Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

Ready for Christmas morning!

LT helps DT with one of his gifts, a personalized beach towel

The artist kit LT wanted!

Group gift of a Dragon Fortress!

The cinnamon rolls, fresh out of the oven

And then with creamcheese frosting, mmm, mmm, mmm

The boys enjoyed playing with their gifts, play dough kitchen for DT and Lego City Corner for LT


In the afternoon, we decided to pack up early and take off to visit Auntie C and Uncle S and cousings! This was a lot easier that leaving early the next morning.
Then we were able to enjoy another mini Christmas the next day
4 boys, mostly

Super fun swords from Auntie C

Group Hug

Point Loma tide pools

Everyone went to Legoland to finish up the trip!



Now we are enjoying a visit from Grandma & Granpa at our house!

Happy New Year!

Christmas Eve Baking

Today we made gingerbread cookies and cinnamon rolls!

It was my first time making something with yeast and kneading and all that, so it was very exciting. We're baking them for Christmas Day breakfast, so I'll have to report back on the final result!

Naked cookies

Dough post kneading, pre rising

Dough post rising

All rolled up!

Now they look like cinnamon rolls

My helper kept playing with the extra cinammon sugar for quite a while... he would have been happy doing that for hours!

But he had other work to do. He was a very serious cookie decorator. He had to add the m&m's multiple times to his cookies because after he put them on, he would take them off and eat them!

The finished cookies! Yummy!



And, of course, some pictures of the boys.
Jamming in jammies last night


This morning, DT added in the kazoo

Remind anyone of this boy?

Beaver Pictures

"To Mom and Dad. Look at this book"

"Beaver Pictures"


"ahhhhhh" (that beaver is being shot out of a cannon)


It's the best book ever!

Christmas Tree Time!

This year was the first year we cut our own tree. We went with some friends to a lot in the Santa Cruz mountains.

Family ready to go tree hunting!

Trees as far as the eye can see

I spy something with a dino shirt

We think this is the one!

It is the one!

When you chop it down, you leave the bottom branches and it grows back. I didn't know this - really neat!

Back at home, we finished up the decorations. It's a forest scene this year in the front. LT asked for the deer with the moving heads. The candycanes were his wish a couple years back. By the time he goes to college, every inch of the yard may be covered. I love the way it looks!

Kiwi Season again

Witty comments to follow.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you had a wonderful day! We are very thankful for our family!




I couldn't decide which of these I liked better!

I hope T didn't strain his back!


The yummy dinner!

School Spirit

Who's got spirit?


This very same day someone at work was telling me that he liked his child's $20k/year private school, but it was a bit heavy on the school pride. Good to know we have that for free! We do really like the school.

And here is LT practicing for their Native American culture celebration program (it's tommorow):


He's very excited about and so am I!

Soccer

This weekend LT will have his end-of-season soccer tournament. I haven't said too much about it, but we have been going to one practice a week and a game each Saturday since mid-August or so? LT started off slow (not wanting to play in the game) and has really blossomed. He's made friends, learned how to be part of the team, and acutually played some good soccer! He's pretty good in goal!

The fans

Uh oh, bored already!?!

Warm up

Pre-game line up and it looks likes maybe a pattycake game?

How the goalie celebrates a good defensive play

A save!

Now working the ball on offense

Throw in, I love that they're using a pink ball!