Christmas 2008

I don't know how to say this in a politically correct way, so please know that I don't mean to offend.  But, here goes.  I think that after this year, my children might just believe they are Jewish.  They learn about Hanukkah at school and know that the celebration lasts over a course of many days and that Jewish children get a gift on each of those days.  I understand their confusion, that is kind of how Christmas worked this year as they got to celebrate four different times.  Maybe that is why Bella sang the Dredel song just as much as she sang Santa Claus is coming to town.  Christmas #1 was at Joe and JoAnne's and truly was a wonderful celebration. For the first time since Dave and I have been married, all of his siblings were there.  It has been a difficult journey getting to that moment, but I'm so happy for Dave, his parents and his siblings that that moment has arrived!  The next morning we had Christmas #2 at our house thanks to all of Santa's great gifts and the few that Dave and I bought as well. :)  A few days later Mimi and Papa arrived from Iowa which was a huge cause for celebration and a few more gifts to boot.  Therefore Christmas #3.  A few days after that and after a very LONG and exhausting night of travel for 1/2 of our brood, Wendy, Brandon and boys arrived and we then had Christmas #4.  In the children's eyes, the gifts were pretty exciting.  In my eyes it was wonderful in the sense that I was lucky enough to spend the holidays with EVERYONE that I love!  

As a matter of fact, I did fall off the face of the earth...

And landed in Whoville- the wonderful world of Dr. Seuss.  For those of you that know about musical season, you know that I sort of cease to exist in the normal sense.  So, that being said, it is musical season and life has been a whirlwind lately.  I woke up this morning and have lost my voice, so I decided I would take the time normally spent talking to update my very outdated blog.  So prepare to REWIND.....

Happy Birthday B!

Christmas day is not only a day of celebrating all things Christmas, but it is the birthday of my wonderful brother-in-law Brandon!  Our entire family just loves spending time with Uncle B.  He is one of the funniest people I know and we always laugh non-stop when he is around.  He is so happy it is contagious.  Uncle B can make the kids giggle like no body else I know, and he and Dave have a great friendship that takes them on all sorts of adventures (Wendy and I refer to it as the bromance).  Most importantly to me, he is a wonderful guy who loves my sister and their children more than anything else in the world.  We are so excited for all of them to arrive in a few short days! Hurry up and get here Brandon, we have some cold Stone IPA in the fridge for you!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Last night we bundled the kids up and headed down the hill to Alta Loma CA to see their much talked about spectacle of lights.  Four or five streets in this town in the foothills are blocked off to cars and the people on these streets go all out with Christmas Lights.  The kids acted like we were at Disneyland.  It is the best free entertainment we've had in a long time! Merry Christmas everyone!

Snow Day Part II

This is what two California kids look like after two hours of snow play
Looks like Coop is on the top of the world
                Anyone interested in a swim?
Sledding on a boogie board...only in Southern California!

Finally some more pictures of the snow storm of '08.  It's really hard to believe that we live in Southern California when you look at these!

SNOW DAY!

Speed Racers
Cold Weather, Warm Hug
Snow Angel
Human Snowman
Snow Cowboy

When it snows in the desert, it really snows in the desert.  We had early release from school today and they have already cancelled it for tomorrow.  While it is nice to think that we are on break now, it is sad that my show had to be cancelled for the last two nights...all of the hard work the kids put in. Hopefully we can reschedule, but until then--Woo Hoo!  It's Christmas Break!  Today was a great day playing in the snow with the kids and we are all exhausted and ready for bed at 6 pm!

A Christmas Dinner

Not in the official way of course...it's too early for that.  Tonight we were making pizza and Cooper suggested that we make one that looked like Santa.  So, we gave it a whirl. It was quite the creation.  A beard made of pepperoni and cheese.  A face made of peanut butter and m and m's, and a hat made of peperoni and cheese as well.  Cooper said it was the best pizza ever and Bella must have agreed- she ate three pieces!