Let the insanity begin!

Well as you all know by now it's December which means the holiday season is officially here. In other words; chaos and insanity. This past weekend was so busy I nearly wept when I woke up and realized that today was Monday and I did not have anything I had to do or anywhere I had to be. Sure, my house needs to be cleaned and I'm sure if I thought about it (trust me, I won't) then I could think of a few errands that I need to run, but for the most part today brings pure bliss in the form of doing nothing other than recovering from a loooong (but fun) weekend.
On Friday I chaperoned a field trip with Audrey's class. We had a nice picnic at the park and then went to the theater and see the play A Christmas Carol.  The play was really nice, but I have to say I was completely exhausted by the time we got back to school. I honestly do not see how teachers can deal with the constant talking day in and day out. The kids were wonderful, but oh my goodness, can they talk a lot! Then after I picked the kids up from school they had just enough to time to change and get ready to head downtown for the North Pole Stroll. 
This was kind of a big deal for us for several reasons. One, we've never been. Two I was driving. The driving thing may not seem like a big deal to most but for me, it was a huge thing. I do not drive at night unless I absolutely have to. I don't see well and it makes me extremely nervous. I also do not drive downtown unless I have to. There are lots of one way streets and trying to find parking makes me a nervous wreck. However I was bound and determined that I was going to do this for my kids and I did. The first thing we did when we got there was write letters to santa.

Then we went to the exploreum. They've been having an exhibit on Australia so they had an Australian themed Christmas complete with a surfer santa! My kids of course refused to take pictures with 'that weirdo in a santa suit'. Audrey and Sophie did however get their face painted with an Aborigine sign. Sign of what I have no idea, but they thought it was the coolest thing ever.

 Then we were off to see the snow. That's right, snow. In south Alabama. 

 I didn't claim it was real snow. After playing in the snow we came across this gorgeous Christmas tree and I thought I would get a nice picture of the kids in front of it.

 Awesome isn't it? Something tells me it won't be making the cut for Christmas cards this year. 
 On Saturday we didn't have too much planned. We met up with my parents for a Christmas parade. It was awesome. You know how at the end of most Christmas parades the final float has Santa claus on it? This community decided to end theirs with a van from the jail pulling a flatbed of inmates on it. Sadly I didn't snap a picture to share. 
Sunday we went to the Shriners Christmas party. The kids were excited because they had a little parade and they got to see Santa Claus. This year the Shriners did things a little differently and had drawings for door prizes at the end of the party. My family never, ever wins anything so imagine our surprise when right as we were getting ready to leave we heard Sophie's name called. She won a humongous bicycle. 

It cracks me up because the thing is huge and she is so proud of it. I told her I would try to find her some pink streamers to girl it up a bit. After running home to drop off the bike we took the kids to Bellingrath Gardens to see the Christmas in lights exhibit. I'm not sure why I always insist on taking tons of pictures since they never come out well, but I do.

little drummer girl

copycat has to do everything her sisters do

All in all we had a fantastic weekend, but I have to admit I'm kind of glad to have it behind me. I hope everyone has a wonderful week!