Happy New Year...

The four of us celebrated the new year by partying with our friends, the Delassus', all the way to midnight! We met new friends while there and all of the kids had a great time whizzing up and down the stairs to and from the basement play area. Yesterday, we began construction on the Santa gift, the trampoline. Not quite finished...the dark and cold got the best of us, but well on our way.

We also got a suprise visit from the original owner/builder of our house. She had lots of "information" to share, like location of the missing spray heads in the lawn sprinkler system, etc. She begged to come in and see the place and Eric let her...imagine how my pristine Christmas abode looks after having been on cleaning hiatus for four days. Yeah... Anyway, guess she saw what she wanted and was satisfied. She seemed nice enough.

I attempted to take the boys to see The Princess and the Frog last night, but when I got there, they were zonked out! AND, there were tons of people in a line at the ticket window that stretched all the way to the sidewalk and I couldn't find a spot to park w/in 75 yards of the door. SO...I kept driving and went home. The boys were VERY upset and Garrett is still convinced that I just stayed in the garage and woke him up 45 minutes later. Funny! Hopefully we'll go see it today!

Christmas Morning...

Garrett Jake LOVES the new edition of Super Mario for Wii!


Big Daddy putting together the Batman Cave...now also housing "baby Jesus and his momma" from the Playmobile nativity set. Such imagination around here...

Garrett Jakers and his Santa stocking. Pottery Barn clearance sale last Christmas was great...love the Rudolph stocking!

Braden Riley and his Santa stocking...also Pottery Barn clearance. He picked it himself and has great taste...fits my new Christmas colors nicely. I wonder...would I have let him have this one if it hadn't? Hmmm...

Saved the best for last! Check out Braden's reaction to his first view of the tree on Christmas morning! I edited for red eye over and over, but still couldn't get rid of the glare. He's just too wide-eyed...and I LOVE it!

On a previous post today, I noted that while a picture is worth a thousand words, it can't compare with the real thing. This is just one more prime example! Folks, you had to be there! The shriek of glee, coupled with the google-eye look, well...it was something, that's for sure! I love these boys, for better or worse, and we had a magical, amazing, joyful, fun-filled, family-oriented Christmas and it was the best! I hope that all of you enjoyed the same memorable moments with your families. Cherish the memories, but more importantly, cherish your time together with hugs, and "squeezers," and kisses, and good times! A picture just doesn't cut it!

White Christmas...Everyone Else Posted One, Why Not Me?

Sunrise into our valley on Christmas morning. You can just see the golden rays of sun touching the tips of the treetops midphoto. This was the chilly view from my front porch.

Looking towards the cul-de-sac, the sun finally rises over the brim of the mountain...hill...whatever that is over there...

You can see the outline of the creek running into the edge of our backyard. Don't you think sepia makes it look like a Christmas card?

Uncle Mike made us this light-up Rudy long ago. He's a sturdy one, what with the snow dusting his nose

This is the barn on the farm that is on the other side of the backyard fence. I bet those cows think it's February with all the snow...it NEVER snows here in December!

My Mamma's Egg Nog...

There is one single treat I always look forward to at Christmas...not cookies, or gingerbread, or cakes, or pies...just Mom's egg nog! I live for it! Folks, I've sampled many a brand of store-bought nog, but none can hold a candle to my mom's mix. There's just something about that certain mixture of raw eggs and peach brandy. Only Mamma's nog will do, and, boy, does it deserve it's own blog spotlight! Thanks, Mom, for making my holiday all the more jolly!

"Easy" Bake Oven...

Family fun with the Easy Bake Oven!

"Easy" Bake Ovens are not exactly all that they claim to be. We had a great time baking with Braden's new oven (yes, he asked for it, and yes, he's a wonderful kitchen helper...wants to be a chef!). I am convinced, though, that the liquid measurements listed in the recipe book are not accurate. I truly believe every single one needs to be at least doubled...see last photo! :0)

It's really, really flat, but it tasted like a cookie...although it was supposed to be a yellow cake with chocolate frosting! Oh, well. Guess that means we'll have to keep experimenting!

Backwards Blogging-After Christmas First...

After all of the hullabaloo of the holiday died down, we had calm, quiet play time here at home. As much as I LOVE Christmas, I don't always enjoy all of the loud, raucous antics that come with a house full of people. Trust me, four little ones around the tree amounted to LOUD!

A few days later, Nana came over to just hang out and help the boys break in their new games...especially their very favorite gift-Don't Break The Ice! It's funny, out of all the expensive, fancy play sets they received, this simple game held their attention the longest...they love it! Nothing but trying to knock out the "ice" blocks w/out knocking down the skating bear.

They say a picture's worth a thousand words, but this picture doesn't do the moment justice. Braden was in on the action, too...just a Nanna and her two boys, laughing, playing, matching wits...no picture can compare to the special moments they all shared together.



Braden singing into his "microphone" while hangin' out on the top bunk! :0)

Garrett, also hangin' on the top bunk, gives a great goofy grin (how bout that alliteration?)!

Garrett and Braden received suncatcher paint sets from Santa in their stockings. They begged to paint them for three days before we gave in...and they did great. No mess, no muss, no fuss, and they even shared paints because one set was completely dried out...can you believe it?

The Church Christmas Program...

First of all...miracles do happen. AND, my dad's appearance at the program was nothing short of a first class Christmas miracle. The boys were so excited to see him there...totally unexpected.

Garrett, Tyler, and Braden as three of the multitude of shepherds that appeared in the program. Another miracle was that we convinced Garrett to wear the costume! The boys "playing" drums...I called them the little drummer boys and they loved it.

Garrett and the suprise visitor after the program...SANTA! Notice all of the crumbs and left-over snack on Garrett's face!

Not to be outdone, Braden, too, sports loads of left-over goodies on his face, but Santa doesn't care!

After a long evening at church, we came home, donned our jammies, and settled in for Mickey's Christmas special! Ahhhhh...