauren got the giggles reading Santa's letter.
So Santa left us a letter in reply to all the letters the girls left him on Christmas Eve.

And true to form, he ate most of the two chocolate chip cookies that we left out for him. And he made and drank some of the hot chocolate Dad left out for him, too.

On the subject of Julia's attempt to get Santa to snap a few pictures of himself. Well, that was a bit of a fail. (See the photos below.) Julia even left him a set of detailed instructions. What we did figure out from looking at the photos he took was that he stopped by our apartment between 3 and 3:15 in the morning. No wonder none of us saw him!

Here's the text of the letter he left us:

Dear Weide Girls,

Thank you for the treats. Thanks for the hot chocolate! It warmed me up!

I was going to come through the patio door, but didn't want to wake you.

So I used the trapdoor in your hallway.

Please continue to be good for your dad.

Love, Santa

P.S. I also left presents at your house!!


This isn't Santa's suit. It's part of a present.

And he took a picture of the wall, too.

Letters For Santa

The girls left a couple nice letters for Santa Claus.

Dear Santa and Reindeer:

I am a 5 year old. I wish I could take a ride with you on your sleigh. I love you and your reindeer. I hope you are safe delivering presents around the world.

Love,

Veronica


Dear Santa,

I hope you gave me the toys I wanted or new toys. Thank you for the toys (even though I am not awake.) I've always wanted to stay awake to see you! But I always fall asleep. I hope you love the treat we left. Olivia left some oatmeal sprinkles for your reindeer. Can you take a picture of yourself? Merry Christmas! How old are you? Are the elves boys or girls or both?

Have a safe trip!

P.S. Leave me a note.

P.S.S. I lost my tooth!!!

Love,

Julia

One last question: What does Mrs. Clause do when you leave?


Dear Santa Claus & Reindeer,

I would like you to know that the stuff (Oatmeal and sprinkles) was from me. I made some at school, but I left it at home. So I made some for my dad's house. It is for your reindeer. My name is Olivia. I am 8 years old. I hope you work out when you safely get home from eating all those cookies. If you want to reply do it down below. I love you and your reindeer and Mrs. Claus. You can deliver some toys to my dads and my moms house. Thanks.

Love, Olivia!


How to work camera
1. Look at top of camera
2. Push ON/OFF
3. Go to mirror. Take picture of self
4. Push big button
5. To see picture, press > button
6. Now push ON/OFF
7. It should turn off
8. Have a
9. Merry Merry
10. Christmas and a happy new year

Other wall art:
Lauren's winter scene.

Julia's makeshift stocking.

Emily's Fireplace.

Our Christmas Tree (and a sign on the kitchen wall to tell you so.)

Ready For The Girls

Santa's presents await the girls' visit Saturday.