More Nebraska Sledding

Julia was also itching to go sledding, so we hit the golf course this morning with both girls.
After Troy loaded the girls on the sled at the top of the hill, they were off. It's hard to see it in this picture, but both girls were grinning from ear to ear. Julia was just as excited as Evelyn to go down another hill.

We took the girls on three different hills, each one a bit more exciting. We couldn't believe how brave Julia was. They went down some pretty steep and curvy hills, but Julia didn't get scared once.

Nebraska Sledding

Evelyn had been hoping against hope that there would be snow in Nebraska so she could go sledding. Here's a view of the golf course that winds its way through Troy's parents' neighborhood . . . as you can see, Evelyn got her wish!
Here she goes on her first run, on a long, gentle slope. She cruised about 150 yards - not too shabby!

After riding by herself a couple of times, Evelyn wanted Troy to ride with her.

Evelyn was hoping that the extra weight would help the sled coast even farther, but the snow was too soft for that. They still had fun, though.

Luster Christmas

Sticking with tradition, Evelyn had the honor of making her infamous corn casserole for the Luster family Christmas dinner tonight. She just about did everything by herself this time. She just needs help with opening containers and pouring the batter into the casserole dish. It was delicious, as usual!
After dinner, we Lusters exchanged gifts. And, what's this? A Ralph's World CD the girls didn't have? Woo-hoo! More Ralph music!

In addition to a Lincoln Logs set for the girls, Uncle Matt also found a Disney princess book with a music player. Julia couldn't wait to flip through another princess book.

Frozen Fog

We spent the night at my Aunt Diane's farm last night. When we woke up this morning, we saw the most beautiful frozen fog. The frost on some of the branches was almost an inch thick! Even though it was crazy-cold outside, I had to go out and take some pictures.

Christmas 2010

Julia and Evelyn were in luck - Santa found them in Bellevue, Nebraska this year, and here's how Christmas morning looked for the Luster girls. Evelyn got a science kit, and she couldn't wait to do experiments and mix potions with Daddy. (Evelyn's unicorn pillow pet is watching from the corner of the picture.)
Julia also got a pillow pet - a koala bear. Cuddle, cuddle, cuddle.

Evelyn had hoped for some train "details" for her model train at home. However, since I/Santa didn't know exactly what she wanted (and model accessories are to fragile to fly between Maryland and Nebraska) she received a gift certificate to a train hobby shop in Maryland. She was disappointed this morning, but hopefully her attitude will turn around once she sets foot inside the train store.

Here's Julia with a 300-page Disney princess book, while her new trains look on.

After opening Santa's gifts, we Lusters headed out to Holdrege, Nebraska to spend Christmas Day with my extended family. All but one of the Thorell grandchildren were at the Hock farm today. My brother, Eric, couldn't make it this year . . . but here are the rest of us.

Family Gift-Giving

This evening, the four of us exchanged Christmas gifts. Here's Evelyn with the newest Thomas the Tank Engine DVD movie.
Uncle Eric gave Evelyn a 2011 Thomas calendar. Yep, Evelyn still loves Thomas!

For the past month, Julia has been squeezing into her old, pink Crocs. She has been asking for purple ones for quite awhile, and tonight her wish was granted. She was so excited to have purple Crocs like Evelyn!

All throughout the evening, the girls opened small boxes that contained little dolls, dollhouse accessories and a wooden car for the dolls to drive. As if on cue, after all the presents had been opened, Evelyn said, "I just wish we had a dollhouse for all of this." Well . . .

. . . what should Troy bring up from the basement but a dollhouse! The girls went right to work, filling the rooms with furniture and pretending the dolls were taking a bath, feeding the dog, parking the car in the garage, and so on. A big THANK YOU to both sides of our family for contributing to this gift - the girls love it!

Gimel!

Earlier this week, one of Evelyn's classmates shared with the class the Jewish tradition of playing dreidel during Hanukkah, and everyone in the class got their own wooden dreidel. Evelyn emailed Kat about the game, and Kat replied that she would bring some gelt when they visited.

Kat and Ross came over for dinner tonight, and after the girls' baths, we all played dreidel. It was pretty fun playing with five people (Julia and I were one team) . . . . . . but it wasn't long before we all knew who would take the most loot . . . Kat kept getting gimel, which meant she could take all the coins in the pot. I think she spun gimel five or six times in a row! The look on Ross's face mirrored everyone else's reaction: Really? Again?
Julia was such a high spinner, I couldn't even get her hand in this picture. Well, as I'm sure you could guess, Julia didn't exactly spin the dreidel. She just dropped it. And then got excited about whatever she got.

Even though Kat got TONS of gelt, she shared with Evelyn and Julia. Evelyn must have eaten seven pieces of chocolate before we realized what was going on and stopped her.