Christmas Celebrations

Thanks to Kree, we had an opportunity to take my mom to Disneyland. It had been a very long time since she had been there, and this was her first time to see all of the Christmas decorations.

We had a great time! Outside of the haunted mansion.

Our decorations and tree were minimal this year. Tevye was spending most of his time in northern California for work, so our usual decorations remained in the attic. He finally broke it to me that he had no intention of getting our big Christmas tree down when he got home, so I took the boys to Wal-Mart where we very cheerfully picked out our 20", pre-lit, artificial tree and trimmings, including a mini tree skirt. The cord for the lights turned out to be pretty short, so I taped the tree to the top of a stool and plugged it in by our fish tank. It must have been cool to be one of the fish in that tank. I forgot to plug in the tree when I took this picture, though.

We gave my nephew, Cole, a gift card to buy new fish for his tank this year, but I didn't want to just hand over an envelope. So, this is our whimsical gift wrapping.

Mom and my sister at Bill and Kim's on Christmas Eve.

The siblings. Billy thought it was pretty funny to pinch my back fat during the photo shoot. It hurt, but I kept smiling.

My awesome nephews, Cole and Nolan.

Vance giving Nolan a thank you hug. Or, is he trying to throw Nolan to the ground?

Vance had his heart set on getting a guitar this year. I think that he enjoyed watching me try to play mine. Today, when we got home from church, I asked Vance if he would like to eat lunch. "No tanks. I'm going to practice my guitar," was his reply.

Thanks, Grandma! This is the perfect game for Vance (and Caden).
Caden REALLY want Super Mario Bros. for Wii.

Calee spent Christmas Day with us. I tried to carry on the tradition of Christmas morning breakfast burritos, but they definitely weren't as good as my mom-in-law's.

Tevye made the biggest burrito. He was full after eating it- what a surprise! That evening, Tevye set up the Kinect (his birthday present), and we had a lot of fun playing video games. Later, we were joined by Calee's husband, Tony, after he finished working.

It was a comfortable day, and I am so happy that we were able to share it together.

Karate Graduation

Vance received his fifth karate belt last Saturday. He is progressing so much! I really like his jumping kicks. He still seems to enjoy the class once we get him there, but getting him to leave the house for lessons is super tough. Vance feels a great sense of accomplishment having earned the white belt with a green stripe. Great job, Vance!

End of Soccer Season

Caden had his last soccer game this past Saturday. Aunt Calee, Uncle Tony, Aunt Talicee, and Grandpa were all able to come and cheer him on. He only got to play in two quarters, but that was fine by him. He spent the rest of the time playing with the other team members on the sideline and Vance. After the game, he told me, "I am going to play next year, too." I am glad that he enjoys it. We were very blessed this season to be on such a great team- great because all the boys were nice and playing for fun, and the coach was patient and kind. I am going to miss this team a lot.

Nutcrackers

This year, the boys painted their own nutcrackers. They really enjoyed it. I can't believe how well Vance did without any help! Caden's looks good, too.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving had the potential to be fabulous this year. Caden had the entire week off of school, so we (the boys and I) packed up and headed to my parents' house. Unfortunately, my brother and his family weren't able to join us this year, but I was looking forward to seeing Mom, Dad, my sister and her boyfriend, and of course, Tevye (he joined us on Thanksgiving Day). This was the year that I was in charge of baking the pumpkin pies. I am so glad that I did that a day early, because I ended up getting very sick with a cold (I was hoping it was just allergies) the night before Thanksgiving. It was almost torture sitting down with a plate of scrumptious looking food and not being able to taste any of it. The only compliment I was qualified to give out was, "It has good texture/consistency."

I did have a lot of fun talking with my family, and we brought Dance Dance Revolution to work off the calories. After dinner, Emilia, Cody, and I went for a very short walk outside. It was very cold, so the neighbors' horses were bundled up in their horse blankets. Two of the horses weren't sure what to think of Cody, and they tried to charge him, but the fence was in their way. Emilia is so fun, and I am thankful for the few moments I get to spend with her.

Scott's dog, Cody. This is one of the sweetest dogs I have ever known.

Emilia really gets into the spirit of the party!

Tevye playing DDR.

Emilia and Scott.
The next day, Dad asked Tevye to go with him to explore some back road through the Cleavland Nat'l Forest. When they came back with a truck this muddy, I knew that my husband had a very pleasant experience. I can't remember the last time his truck looked so good!

Happy Birthday, Tevye!

He is so cute! This year, we celebrated Tev's birthday a day late, because he was out of town for work on his birthday. Caden and Vance picked this cake out for him at the Wal-Mart bakery. We love you, Tevye!