Yes, Daniel's still funny...

Brian and I were out at "Panda Express" to eat the other night with Elise and Daniel. We'd finished our meal, and Daniel was reading this sign on the counter that offered a free meal with the purchase of a gift card. It had a "Santa panda bear" on it.

Daniel said, "What does F-R-E-E spell?" We told him it spelled "free," and Brian said, "So now they're giving away free midget Santas with black eyes?"

Daniel's eyes got really big, and he said in that true-little-kid-at-Christmas fashion where their excitement draws out all of their words... "I want one!"

Daniel

At the library the other day,

Daniel picked out a lion movie and handed it to me.

I told him, "Daniel, that movie is in Spanish,

and you won't understand any of what they're saying."

He insisted that he'd like it anyway

so that he could learn to speak Spanish, so I agreed.

It was a little entertaining to watch him watch the movie.

We caught little bits here and there, but were generally lost.

When the movie ended, I asked him what he thought.

He hesitated a moment and said,

"Well, I may need to watch it one more time

before I understand it."

The Nutcracker Ballet

Rachel, Elise, and I went to the Pikes Peak Center to see "The Nutcracker Ballet" this past Saturday night, and we had the best time! We've talked about going in the past, and it never happened. We were thrilled and blessed by "Groupon" when they offered a great deal on tickets... we purchased $45 tickets for $20 each! We've also never actually lived closer to the Pikes Peak Center, so that was a convenience factor.

We decided to surprise the girls, too, with a trip to "The Melting Pot" fondue restaurant for dessert before the show. Yes, we ate our dessert at dinnertime and thoroughly enjoyed every bite! Then we walked the short distance to the show.

Below is the inside of the Pikes Peak Center...

The ballet was really, really beautiful. The "winter wonderland" scene was my favorite,

but we enjoyed the whole performance and had truly special night out.