Raspberries and Horses

We had a busy weekend with lots of parties - hooray for December! Friday night Mary and I went to a Tripping Lily show while Michael and Catherine went to a model train party. Catherine told me all about the trains going "around and around and around" and she also liked the lights. After the train party was over they came and met us at the show. It was at a small coffee shop and we were sitting at a table near the front. Catherine came in in the middle of a song, climbed on my lap, and announced that she liked Demetri's hat and that they should play California. Both Mary and Catherine really liked the music. After the show there was an open mike time, and Catherine was very impressed with two young girls (one playing violin and one singing). She also insisted on standing right next to me while I played a fiddle tune with my violin teacher.

Saturday was a day of cleaning and finishing the decorating, and I think Michael disassembled something in the basement.

Sunday was a whirlwind like normal. We practiced the kids' Christmas pageant at early church (I think Catherine is going to be a wandering angel) and we had a good time reading stories and coloring at later church even though we missed Morgan terribly. However Catherine was glad to get to wear the Advent wreath hat in her absence.


After a quick lunch at home we went out to the mall to support a group of carollers from church, and in a great stroke of luck for Catherine, they were set up to sing right in front of the carousel. As soon as we walked in she saw it spinning around with all the lights and said "Catherine ride the horse! Catherine ride the horse! Go around and around and around!". I have to say it was my first time on a carousel in a very long time. As usual when we do something new, Catherine did not look like she was having any fun, but I'm pretty sure she loved it.


Here's a super quick snippet of the carousel ride:



This is what Mary thought of our time at the mall:



We made a quick stop at the warehouse store to stock up on party supplies for next week, then home for a brief rest and out again to a birthday party dinner for our friend Alex (member of Tripping Lily and son of Nick and Athena). Actually, our "rest" involved making cookies for Alex (in the pretty dress of course).


Catherine likes hanging out at their house - they have a dog that runs around and yaps, and an endless supply of Greek cookies. Not to mention the addition of a sparkly Christmas tree and a stuffed Christmas moose doll that was almost the exact same height as Catherine - she played with him for a while then stood him in front of the TV so he could watch the videos. Mary slept for a while, then made the rounds as usual. She also like the little dog, Cody - she laughed every time he barked. And Catherine is getting very good at staying up past her bed time - she didn't get to bed until almost 10 on Friday and after 9 on Sunday. Don't worry, it didn't stop her from getting up before 6 as usual.