more holiday fun: 2014

 

the next day, the sisters and cousins all hit the roller rink!
we had such fond memories from our last outing, i thought it would be a
fun activity for all of us!

i think it's safe to say everyone had a great time and the boys {all of them}
have improved so much.  finn felt so confident,  that he decided to race!
i was a little worried as he isn't known for being a speed skate, but the
auntie sat on the edge of the rink cheering him on. {though he didn't win, he
did fantastic}

leslie and i must have been having flashbacks from our middle school years because,
after watching finn, we were inspired to compete in the adult 18+ race.
i was a teensy bit nervous as i hadn't raced in 20 + years, but more importantly,
i wanted to show finn that it's ok to put yourself out there...that's what life is all about.
i was lucky, racing came back to me.  leslie and i did very well *wink*

such fun memories.  so much that I think this will become one of our 'things'
when we have sister reunions. 

~ in the last hour of skating, ander found himself a cozy nook and
went to sleep. i didn't snap a photo as i was fearful i'd wake him but
he was Adorable. 

holiday fun: 2015

this holiday season was full of family and fun and
though it went quickly, i have the memories of photos
to reflect and smile on.

aunt jen flew in from austin, and aunt leslie and her clan
drove all the way down from northern California so we had
a full house.  the double bunk beds came in handy as the boys
all slept in the bed/playroom and leslie set up a pack n play
for little aria in the guestroom. i did my best to make a cozy bed
for aunt jen who slept on an air mattress in the library.

us aunties spent time loving on our new niece,
and happy to learn that she is easy going. 
she let us all hold and love on her, and the grin she gave us
made us fall even more in love with her.

the first day of leslie's visit was spent just catching up and eating.
early that morning, a big pancake breakfast was prepared - with fresh
fruit, whipping creme, powered sugar, etc.   we tried to replicate
cute pancake christmas figures {santa, snowman, etc.}, but ours didn't quite
turn out as pretty as the ones from pinterest.  no one seemed to care.
the boys had fun and more importantly, they were yummy.

 
 
 
 

 

christmas 2015

as promised, the boys DID manage to stay in their rooms until 7am,
but came bounding into our bedroom seconds after yelling
"it's time, it's time and jumping on our bed".
{their enthusiasm could have waken the dead}.

i am usually a morning person,
one of those annoying people that almost jump out of bed ready to start their day. 
because i was up so late, i was exhausted.

i asked that the boys wait 15 minutes so i could get a few minutes more of rest
and wash my face before the christmas morning festivities began. 
they groaned and said i was torturing them {they had been up since just before 6am,
but they went back to their room.

i staggered to the living room, called them in and had my camera in hand.
the boys came running in tearing around the tree, looking for presents with
their name or initial on it. {santa uses letter tags as muchas he can these days}
one present was obvious as it was a little bigger than the rest.

it was a mountain bike.
santa brought scoutie a new bike since he had outgrown his.
this one has gears which will help him bike around around our hilly
neighborhood more easily. finn still needs gears, but he has a birthday just
around the corner so we'll see.  santa brought finn lots of space related books,
and he brought both boys some star wars legos sets.  

for 2 years i've been wanting a way to get all our bikes to the beach/bay easily
since biking there isn't really an easy option since we are farther away.
santa brought me a tow bar to have welded on my prius so I can put a bike rack on.
it's not a glamorous gift by any means, but it's exactly what i had been wanting. 
{it ties into something the boys hear me say all the time....things aren't important,
experiences and people are}. a trip or event is always my preference over things.

my new tow bar and bike rack will bring me together with the people i love,
AND will bring us lots of new and fun experiences together.

auntie jen flew in christmas eve so she was able to witness the festivities
{and gets auntie awards for waking up at the crack of dawn every year to see her nephews
experience christmas morning}.  we were glad to have her.

auntie leslie and her family arrived around midnight for the next several days.
more to come.



christmas eve 2014

christmas eve was spent in our traditional way -
with chili in the crockpot, the boys getting their new pjs,
the family around the tv watching a christmas movie and the boys
tracking santa! how do they 'track' santa you wonder.

