I've been spending time in the kitchen making caramels and pecan turtles from scratch. We've gone through gallons of hot cocoa and a little egg nog too. We had a big party with my Dad's side of the family last weekend. It was so great to see everyone! Noah and Cole loved having Kyle and Harrison to play with, along with their favorite cousin Kate. On the 23rd we celebrated with my siblings and their families. We had a big dinner, exchange gifts and played a game with tree ornaments. My fabulous cousin, Paul brought a delicious plum pudding that he made from scratch and a ton of lefse! It was a terrific evening!

On Christmas Eve, Drew and I took the boys out to breakfast then we came home and got back into our pajamas to watch movies all day. We had a picnic dinner by the tree and just spent a quiet day snuggling and enjoying each other's company. After the boys baked cookies for Santa and got everything set out for his arrival, we tucked them in and Daddy read "Twas' The Night before Christmas" to them. They were wiped out and went right to sleep. Santa Claus came right on schedule! Noah got a new bike and Cole got a big wheel! They were so excited when they saw them sitting by the tree! They also got new Transformers, Power Rangers and an art easel loaded with supplies. Dad got the usual shirts, tie, belt, socks and a helicopter trip to Catalina with me next month.

I was the luckiest of all this year! Not only did my darling husband actually make al of the stunning wrapping paper for my gifts... he created a clay sculpture for me that will be bronzed soon. It is gorgeous! I'll be sure to post photos when it's finished. He also took my old watch (that belonged to my mom and matches her wedding ring, which is now my wedding ring) to get fixed. It hasn't worked in 20 years so this was a huge thrill for me! Yes, I cried! He gave me tickets to SuperCross on February 3rd, Vera Wang perfume, gorgeous ornaments from Smith & Hawken, a big Paper Source gift card and lots of various other goodies. I feel very loved and just a little bit spoiled too.

I hope your holidays were as amazing as ours. Happy New Year!

Labels: Christmas, supercross

My dear friend, Sandra, sent us some fabulous gifts from the Netherlands to celebrate Sinterklaas' birthday! She is such a sweetheart! The chocolate is amazing and the speculaas is delicious! The kids love the Zwarte Piete hats too. They wouldn't let me put the make-up on them, but i tried. Maybe next year! Here's some photos of the merriment at our house last week.

I am super excited! We were invited to Kauai with friends who have a place in Princeville (on the North Shore). As of today, we are are all booked for a trip in February! We will be spending ten glorious days in paradise with our dear friends. We'll each have our own condos, but we'll travel together and play a lot! The kids are going to go nuts!!! I can hardly wait! We had hoped to go to Maui last summer, but things came up and it couldn't be done. So glad to have this new opportunity. I have never been to Kauai and would love to hear recommendations from anyone who has. Yipppeee!!

Today is December 5th, which means it's Sinterklaas' birthday!! (Sinterklaas is the Dutch Santa.) Our boys are excited because his helper, Zwarte Piete, will come down the chimney tonight to pick up their letters and take them back to Santa! We'll leave our letters in our shoes by the fireplace and hopefully there will be a small treat waiting for us when we get up tomorrow!

We let the boys help decorate our Christmas tree this year. Normally, the "elves" come and decorate the house while we are sleeping. This year they just came and added more decorations around the house. I love having a five year old and a three year old. Their are no doubts in their hearts about Christmas magic.

In the spirit of the holiday season, please give a little something to someone who isn't expecting it. Not sure where to start? Go look at these wbsites....
www.anysoldier.com
www.oxfam.com
www.invisiblechildren.com
www.creativevisions.org
www.redcross.org

Merry Christmas to you and yours! May you never be the ones in need.

Labels: Christmas