Merry Christmas!



We wish you a Merry Christmas
and a
Happy New Year!



The playroom. Or crap hole. Makes me nutballs. I may go postal on this rainy day.

Eat Me

A blog I read had this fun recipe for cranberries.  I thought I'd give it a try - I'm always up for experimentation.  Thankfully they turned out great. 

I am thankful for cranberries.

Coating the cranberries with sugar. I also used red sprinkles
because I didn't have any long grain sugar to mix in. Sprinkles added a touch of flair.

  

My taster. He thinks they're a little tart
for first thing in the morning!



Drying.

Up close and personal.

They were shiny and beautiful. 

Added a sign because some people thought they were fake.
But I'd say more than half the family liked them! 



Initially Kate made faces. But I caught her hand in the berries
many times!

Here's the link to the recipe... Sparkling Cranberry Centerpiece.  Josh didn't like them.  "They're not my cup of tea." he said.

He said that they tasted like grapefruit.

Well, I like grapefruit coated in sugar. So there.

First time at the dentist!

Dentist day!

Oh My Gosh

I just hit 1,000 page views!!!  That's incredible.

Mannequins

She's going to work in retail someday. She's been dressing these guys for 10 minutes. Maybe she's a future buyer for Nordstrom or the GAP. Or maybe she wishes they were her real family...

Feeding the steelhead.

Veteran's Day

Happy Veteran's Day, Dad. What an incredible journey it's been and congratulations on your new Vet status! We love you and thank you for serving our country all those years ago.

Feeling a little weird this morning. Josh is dropping the kids off!!! My car is QUIET.

Happy birthday little boy. I love you soooo much!

From NICU to Two

One. 

Christopher turns two tomorrow. This amazing little boy.  He absolutely melts our hearts.  These have been two years of trial for us. Having a child born with a rare syndrome and bilateral club foot has taken us through hundreds of doctor appointments and therapies, crying at every bedtime and nap, casting and bracing of feet, happiness, worry, concern but love, love, LOVE.



Two.

Christopher is awesome. You should see him dance!  He is always on the go, loves to play with his sisters and sit with Daddy on Sundays watching football.  We had a birthday party with family yesterday.  He enjoyed playing with cousins, uncles, aunts and grandparents.  He loved eating his cupcake.  And then another (Daddy's a sucker). 

He was very polite and read his cards before opening his presents.

 He tried out every toy to see if it was a ride-on.



He wore himself out and ended the day with a nap on Dad's shoulder. 

This little boy has a special place in our hearts. From NICU to two. We love you.

Halloween 2010

Here they are ready for trick-or-treating!

 Christopher was a skeleton.  We thought he wouldn't wear his costume but he ended up loving it!  He was a big hit with the neighbors. And fortunately, Mommy got to eat his candy.

 Kate was Cleopatra. The eye make-up was a big hit!  She had a hard time this year because she wanted to be something scary, then chose this costume and then hated it until I put make-up on her. I think she is 13 sometimes, not 7 1/2. 



Erin was a bride. She did NOT want to be a dead bride. She looked so pretty! The good thing about these costumes is they went right into the dress-up box to be used over and over again!



Now I'm off to find a Kit Kat bar... this "holiday" is always the start to a season of sugar. Bad, bad, bad for my butt. But carrots just don't cut it. Mmmm...chooooclaaate....

Christopher's birthday cake!!

Loot!

Trick or treat!

Our playroom. Holy schmoly. And I spy Erin.

Big Wheel

Daddy please buy me a Big Wheel. This ain't workin'.

Our outing today. His feet look great!! Yay!

And we're off to a wedding!

I'm thinking this candy bar has a subliminal message. EAT LESS. Do you see it?

Girls night out!

Ready for them. It's gonna be a good day.

Clickety Clack Clickety Clack

Happy morning.

Summertime and the Livin' is Easy

I've had an amazing summer so far.  After a crazy year at work (my year always referring to the long haul of August to June) I was ready for a summer of freedom.  It began with Josh and I celebrating our 10 year anniversary in Cabo.  It was an amazing adventure.  We reflected on where we've been in ten years and where we think we're headed.  My parents kept the kids (ALL of them!) and we escaped for an entire week.  I kept watching other people on vacation with their little ones... and not once did I wish I had made the decision to bring my kids - I didn't have to share my drink or put sunscreen on anyone else.  It sounds mean and selfish and unloving, but really it's completely the opposite of that.  It's happy and relaxing and filled with love.  What more could children want than to have their parents come home ready to scoop them up and share stories, kisses and hugs without the stresses of everyday life hanging over their heads.

In a nutshell: Josh and I stayed at Barcelo in San Jose del Cabo.  It is an all inclusive resort (drinks and food all included!!) so we felt as though we were staying for cheap (even though we had already paid the bill...).  We had an excursion to Cabo San Lucas.  Circled the peninsula in a glass bottom boat. Watched demon rays leap out of the ocean. Sat by the pool. Drank a pina colada or two (or three).  Rode horses on the beach.  Had our pictures taken on the beach by a photographer from the resort.  Ate. Ate. Ate some more. The room was amazing with a view of the ocean - even from the shower.  There was romance, there was laughter, there was sunburns and new friends.  It was awesome.

Our next adventure was Los Angeles.  This time, however, we took the kids and my parents.  I felt this was a fitting "thank you" for keeping the kids an entire week and working around their own schedules. Plus this year is a big birthday for my mom so I wanted it to be a memorable year. 

Happy birthday, Mom!

This vacation started out at Disneyland.  We spent 2 1/2 days at the Disneyland Resort.  The kids loved the rides and even Erin went on some of the big ones this time, like the Matterhorn and Space Mountain.  I'm not sayin' she loved it but she definitely was brave enough to try new things!  Kate was big enough this time to try new rides like Indiana Jones and California Screamin'.  It was awesome to have her next to us on the big rides.  The funniest thing that happened was on Indiana Jones, I got the front seat behind the steering wheel and Kate believed I was really steering the Jeep.  It was the most hysterical thing to have her yell, "Watch out, Mommy!" and "Go!!!"  Christopher did great and his favorite ride was Dumbo, which his mommy made swoop up and down.  He giggled and screamed the whole ride. It was awesome.  The days consisted of chasing Mickey and Minnie, deciding what ride to go on next, eating and ended every night with fireworks. Couldn't have asked for anything more.

After Disneyland, Mom and Dad headed south to San Diego to see Aunt Bonnie and Uncle John.  Josh, the kids and I headed north to Chatsworth to see Shannon, Rob and their crew.  Josh flew out the next day and I stayed with the kids at Shannon's house for the rest of the week.  We had yet another amazing adventure visiting with some of the bestest friends in the whole world.  We swam, went to the LA Zoo,  hit the beach in Malibu and also the famous Brittany Spears "Baby on the Lap" Starbucks to see if we could have a star sighting.  I think we filled every minute with kids, friendship and laughter. Good times!

See the gang?  Two strollers, Shannon and Rita are there under the sign.

Kate and the Silverback Gorilla.

I love the zoo.

Kate, Lukas, Justin, Erin and Brynn.

Not too fond of the sand at first - Christopher eventually let me put him down as long as he could hold my hand.  We were at Zuma Beach in Malibu.

Erin and Kate loved the waves.

All the kids together right before we left for our long drive home. 

When we got home Christopher was calling Josh "Daddy" instead of "Dada".  Another new thing in our ever-evolving family life.

More adventures to come... we'll keep you posted! :)