they go to NORAD, a website created for this very purpose.
this wasn't around when us gen x and ys were young,
but it's here for the z generation and my boys are lucky,
along with thousands of other kids, who benefit from it.

with a 10 year old suspicious of everything and extremely logical,
NORAD offers detailed scientific data about santa's whereabouts in the world,
how many presents he has delivered {down to the second}, reports and locations
of 'santa sightings', and when he is expected to arrive at your home.

finn reminded me that on christmas eve, all those countries that have a military
give 'space clearance' to santa because it's a special night. *grin*
that's SO finn oliver...thinking about the logistics of it all. 
the boys spent the evening going back to their computer checking on santa's
whereabouts and telling us all how excited they were.  oh to be a child on christmas eve. 

before they turned in, we left out a few of the cookies that we had made a few
days earlier, a cup of milk, carrots for the reindeer, and before I turned in, i did what
mommies around the world do to help make their children's christmas magical. 

i crawled in bed before midnight, hoping santa wouldn't pass us up, and hoping that the
morning didn't come too early. *sigh* 

{i made it clear the boys couldn't leave their bedroom before 7am christmas day}.

tracking santa - finn {10] and scout {7}

christmas cookies

my dear girlfriend melissa contacted me a week before christmas
asking if i was taking some off work before the big day and if the boys might be
interested in baking {actually decorating} sugar cookies with her two kiddos. 

of course i responded, crossing my fingers the boys hadn't outgrown decorating cookies.
since i have a little more room in my kitchen, i offered to host the baking play date!

melissa arrived on monday bearing cookie dough, extra pans, sprinkles and icing.
i pulled out all the christmas sprinkles i'd had stored away and the bin of cookie cutters
i have collected over the last 15+ years....half being acquired when i was in the
big brother/big sister program back in our college days. c tried to get me to donate
them but i refused. i knew they'd come in hand someday.

the kiddos had a blast...the little ones more than the big one. 
finn is on the cusp of the "i'm too cool for cookie decorating phase", but he was a trooper.
kennedy, at 3 now, absolutely loved it and is in the stage where she wants to do everything
by herself, and i mean everything. the psychedelic looking cookies are a results of her
newfound independence and willpower.

we had a wonderful morning...and it was a real treat to have a little girl in our home!

top: logan {6}, scout {7}, kennedy {3}, finn {10}

 

~ to entertain kennedy while the bookies baked,  I dug out the treasure chest
full of loot from scoutie's 5th birthday.  kennedy adorned herself in every necklace
she could find in it and went home with a few jewels on her fingers. *wink* 

parade day

one of our family traditions is watching the pacific beach parade in our
little beach community.  for years we lived within walking distance
to the beach and the pb parade.  we'd walk 4 blocks to garnet avenue
and find a curb to sit on along the parade route.

now that we are a few more blocks away, we drive to an adjacent street,
and park close by.  this is what we did this past saturday morning after
we grabbed take out from taco surf.  we were lucky to run into a family
we met recently with 2 similar aged boys, so we sat with them the entire time. 

the pb parade isn't anything fancy AT ALL. there might be a total of 2 floats in the
entire thing. it's mostly made up of kids from local schools, churches, and community
clubs and organizations from the neighborhood. it's perfect.

this year, scout was asked to participate with the pacific youth soccer league.
he would have to suit up in one of his past soccer uniforms and walk.
i was excited for him, but when i told him, he said he'd much rather watch
the parade. he confessed he wanted to get candy that is handed or thrown to him.
{like the 15 lbs. he has in his halloween bag isn't enough i thought}.

i didn't push it as there will be hopefully be lots of opportunities for him to be in
the parade in years to come.  so we sat and watched runners pass before the parade
started {there was a 'fun run'}, and then came the real parade.  we saw SO many kids
and families we've known from all aspects of  our lives -
from preschool days, play dates, explorer, soccer and birthdays.
this is truly one of the joys of living in a community!

one sweet surprise was seeing the eichorn twins, kai and katherine!
they were riding in the back of their dad's electric smart car waving.
their dad stopped, we all chatted and learned that there's an electric car
club in pacific beach {of course there is}. we are a beach community.

some snapshots of neighborhood kids, friends and santa on a firetruck:
{left to right}: katherine and kai, the asher siblings,
santa on a firetruck, cara and robert {our neighbors}

it was such a fun day. we will definitely be back next year!

