Cookie Exchange

Some of our friends from PEP got together with the kids to exchange some cookies before the big holiday. We hung out at a local park to let the kids run around so we could actually have adult conversations at the same time.

The cookies were all delicious as expected! The kids had no complaints and were not picky in what they liked : ) Owen had way more than he should have. I thought, why not? He doesn't get to eat like this often....boy did I regret that decision later that day! He would not take a nap and was quite a grump for the rest of the day. Next time, Mommy and Daddy are putting a cookie limit on! We learned our lesson.

On our way to the park Owen is giving me his fake smile "Cheese!" face. Nicholas licking up every crumb off the side of his mouth : P Odin, Mika (reading the ingredients on her juice box) and Nicholas always smiling.

Owen is eyeing Laith's cookie...as usual.Love watching the parents trying to get their kids to sit still and smile! Yeah right!Mason, looking for crumbs that Owen leaves behind. Gabbi is wondering where her cookie is? "Hmmm, I think this cookies needs a good glass of milk." Says Odin "Look Mom, messy hands and face....now what?"

Cruise to Mexico!

Adam and I needed a much needed break from life for a bit and could not pass up a four day cruise to Mexico that we saw on Travelzoo. We had never taken a cruise before, so it was nice to experience it together and with just the right amount of time. I was off work from UCSB, Adam only had to take two slow days off from work and Nana and Pappy were more than willing to take our little man for the week. (Thanks guys! xo)

When we got there we realized that we left our passports at home. Not a good way to start the trip. The lady who was checking us in laughed in our faces and thought we were joking....nope. After checking with her supervisor, they let us on and said that we might get extra questions from customs on returning from Mexico, but "welcome aboard!" PHEW!

We saw some great comedy shows on the ship, ate way too much (as expcted), slept in and just relaxed. We spent a few hours in Catalina just walking around on day number two. It was a cute little town, lots of shops, but probably a better time in the summer.

A seagul was greeting us to the island :)There's our tiny ship from Catalina.Ensenada, Mexico was day 3. We walked around the town which is full of shops and street vendors trying to reel you in. Yuck. We decided to take a bus tour to "La Bufadora" (one of the three natural blow holes in the world). It was a fun little 45 minute bus drive on twisty roads. Once we got there, we were guided through (my interpretation of) a "Mexican strip mall" of people bombarding us with cheap trinkets and churros. The craziness ended when we got to the blow hole (that didn't seem to be blowing while we were there there).

It was peaceful and beautiful over looking the ocean. We hung out there for a bit before heading back for a quick lunch of below par fish tacos and overly sweet margaritas (one being virgin of course).
Before heading back to the bus for our departure time I was swindled into buying some horrible fake "vanilla extract." I was tired and wasn't thinking straight. Adam got some nice cocktail glasses and a toy for Owen. When we got off the bus I noticed a military vehicle parked on the corner with armed men holding machine guns standing up in the back of the truck. Adam said this was to "make us feel safer"...whatever. I couldn't wait to get back on the ship and get in the hot tub! Ensenada is a place I have no desire to return to. Not to sound so negative about the whole thing, I just have yet to find the nice part of Mexico that people are always talking about. I have only been to Mexico twice...maybe the third time is the charm?

Here we are getting wild and crazy at an empty bar with my non-alcoholic margarita (that actually tasted good as it was made with fresh lime juice) served in a Pepsi cup! Whooooo Hooooo, Viva La Fiesta!Every night they had a turn down service and made the cutest little animals out of towels on the bed. Not sure what animal this was supposed to be, but Adam made him look even cuter with the mini guitar and hat : )Adam is going to kill me for putting this picture on here, but he was making me laugh so hard, I had to share it : ) This is Owen's sombrero we brought back for him (he wears it around the house all the time now!)Day four was at sea. We hit the gym, ran the track (had to work off all those desserts!), and relaxed on the chaise lounge chairs reading our books. It was so nice. Relaxation at it's finest.I didn't really miss Owen until this day, and then all of a sudden around dinner time, I couldn't wait to jump off the ship and give him a huge squeeze the next day!

When we finally got home to see Owen, he was not quite as happy to see me as I was to see him. Though he had an amazing time with his grandparents, I think he was a little pissed that we left him for 4 days! : ( It took about 10-15 minutes or so for him to warm up, then he was full of hugs and love for the rest of the night.



