Wednesday and Thursday December 25th and 26th, The Dismuke Family Christmas Vacation...Part Two Begins!!

After driving for several hours (and I do mean several), we arrived at the first major stopping point of our vacation...the Canada border!!  The kids were super excited to get to use their passports for the first time and even got them "stamped" entering Canada.  Also upon leaving the United States, the kids experienced their first real snow!  We've been in snow before on previous ski trips with the girls, but Ingram has only seen pictures and heard about the snow and only played in mushy nasty wet Memphis snow a time or two.  We had been passing the snow on the roads, but hadn't gotten to touch any of the snow yet.  Once we got through the checkpoint, the kids were begging to stop and play in the snow.  And this was just the beginning of our playtime in the snow for the next four days. 



Nothing Like Getting Cozy In A Tiny Car For A Nap!

Poor Madison Had The Big Suitcase Under Her Feet!
Poor Little Two Because She Had To Spread Over The Whole Huge Back Seat!

Woohoo!! 
Welcome To Canada!!
 

Baby, It's Cold Outside...But We Finally Got A White Christmas!!
We Spent About 15 Extra Minutes Trying To Get The Kids Back In The Car
Instead Of Them Jumping Through The Snow Banks.

A few hours later, we made it to our final destination and checked into our hotel in Mont Tremblant outside of Montreal and when we woke up Thursday morning our real snow adventure began!  After talking the kids into eating breakfast first, we got all suited up and headed out the door to start playing in the snow...literally! 



Time To Get Our Ski On!

Good Morning Zero Degree's And Snow!
It's Nice To Meet You!


After an hour and a half getting our ski's and everything, Daddy took Ingram on the bunny slope before his lesson with Mr. Ian and I took the girls down the mountain while we waited on the boys.  Once Ingram was with his teacher, Daddy met up with us and we did a couple runs with the girls before we watched the end of Ingram's lesson.  The girls "forgot" how to ski as soon as we got off the lift and hesitated a little before taking the plunge down the first run.  They were funny to watch from behind and even more fun to watch when they fell...which they both did.  The only difference is Madison crashed into a massive tower pole while trying a trick and Lindsey just fell doing her regular thing...going fast!




"Seriously Daddy?  You're Already Taking Pictures?"
(From Lindsey)

"Get Us Daddy!"
(From Madison)
 

What I neglected to tell Daddy was that the girls "forgot" how to ski and had a fall each already, I had a feeling Lindsey would demonstrate exactly what Madison did...and of course she did giggling the whole time.  The rest of the way down, they were all giggles and talking about how they couldn't wait to ski with Ingram.  We watched the end of Ingram's lessons and then his teacher told us that Ingram was pretty exhausted and probably needed to rest and ski tomorrow.  The funny thing was that as soon as he finished that sentence, all three of us looked to see what he was doing and three of the kids were back to playing in the snow laughing and carrying on like nuts!  But we decided to take his advice and head for food instead since it was already 2:00pm and we'd only eaten breakfast so far.  Plus the lifts close in an hour anyway because it starts getting dark and there's so much more to do tonight...ice skating and tubing!




We Can't Go Anywhere Without Detours Into The Snow!
They Said They Were STARVING, But The Snow Just Needed Them!

"Yeah!! It's 3:00pm And We Just Ate Lunch!"

We had sooooo much fun ice skating with the kids once we got down there that is; we had never been on a frozen lake like this and it was totally awesome!! There was also the beginning of a snow fort on the side of the lake so the kids started building more to it and making it really big. After they finished, Ingram wanted to skate one more time around before we left to warm up with hot chocolate and then go tubing. He came out of the fort and was getting back on the ice when he couldn't get his balance and crashed down on the ice...with his arm trying to catch himself. Yep, you guessed it, he cried and cried and cried and we knew right away that he probably had broken his arm. You could say that changed our plans for the night and we headed back to the hotel to get a good look at his arm and warm up by the fireplace.

Heading Out To Go Ice Skating On A Massive Frozen Lake!
Ingram's Actually Roaring For Some Reason??

Ingram's Favorite Snow Bank To Jump In...Right Outside Our Hotel!

Mont Tremblant Village From The Bottom Of The Mountain On The Way To Ice Skate!