~ we crammed 2 holiday parties in this weekend - my company's party was
friday night and held here and saturday's c's company's party was held here. 
i'm not bias at all, but my company's party was WAY better!  *wink*

all about scout

been meaning to get this posted for 2 weeks now,
but it's been go, go, go.

every week a child is selected to be the 'explorer' kid of the week. 
scout was selected a few weeks ago and was so thrilled.
he loved filling out the poster sized sheet of paper he was given to bring
home, and i was happy to help dig out photos for him to cut and tape in.
here's the finished piece:



scout gerber, age 7, 2nd grade



i'm officially done christmas shopping and was thrilled i didn't have to set a single foot in

the mall {thanks to Amazon}.  now i can relax a bit, watch more christmas movies, get to the gym a few

nights a week to burn calories from all the sweets that i've been eating. i've been SO naughty!

 



'tis the season

he puzzled and puzzed till his puzzler was sore.
then the grinch thought of something he hadn't before.
maybe christmas, he thought... doesn't come from a store.
maybe christmas, perhaps... means a little bit more!
~ the grinch

oh where to begin??

auntie jen was in town the first weekend of december for her
company's holiday party as they are based here in san diego.
{a nice little treat}.  one evening we all gathered around the tv to
watch our first holiday movie of the season. jen suggested the grinch.

it had been 2 years or so since i had see this movie and i had forgotten
how much I enjoyed it - it's SO much fun! jim carey is amazing as the grinch,
i love the hairstyles of the whos, but the best part to me is the movie's message.

i absolutely love this season!
i love putting up a christmas tree, giving the boys their special ornament,
the beautiful lights, the music, the treats, and the traditions we've started at home.
all those things make me smile.  

the commercialism however, weighs on me.
this is my least favorite part of the holiday season.

though there is a 3 present limit from santa,
i still find myself struggling not to over indulge with presents from the parents
{even if it's just with books}.  c is much more disciplined than i am and reminds me
that kids don't need 'things'. they need US - our time and our guidance. so very true.

as the boys get older they are becoming more aware of people - of those that have,
and those that do not.  they are starting to recognize they have a lot...more than they need.
finn brought home a paper from school that listed what he is thankful for.
as he shared it with me, he said "i really do have a lot of privileges". i agreed.
i was touched that he had the maturity and ability to see this and verbalize it.
with all that we are blessed with, this season reminds me that giving is so
much better than receiving. and there is so many in need.

so as big day approaches, the boys are pulling money out of  their 'to give' container,
and thinking about how to share the money they've put in their all year. while they do
this, i vow to keep the grinch's famous line in my head, that christmas doesn't come from
a store, that christmas...means a little bit more.

~ as for santa, gosh we haven't really talked about they guy at all this season
{except for when the boys made him a list}. it's something parents do less and less
of as our kids get older. it's very purposeful.

though scout is still young, finn is 10, and by 4th and 5th grade, there are only a
handful of kids and parents {like me} who are hoping to experience one more year of magic.
we're looking forward to auntie jen coming back to san diego for christmas and auntie
leslie and her family.  i see lots of FUN ahead!

holiday head party: 2014

we didn't let another holiday season go by without meeting
for our annual 'head' party. {we almost had the whole gang together}

sidnee and lee were lovely hosts - so much good good and drink!
as always, the gift exchange was lots of fun and we got a good chuckle
when we learned michael and christopher were each other secret santas
and purchased the EXACT same gift for each other....a giftcard to MakerPlace. 

it must be an architect or and engineer thing. *grin*

it's located just 10 minutes away from our neighborhood and perfect
for people who like to make things. they have every tool imaginable,
3-d printers, and even classes for things you might want to make. 
{finn and scout are excited about joining c for his next project}

~ on our way home, finn and scout asked how long we'd known
this group of friends. gosh, long before they were twinkles in our eyes.
{a few since 1992 from our arizona days, and the rest since 1997}.
we're looking forward to lots more celebrations with these folks.