Jolly

One of the best Christmas traditions we have started has been Elf on the Shelf. If you are unfamiliar with it - it's basically a little elf who watches over the children and report back to Santa each night to tell "the man" how the kids had behaved throughout the day.

We adopted "Jolly" last Christmas and it has been so fun to see the kids hunt for Jolly each morning during the holiday season. This year Jolly even left them a note and told them to tell mommy to check her email because Santa had sent them a message. It was the coolest thing.

I wish I had both kids reaction recorded as they each sat and watched their video from Santa. It was so precious and I got tears in my eyes to see how sincere they were listening to Santa's message. Dylan was mesmerized and shook his head yes and listened so intently with a big smile on his face. I didn't know what Mackenzie would think as she got older - but she is still equally mesmerized. She does ask a lot more questions, but is always satisfied with our answer.

During this time of year I love all of the magic that the kids believe in. It's so fun to see it all through their eyes. I hope they will carry the innocence in their hearts for many more years to come and enjoy all the traditions we do.

Social Butterfly

This past year Dylan has really become quite the outgoing guy. I love to see how confident he has grown.

When I run into someone and I don't introduce him, he will speak up and say, "Hi, I'm Dylan" and give a little wave, or extend his hand for a handshake.

When we go into restaurants he likes to acknowledge the wait staff and is very proud to place his order himself. I also love that he is very polite whenever his cup is refilled. However, if the wait staff does not respond to his thank you's he gets a little peeved and speaks even louder until they acknowledge him back with a "you're welcome".

This Christmas season he has also been into telling people "Merry Christmas!". It doesn't matter if it's the waiter, the cashier, the bagger or the mailman. It's quite charming!

I love this little guy who is growing up to be quite a charming social butterfly.

Gingerbread Houses

Every year the kids get to decorate gingerbread houses. The tradition started when I taught first grade and I would make houses with the kids. Now looking back I think I was crazy to actually build houses with the kids and then let them decorate once it set. Every year I would think to myself "I am not doing that again" - until I see the pure joy on their little faces and I would forget all the mayhem of the house building. So I decided that it would be fun for my own kids to have the opportunity to experience the fun - and now we decorate houses every year.




I pre-make the houses the night before so that they are set and won't collapse.



The girls before they began . . .





and the boys !



Dylan was the first one done. He couldn't wait to . . .





dig in - face first! He was hilarious! If I would have let him, he would have ate the whole thing in one sitting.




Mackenzie's gingerbread girl.



Mackenzie's house.


She took her time . . . But the prize goes to . . .






Aunty Tiff! She looks forward to making houses every year. Next year she has requested a bigger house on cardboard covered with foil so she can expand her scenery. Wait . . . who is this event for?

Thanksgiving 2010

This year I hosted Thanksgiving dinner at my house. I was very excited to have family come over to celebrate with us. We have recently re-connected after nine years and it was nice to be back together.

If I may so myself, I cooked the most yummy moist turkey. For the first time I brined the turkey over night. That was a comical scene in itself. Imagine finding a container big enough to hold a 25lb turkey that would fit into the fridge. Then trying to carefully put it into the fridge without spilling the 4 gallons of liquid it is soaking in. And all the men are asleep since it is 11:30pm when I start the brine so I must carefully carry the container from the counter to the fridge without dropping or spilling. And then maneuver it into the fridge. It was quite hilarious. I was praying I wouldn't drop the entire bucket, or that it wouldn't crack! It turned out to be worth it. I had such a juicy moist turkey! And it looked great too!

Uncle Bill and Dylan


My uncle's dog Wicka who loved to lick you!



My dad and his brother Bill



Second cousins



Mackenzie playing with Sammy



My cousin Theresa and her son Alex



Uncle Bill, Aunt Bev, Aunt Sue, and Dad



Aunt Susan and Dylan



Beautiful cornucopia arrangement my Aunt Susan brought me.

ABC Barn Thanksgiving Feast

It's hard to believe my youngest baby is 4 1/2 and in preschool. He has really developed quite a personality and is not shy with other adults.