Two-Thirds Of Our Snow Angels!
Seriously Though, All This Snow Is Getting In Our Way ; )

Check Him Out!  Ingram Ice Skating All By Himself!
It's A Good Thing We Went In Houston Over Thanksgiving Break!

While Ingram was snuggled up watching TV in bed after a long warm bath (our little trick to help him go to sleep), Daddy took the girls to go tubing and check out the village at night.  While they were out, they had a blast tubing and getting hot chocolate and cookies. They also had a blast playing on the playground in sub-zero degree temperatures. Did I mention that it's a plastic and metal playground, it's covered in ice and snow, and the girls are wearing their cowgirl boots??  You know what's coming next...Not wanting to leave her brother alone in the broken category, Madison decided to break her nose.  Okay so she didn't decide it really, it just happened...on a plastic playground covered in ice in subzero degree temperatures while she wore her cowgirl boots and attempted to climb UP the slide.  I know I've told the kids "up the stairs and down the slide" till I was blue in the face before, but apparently Canadian playgrounds don't follow the same rules.  She didn't make it up the slide very far but instead nailed her nose on the side where it goes up and immediately it started bleeding and swelling up!




The Girls With Daddy In The Village While Ingram Has No Idea They're Out Tubing, Playing On The Playground, And Getting Ice Cream, Cookies, And Hot Chocolate!
(View From The Top Of The Village, Before Hitting The Playground)

Ingram was wide awake 2 hours later when Daddy and the girls got back from going tubing and getting ice cream and hot chocolate, but they had no trouble falling asleep after a very eventful day in the snow.  The current plan is to see how Ingram's arm and Madison's nose are in the morning before we decide what to do next.  We've got three options:  to drive back to the States for the doctor, try our the Canadian health care system, or just wait it out.  There is never a dull moment around here and I wouldn't change any of it for anything! 

Monday to Wednesday December 23rd to 25th, Surprise...Merry Christmas from New York City!

So when I mentioned last time that we were going to try and slow down over the Christmas holidays, I should have known it wouldn't happen.  We normally go non-stop during the holidays but this year we changed the location of our crazy Christmas to...New York City!!  Craig had the opportunity to be on TV with not one, but two networks for work on Christmas Eve and we decided it was too good of an opportunity for him to turn down.  Plus, one of them wanted Ingram to be on with him!  But then we started thinking that it would be crazy for them to be stranded in NYC by himself for Christmas so we decided to tag along for the ride!  And what a fun ride it was!!

Of course getting all five of us to NYC was quite an adventure in its own regard!  We split up the crew on two different airlines to use vouchers and miles to have everyone's flights covered; Daddy had the girls and I had Ingram.  After two cancelled flights and a new booking for a midnight arrival with Ingram, I rearranged our flights and off to the airport we went.  We finally made it to NYC after Daddy and the girls even though we left 2 hours before them, but the good news is Ingram slept half the time in the air which is always a bonus!  We, along with our luggage and the boxes we shipped ahead of time, made it to our hotel super late at night and we let Ingram open a Christmas present early...a new pair of shoes since he outgrew his shoes somewhere between Memphis, Miami, and New York.  The girls thankfully did not outgrow anything, but enjoyed alone time with Daddy on their flights taking turns sitting with him and of course eating M & M's!  

Love A SJ Reminder (Even Though We Don't Need One) All Over The Country!
This Is Reagan, One Of The Thanks And Giving Poster Kids.
Last Year, Ingram Was One Of The Poster Kids And He Looked Beautiful Bald Just Like Reagan Does This Year!

All Packed Up And Ready To Hit The Skies!

Four Hours Into Traveling, Ingram Finally Gave Up And Fell Asleep
For A Two Hour Nap From Miami To New York City!
He Woke Up Just In Time To See The Lights Of The City As We Landed!

Before ANY Bags Were Unpacked, Our Gifts And Christmas Lights Went Up!

Who Needs A Bedroom When There's A Couple Twin Mattresses And An Enormous Closet?

