THE MCCALLUM FAMILY: 2009

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

A Surprise Visit To Santa

Look out!--Cortlyn gave it a go too!

Maya & Daddy practicing shooting

Cortlyn watching Maya catch some fish

Cortlyn creating a beautiful picture...out of glue.

Maya giving the bow and arrow a try

Maya & Cortlyn with a couple of reindeer

after sitting on Santa's lap

Maya & Cortlyn with the huge snowman at the

entrance to all of the fun

When we got home today, Mac had a surprise trip planned...We didn't know where we were going until we got there. You can imagine the confusion on my face when we pulled into the parking lot of Bass Pro Shop--a huge hunting/fishing supply store (not exactly a place I thought he'd expect us to be excited about visiting). When we entered, Maya and Cortlyn were so anxious to see what was awaiting them. I happened to glance at a sign saying that Santa was there, but the girls didn't know--They thought their surprise was the creative arrangement of animals that decorated the entire building...like an indoor park full of fake wildlife. They really were so impressed and excited about that alone. =) They didn't realize there was more to come. As we kept walking, we saw a huge snowman, lots of toys to play with (all hunting related, which ended up being a fun and funny experience for us--the non-hunters that we are), and then SANTA himself! Maya and Cortlyn were very excited!! Cortlyn couldn't stand to wait in line, so she kept running off to the side, hollering over at Santa and waving, until finally it was our turn! We stayed for a little while after the visit with Santa to let the girls play.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Cortlyn's Christmas Music Show At School

Cortlyn had her first Christmas music show at school this year. It was really cute to see all of the kids singing together. Mac and I were both able to attend. She was so happy and kept looking our way and smiling. She did want to know where her big sister, Maya, was though (and Maya was sad we didn't take her out of school to attend, but we weren't sure it was worth it for just 15 minutes). =) Watching Cortlyn in that setting really made me realize just how quickly she's growing up (and Maya, for that matter)...too quickly. It doesn't seem all that long ago we were watching Maya do exactly the same things in her show at that age...Where does the time go????

Saturday, December 5, 2009

The Reindeer Run & Build A Bear

Maya and Cortlyn both ran in the Reindeer Run today, a fun run benefitting Maya's school. Maya participated in the Quarter Mile Run and Cortlyn, The Toddler Trot (across the parking lot). It was a lot of fun and they both did a great job! It was a little hard juggling videoing and picture-taking, so excuse the SHORT videos, but I still wanted to include them. =) Afterwards, they enjoyed the bouncy slide and rock-wall climbing (Cortlyn was very excited to go up, but once the man let go of her, she wasn't too sure about it...Maya was indifferent--It seemed like a lot of work after just running, so as soon as Cortlyn came down, she was done too!), followed by some pizza and hot chocolate. =)

Then, we headed out to run some errands, but our first stop was Build A Bear Workshop where the girls each got to pick out an animal. Maya picked out a wolf she named "Wolver" and Cortlyn has "Frosty" the snowman. It was a fun treat for them. =)

Friday, December 4, 2009

A Visit From An Elf And A Snow Day...In TEXAS?!

Maya and Cortlyn received a book yesterday called "The Elf on the Shelf"--It is so cute and encourages them to be good between now and Christmas. Last night, Mac read it to us and this morning, much to our surprise, there really was an elf in our house! =) Each day the elf stays put in our house to see if Maya and Cortlyn are being naughty or nice and, when they go to sleep, he magically flies to the North Pole to report his findings to Santa. Before we awake in the morning, he has already made his way safely back to our house (AMAZING!) to continue his watch. This morning we found him sitting in Maya and Cortlyn's bathroom. They were in awe!

And..Yes, it's hard to believe, but it actually did snow today--for more than just a few seconds and it stuck to the ground! Not quite the same as Colorado, but it was still fun to see and play in. =) Even Kicks enjoyed running around in it! We wrapped up the evening with some nice, warm hot chocolate--YUM!

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Having A Blast In Colorado--Day 3

On our last day, we went out back with Michelle to play in the snow one last time...We wandered pretty far and the snow got very deep, so that was fun. Then, after lunch, we headed back out to the ski slopes. Maya did an AWESOME job especially since it was only her second time up on skis! We are so proud of her. It was so sweet to hear Cortlyn cheering her on while she was going down the hill. At the end, she would always run to Maya and give her a big hug too. Cortlyn was asleep when we got there and then we ran out of time, so she didn't get to go up on her skis again. But, she was pretty content just playing in the snow and eating it--definitely her favorite part of Colorado! =)

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Having A Blast In Colorado--Day 2

Well--Today was the day. We woke up bright and early, Maya and Cortlyn played in the snow for a little while, and then we headed out to the ski slopes! Maya and Cortlyn learned the ropes in ski school (too cute!). There was no room left in the adult class, so Mac and I gave it a try with the help of Steve and Michelle. Surprisingly, we didn't do too bad. When Maya and Cortlyn went home to have a rest, Mac and I stayed out for a bit and tried our luck on a few of the bigger runs.

We each crashed once--Mac, as he tried to show me the "proper technique" for skiing (haha) and me, getting off the lift when Mac and the guy next to us on the seat forced me to veer right, losing my balance, flying straight ahead (my butt just about touching my skis), until I flung myself backwards to avoid going off the edge down into a fenced off area of rocks and trees. I laid flat on my back, after my first attempt to get up sent me a bit further under the "danger rope", while my loving husband took his sweet time helping me out because he could not control his laughter!

We wrapped up the evening with a delicious Thanksgiving meal and then cheered on the Aggies in the UT/A&M game! We will go skiing again tomorrow, so more pics to come soon!