The End.

Finger Paints

It's been a while since we did these since it's so messy, but Owen sure did have fun with it this time!

Holiday at the Ranch

We went to the Stow House with some friends to get into the holiday spirit. It was a pretty chilly rainy day which made it nice. It was not too crowded and perfect for hot apple cider and fresh baked cookies! It's a pretty local home grown event that I just love. The Santa they have every year is great! He keeps you laughing and is good with the kids. You can also take a tour of the historic Stow House which is beautiful and has been decorated for Christmas. In the kitchen they have volunteers rolling out sugar cookie dough for each child to decorate their own cookie and then bake in the old fashioned ovens that still work. Outside, they have hot apple cider, crafts for people to make and take home, and reingoats, not reindeer, reingoats. ; ) The kids can pet the goats who are all dressed up with red and green coats and jingle bells. They do a great job every year!

Owen was pretty freaked out by Santa last year, but this year he warmed up to him after a while. He didn't quite jump into his lap by any means, but he talked to him and eventually sat on his knee with out myself or Adam being right next to him on the bench. He told Santa everything that was on his list: A "Bert and Ernie Book, a Gold fish, Gold fish crackers (go figure), and toys." Easy enough. The two year old want list is nice and doable for Santa and Mrs. Claus this year. It's when he's three and starts asking for an iPhone because all his friends have one is when I am going to be scared! I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking...

Santa must be saying something very important, Owen is listening intently!Here's our Christmas Card shot!Looks like Mom was naughty this year? I don't believe it. It was actually the first time in her life she had ever sat on Santa's lap! Checking out his new reindeer candy cane he is going to hang on the tree when we get home.Owen's sugar cookie before it went in the oven.Three fabulous Moms (me, Suzanne and Daalia) who are simultaneously working on baking bun number 2 in the oven!

Looking so festive and ready to celebrate!

Tis' the Season to be Jolly, Fa la la la la, la la la laaaa!

OK, I should have probably turned this into a few different posts, but it's too late. So bare with me and all my pictures : ) This week we started Christmas early. On Sunday, Nanna, Pappy and Adam took Owen to the Yacht Club to trim the tree, decorate sugar cookies, eat an all you can eat kids buffet and watch a Christmas puppet show. Owen had a ball! Here is the sunset that night from the club. (Adam took this one).
Owen started off with his first plate of mac and cheese (his favorite) piled high, with french fries and chicken strips. Ugh, not one green thing on his plate : ( He survived, and so did I ; )Oh here comes the greens....oh wait, it's icing for his sugar cookies! Putting on sprinkles as a finishing touch to his edible art work.He got to explain it all to me when I came in. (I had to miss the start of it because I had to work). For some reason he didn't quite get the concept of eating it when he was done. So we took them home and he had them over the past two days. He was pretty excited as he shoved it in his mouth saying "more" with his cheeks full of flour and sugar already!

We got to the puppet show a few minutes after it started and Owen took off on his own and worked his way through all the kids and found a seat right up front! : ) He had never seen anything like this, he was in awe!
Thank you Nanna and Pappy for taking Owen! He loved it!The next morning I woke up to a beautiful sunrise with fog rolling out in the field behind our house. The pictures don't do it justice, but it was a bonus for getting up early. : )

My Mom said that my Dad used to LOVE Christmas and would always get the tree the day after Thanksgiving. I wouldn't mind doing this, however, I am a little worried about having a dead tree on Christmas morning...so we waited until December 1st to get it. I think I am especially excited this year because Owen actually 'gets it' this time around. He talks about Santa Claus and Christmas lights etc, every day. He is getting very excited, and I am so excited to see his face on Christmas morning!

We just went around the corner to Home Depot to get our tree. I would have rather gone to a lot with the works, but it was a last minute decision to go and the trees we have gotten there in the past have all been great. Owen had a blast running around picking trees saying "THIS ONE!" to every tree he saw. He's not too picky!

Covering those sensitive ears of his when they cut off the bottom of the trunk to keep it freshTime to decorate! Our little reindeer helper was ready to get to work! Starting with the lights first of course.Adam untangling the lights. I had it on a slow shutter speed to get the craziness of the lights on accident. Thought it was cool : ) They were not as tangled as it looks!All done and lit up. Now Owen gets to check out all the ornaments for the rest of the night.

The End.