 

Despite staying up wayyyy late listening to the honking horns of the taxis and buses in the streets, we made it out of the hotel on time for our 20 minute walk to the Fox Headquarters.  We were so excited about getting to watch Daddy on TV and meeting some of the people he works with when he's in New York.   As if that wasn't exciting enough, when they found out that all five of us were in town, and not just Craig and Ingram, Fox Business Channel wanted to include Anna Kooiman's segment from when she was at SJ in November.  We knew they were going to let Ingram sit at the desk with Craig before we left town, but after they saw the girls fundraising video, they wanted the girls on the set too.  Even bigger of a surprise was when they called me to the back for "Hair and Make-Up" because they had decided to put all five of us on the Desk for a follow up to Anna's segment!!  Call me crazy, but I was nervous especially with all three of the kids (notably Ingram) being LIVE on national TV with no idea what Connell McShane, the host of Markets Now, would ask AND that this was Craig's work stuff!!  The kids all went through hair and make-up too and then we all got "mic'ed up" while Daddy was doing his Economic segment with Connell.  

Ingram Got His Nose Powdered And Loved That He Got "Prettied Up!"

Little Miss Smiles Was Extra Excited Getting Her Hair And Make-Up Done!

Just When Did She Grow Up So Much?
Madison Really Likes The Green Room Too!
I Wonder If It's A Hint Of Her Future Career With ALSAC?

They Have No Idea What They've Done!!
Putting A LIVE Microphone On All Three Dismuke Kids??

Watching Daddy Live During His Segment!

"Home Sweet Home" Sorta Made Me Miss Our Home

 

The kids were really excited watching Daddy then the Producer called for us during the break and it was time to get our move on!  After Anna's segment aired, all the cameras and lights were on us and it was on...all five of us on LIVE TV!!   Have I mentioned how nervous I was yet?  It was a short, fast paced segment and a whole lot of fun.  The link is below and as Craig said on Ingram's Facebook page "After all the boring business stuff, here is the video from Ingram's appearance on Fox Business this morning, along with his sisters and Mommy!  Of course, being a business channel 

http://www.viningsparks.com/ext_vs/video/fox_video122413.htm

This is the link for the whole Fox `Business segment including Craig's Economic segment, Anna's SJ segment, and the new Dismuke 5 segment!

 

Woohoo!  We Did It!

 

Once we were finished at Fox Business, we hightailed it across town to Wall Street for Craig's second show of the day...CNBC's Closing Bell.  I should have said this earlier, but with each of these buildings we had to go through a security check and be escorted up to each office.  The interesting part at each of these checkpoints was listening to the security dudes ask the kids questions as to why they're there.  At one point Ingram said "because I'm Ingram the Conqueror!" and I just laughed as the guard sorta stared at him not knowing quite what to think!  I had seen the New York Stock Exchange on TV before, but seeing it in person was really cool!!  Even though it was Christmas Eve, there were a ton of folks around hooping and hollering and carrying on just like they do on any other day when we've seen them on TV.  While Craig was getting ready, the kids took over the CNBC area upstairs and behaved pretty well as we waited.  Once Craig left to go into the Floor for his segment, the kids stayed upstairs and I was able to go on the stairs and watch his interview on Closing Bell.  After he finished, we were allowed to walk around the Floor of the NYSE and were right in front when it was time to ring the bell and close the trading day.  Also since it was Christmas Eve, singer Darlene Love rang the bell and then sang a Christmas song for the whole NYSE; we were right in the front watching it all happen thanks to the Governor of the NYSE for showing us where to go to be able to see!  New York at Christmas time was awesome and it was only about 2pm on Christmas Eve so far!!

Doing What We Do Best!
A Little Working, A Little Playing, And A Little Reading!

Another Amazing Interview By Daddy On CNBC's Closing Bell!

 

Watching The Actual Closing Bell!

And Now It's Playtime For The Crew!
Merry Christmas Eve!

