3

Winter bleh.

I'm just not a winter person. No secret there. But to focus on the positive I will list a few things I do appreciate about the colder months.

• the excuse to not go anywhere w/ four children in tow
• I can stay in my sweats or pj's all day (except for when I leave the house) in order to keep warm
• the snow can be pretty
• hot beverages: coffee, tea, hot chocolate
• reading with the kids on snow days

That's all that comes to me right now.

Yesterday we tried to make butter. Skimmed some cream off the top of our raw milk and had a shaking party.


Everyone got in on the fun, and we were able to produce a few chunks. Haven't tried it yet.

Last night Dennis and I had a date. These date nights are rare for us simply because we are too cheap to want to pay for a babysitter, or to mess with trying to find one. It's ridiculous. But, my man arranged for his mom to come up last night and we went and used his gift card he got for Christmas at the Olive Garden. And for the first time in a long time I wasn't disappointed with my meal. Then we wandered around Target. Yes, we can live it up. Don't be sad that you can't be us. There is only one us.



High Fashion.







And this is what this morning was about. Sitting on the potty. We did get one result in the pot and no accidents as of yet!

2010 at a glance....

The 3 of Us

Now that we are back to our regular scheduled programming it's just the 3 of us again. The older 2 are at school, Den is at work and now it's me and the 2 boys in blue. Before B was moving around it just felt like I was spending my day's with V, but now that B is scooting around he's definitely part of the show. It's been really fun to see V interact with his baby brother. I can honestly say that I have not once seen any tinge of jealousy displayed in a negative way. He loves him and is super sweet to him by singing to him, sharing his toys (although sometimes I must intercept what he's sharing) and even yesterday he tried to share some cheerios. I'm loving my little boys.

story of the morning:

Me: V...what do you want for your birthday?
V:..um...birthday...(giggling)...um....cake!
Me: okay, what kind of cake?
V: um....chocket!
Me: okay...what color do you want your cake to be?
V: (still giggling) um...color...ice cream!

that's my boy.

Happy New Year

We'll be sad to leave this view, but it's time to go home.

New Year's Eve dinner, yum.

Some old slides and then speed scrabble!

Almost made it to midnight, but fell asleep laughing to the Marx Brothers. E asked if she could go to bed at 11:15.

Another great year with my love. Here's to another!

CA Christmas 2010

We are still here but I thought I'd cover Christmas...these photos are straight from the camera.

We got in super super late Friday night...or really early Saturday morning. When we woke up we loaded up Baby B and headed to the coast to...

see a sweet baby girl,

and her sweet mama (and daddy, not pictured. thanks for a great visit Mckay's!).

Then to the 7th Annual Cousin Christmas party. The first one was at our place when we lived in Monrovia. It involves fabulous food and a serious game of Catchphrase.

Next day was a lunch with Carla, dear old friend.

Then we headed back to the desert to find our kids

riding bikes

and scooters..in December. sigh...

The rest of the time consisted of tasting pomegranates,

playing with cousins,

resting,

finding water in the desert after the rain,

and taking in the view.

We celebrated Den's birthday,

fed sheep,

pet chickens,

ate carne asada from here...it was amazing as always. Don't hate.

Then there was the candlelight Christmas Eve Service,

where everyone sang.

Then it was time for Christmas pj's.

Someone thought he'd try to take a peek before bed.

Christmas morning came fairly early and started w/ baked oatmeal and

stockings, and then opened gifts.

Who looks the most excited in this picture?

The dog was humiliated.

There was plenty of treats.

We ended the day with a Christmas walk,

happy baby,

rare full family shot,

and fabulous sunset.

Goodnight Grandpa.

The rest of the week has been spent playing w/ new toys,

seeing old friends,

playing games,

seeing more old friends,

playing with dogs.

We have a few days left and we plan to just enjoy the weather (although it's raining, it's still warmer here!) and the family. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.