Today was his Thanksgiving Day feast at preschool and he chose to dress up like an Indian. He was very proud and excited that Kenzie and I were there to share the moment with him. And he was super excited to share the cupcakes with his friends. He kept saying, "My mom made those!"





Mrs. Cecilia getting him dressed.


Getting ready to say a prayer before they eat.





Love this little Indian!

Ocotillo Wells - First Ride

Will has always wanted a jeep since before we were married. I knew this and thought of it like a dreamy wish list - along with the boat, jet skis, quads, and all those other toys boys seem to want. Over the last 10 years I never really gave it much thought when the subject would arise. I would listen and smile . . . and now we own a jeep! A jeep to just go off-roading in. Of course in the beginning I was not fond of the idea. Owning a vehicle just to play around in? A vehicle without a purpose? It was all worth it when I saw the smile on my hubby's face. So what will we own next? I'm hoping for a pool!









Dylan's new friend Joshua

Beautiful sunset right before we left.










Dylan would like a quad of his own.

Ready for a ride in Daddy's new jeep.

Beautiful rainbow on the drive out.

Annual Disney Vacation

We had another great time this year at Disneyland. It was much easier with the kids being older. There are days when I wish we had another baby (which is NOT happening) until I see all the mommies at Disneyland and all that they have to pack and take with them. Diapers, baby food, wipes, bottles, pacifiers, snacks, pack and play, sling and the list is exhausting. I also saw many mommies and daddies with toddler in hand and a baby strapped to them in the squelching 90 degree weather we had the first day. That is when I am glad the kids are older. Don't get me wrong, I loved when the kids were younger, but it's moments like these that I don't miss the "baby" stage. We didn't have to go back to the hotel for nap time because someone was cranky. We walked in with nothing but a backpack to hold my wallet, camera etc. And we stayed out till midnight without any unhappy kids. It was great!

It was also great because the kids remembered it from the time before and could tell us what they wanted to go ride or see. And as always the kids LOVE to have their picture taken with any character they see.

This year we had breakfast with Minnie and friends at the Plaza Inn. Yummy!!!! Sometimes when you have meals with characters the food is not that great. Breakfast was delicious!!!

Here are some of the kids favorites:
Aladdin show
Bugs Life show
Soaring Over California
Toon Town
Face painting
Disneyland Hotel pool

As usual I took way too many pictures! I will only post some to spare you!

Boats

The O'Bryan's took us on their boat at El Cap. Dylan had the best time and is such a dare devil. Mackenzie is much like me and a little reserved!

Dylan would now like daddy to buy him his own boat! Of course daddy is VERY excited and thinks it's a GREAT idea. (Will has been trying to talk me into getting a boat since we first got married 9 years ago!)

Barbies

When I was little I loved my Barbies (Japanese version of course!). Every week I saved my allowance and my mom would take me to Seiyu and I would see which piece of furniture I could afford to buy. I remember standing in the Barbie aisle looking at all that they had to offer and carefully choosing the piece of furniture that I could afford and wanted most.

Looking back now, my mom taught me such valuab le skills of money management. I am sure it would have been easier for her if she would have just bought the pieces for me - after all each piece was only $5 to $10 but I distinctly remember having to save money for a couple of weeks to buy what I wanted. I am so grateful for what she taught me about money management at such a young age. Thanks mom!

To this day I still have those same Barbies and all the furniture in their original boxes. I saved them (not sure why - maybe because I had to work so hard to buy it all?) They are stored safely in a toy box that my grandpa made me when I was born (wow - that toy box is 38 years old!!!)

This past weekend, I opened up the toy box and let Mackenzie play with my treasures! She was delighted and mesmerized by all the things that I had. In fact Dylan was also interested and played along side her for a little while. (Don't tell his daddy!)

It was nostalgic for me to see all the pieces I had collected and to see the little blankets and pillows my mom had sewn for me for my Barbies. I also had little wooden dishes that my dad had brought back to me from his Philippines deployment in the Navy. It all brought back so many good memories I had from my childhood in Japan.

I loved sharing them with Mackenzie, and I loved that she seemed to treasure them too. In fact she told me that she hopes one day she can pass the stuff onto her children. Sometimes she seems so wise beyond her years .