 

Everyone knows we love chocolate, especially M & M's, and what trip would be complete without a trip to M & M World?  We've made mistakes before at this giant store of chocolaty bliss, but this time WE actually turned the handles on the dispensers for Ingram and Lindsey.  Madison somehow snuck away to get her own M & M's, but she did pretty good on her own and didn't even fill her bag up halfway.  We ended up spending less than half of what we did on a previous visit and even bough a couple chocolaty gifts!  After taste testing a few different kinds of M & M's, Bill's Bar and Burgers was calling our name.  It's probably our favorite restaurant in NYC and we've eaten there several times over the years when we've been in town.  I know it's crazy, but being out of town for Christmas and with the girls talking about our burger shop, made it seem a little more normal.  After all, we go out to eat every Christmas Eve in Memphis, so why not in NYC too!  We didn't get out early enough from dinner to make the Christmas Eve service we were planning on attending, but instead headed back to the hotel and watched a Christmas movie with the kids before sending them off to dream about Santa and his Reindeer!  We packed a strand of Christmas lights in one of our boxes that we put up right after we got in late Monday night, but I totally forgot to pack the stockings for the fireplace and we didn't realize it until we got back after dinner.  Luckily, the kids were pretty creative and decorated four boots and a shoe for Jolly Ole St. Nick to leave goodies or coal!

Chocolate!!

 

The Boys At Bill's Bar And Burgers!!

 

All Ready For Santa Even With Make Shift Stockings!



Twas The Night Before Christmas And All Through The Hotel,
Not A Dismuke Was Stirring...

 

Madison tried to trick Daddy into getting up at 2:30am by telling him it was 6:30am so she could start opening presents.  That little stinker even covered the clock up with Ingram's hat and moved his phone so he couldn't check the time.  Needless to say, he fell back asleep as did she and we all woke up at 7am with Ingram running in to tell us that Santa found us in New York City!!  He was sooo excited and was bringing us our stockings in bed before we could even get up.  Even though it wasn't the same as being at home, we loved having a little Christmas tree and our lights to decorate our room while we opened our Christmas presents.  The most dangerous gifts opened were a suction cup Bow and Arrow and a BB Gun...both for Ingram...both bought by Daddy.  I have a feeling these two boys of mine are going to be spending a lot of time outside.  Hopefully no one will "poke their eye out" as the movie A Christmas Story warns!

 

This Is Trouble!

 

We finished with our stockings and presents with 30 minutes to spare so we headed back over to the Fox building to watch Anna Kooiman and Rick Reichmuth finish their Fox and Friends show.  They even had Santa on the set and the kids got to talk to him as well as goof off on the Curvy Couch with Anna and Rick.  One thing led to another and Ingram was upside down with Rick holding him up by his feet!  Anna gave us a your of their studio and even took us into the other parts of the building.  We got to see their News Room, Editing Rooms, and the girls sat in the "Breaking News" chair and read from the teleprompter before they made up their own news.  Other than being on the Fox and Friends set, the highlight for Craig and I was getting to go in The O'Reilly Factor studio and see where Bill O'Reilly does his show every night.  Ingram, Madison, and Anna were goofing off for pictures from The Spin Zone, but Lindsey was all business in Bill's Chair and the spin was definitely going to stop with her!!

 

Best Way To Fight Brain Cancer...Shake It Out!

Christmas Morning On The Curvy Couch With Fox And Friends!



This Just Into The Fox Breaking News Center...
5-Year Old Hiding From His Sisters!

Caution...You Are Now Entering The Spin Zone...Dismuke Style!

 

After a few fun days doing both work stuff and family stuff in NYC, it was time for it all to end.  We loved being in NYC, but missed being with our families on Christmas morning.  We also saw a few SJ Thanks and Giving signs around the city that reminded us of last year when we saw Ingram's face was all over Times Square.  I think that might have made us miss being with family a little more, but it made us sooo thankful for where we are today with him.  I feel certain that we will stay at our house in our pajamas as long as we can next Christmas, but for now Part One of The Dismuke Family Christmas Vacation is over...stay tuned for Part Two!!

 

Round And Round We Go...Where We Stop, Nobody Knows!

 

December 10th through the 22nd, What...Us Slow Down?

I'm not quite sure what I was thinking, but I was certainly wrong about it!  I had the assumption that after the SJMMW that things would slow down at the Dismuke house; but I was wrong...very wrong!!  Granted that even though we didn't have seven soccer practices during the week for the girls or any regular appointments at SJ for Ingram, we still haven't had any free time.  And the sad thing is that we have no idea where all of our time is going?? It's totally crazy and the only proof we have is how tired we all are at the end of every day. 

We have made a few trips to St. Jude for special events with our ALSAC peoples and always have a fun time seeing them. We were able to get on phone calls with Mr. Shadyac and personally thank donors and wish them a Merry Christmas too. Ingram thought it was really fun because he got to walk around in Mr. Shadyacs office and he got cookies!!  Madison also had her very own meeting with Mrs. Emily Greer (ALSAC Chief of Staff) to do some research for a school project; one of her questions on her list was "If I were to take Mr. Shadyac's job when I'm out of college, what degree should I have?"  Yep, Madison is just that ambitious and we love it!!  Ingram found a dry erase board in an empty conference room and practiced writing and drawing while Madison was on her meeting.  Thankfully no one caught him spinning in the chair or standing up in it to draw!!

Ingram also had his first real haircut since completing treatment back in October of 2012. Actually, Craig has been trimming his hair for as long as I can remember so letting someone else touch his hair was a big deal!!  Daddy and Madison took Ingram for his haircut while I went on a lunch date with Lindsey; personally I think Craig wanted to be able to "advise" Natalie on how to cut Ingram's hair just right.  As you can see from the pictures, Ingram had fun and his just looks great!  Ingram even said that he wanted to have his "bright red shaggy hair back" and well you can see it's slowing getting back there.

Our friends Marvin and Grey Smith headed off to New York City to a special event with New York Yankees Mario Riveria over the Thanksgiving break.  When we found out they were going, we decided it'd be great to pass along a CONQUER shirt to him and spread a little Team Ingram/St. Jude/Childhood Cancer awareness all at the same time.  They had a great time in NYC and just got the official picture back from the Yankees. So here it is...Can you tell how excited Grey is?!

I guess another reason were staying busy is we can't stay out of the Doctor's office!!  Each of the kids and myself have been in for visits and hopefully our house is on the way to recovering.  Ingram was diagnosed with Bronchitis, Madison was diagnosed with Sinusitis, and I ended up with a sinus infection and an ear infection.  Lindsey and Daddy were the only ones that have been on the healthy side of things and hopefully all of our crazy weather changes won't get them on the sick side too. The down side of Ingram's bronchitis was that he missed the last few days of Preschool that included his Christmas party.  But we managed to enjoy ourselves in our pajamas at home and squeezed in about 6 hours worth of naps during those same days.  That much napping is a definite sign Ingram wasn't feeling good!!

Ingram also got a very special invitation to go golfing with his favorite Mississippi State Bulldog Mr. Brent and his Dad, Mr. Rooker.  Daddy was excited about playing a few holes too and all four of them tons of fun together.  It was a chilly and cloudy day, but Ingram was more than happy to spend an hour or two on the golf course before I made him take yet another nap.  Ingram ran all around the fairways and the greens but loved riding around in the golf cart with Mr. Rooker even more.  He even picked riding with Mr. Rooker over his own Mommy!  When it came time to actually play, the guys would hit their balls and then Ingram would tee his off with about 100 yards left to the hole. Ingram nailed a few fabulous hits with his driver down the middle and sides of the Fairway and had lots of fun putting on the Green.  Those golf clubs G-Daddy gave Ingram for his birthday are definitely coming in handy now!

Since it is Christmas break after all, we decided to make a special trip to see Santa Claus!  We of course went while Santa was on his lunch break (and on a Saturday) and ended up waiting for quite a while to talk about the "Naughty and Nice" list with the big man in red.  After watching people try for that perfect picture with Santa, we decided to do the perfect Dismuke picture and show each of the kids playfulness!  With Santa's permission, the kids had a fun time taking pictures with him that were Dismuke style!  And even after pulling his beard, making faces, and making monkey faces, Santa said that he would leave all three of the kids on the Nice list so they were pretty pumped. 

We also celebrated Christmas a little early with Mimi and Pops when they came in town for our Christmas service at church.  What they didn't know was that Madison was going to be a part of the program and read some scripture passages in front of the church.  I guess it was like an early Christmas gift seeing her so very excited about reading and doing  a great job of it.  Afterwards, we headed out to lunch with Mimi and Pops before we opened presents with them.  Now maybe with all of our Christmas shopping completed and everything wrapped, we might actually get to slow down a bit and focus on Christmas itself.