Our own Christmas Story 2009

Christmas Morning 2009

We have a rule at our house that the merriment cannot begin before 6 am.

Nolan was up at 5:10 waiting patiently in bed for what seemed like an eternity until he popped up next to my side of the bed at exactly 5:59 ready for Christmas "to start".

It's impossible to not give a groggy smile when you can feel the excitement kids seem to give off on Christmas morning. I remember feeling the exact same way when I was a kid. So much fun and anticipation awaiting you just down a flight of stairs!

Santa delivered a brand new red, and no doubt, powerful baseball bat for Nolan to put to good use later this Spring.


This was one of my favorite Christmas surprises this year... Notice the amount of wrapping paper, boxes, and gift bags that Nicholas used to carefully package Connor's gift from him.
(When Nick asked Connor what he wanted for Christmas, Connor responded by saying "Peace on Earth". Nick looked a little deflated and said that is nearly impossible Dad...)
But look what he came up with!


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Isn't that hilarious? That is a pea pod and some extra peas laying around on top of our lovely Mother Earth.

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After much lazing about our house for most of the morning, we then ventured to Connor's cousins home. Christina did a lovely job of hosting a ginormous Christmas get together. It was so much fun.



Madison and her unbelievably soft new puppy, Emma.

In the cousin gift exchange, Nita drew Nick's name and she made him his very own snack box. Filled to the brim with trial mix, crackers, and even his own can of cheez whiz! He was stoked to know he could stock his room with this mini pantry. Every teenage boy's dream!

Lucky Nolan was the happy recipient of a Snuggie! His 4 year old cousin, Savannah, knew he'd been secretly desiring one of these blankets with sleeves for weeks. Hooray for Savannah!

I loved seeing all of the cousins together this year. Caleb is my youngest nephew at the ripe old age of 16 months. He couldn't get enough of the stereo buttons even after his mother Gerry rigged a coffee table barricade to keep him from pushing buttons. Soooo funny and cute!

Here is a collection of cousins...

Bottom row= Jesse, Nita, Madison, and Reece

Middle row= Nicholas and Ben

Top row= Colten, Nolan, and Jay

It was a fun-filled day where family came together to make memories, share a delicious feast, and remember that life is indeed a wonderful thing.

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The following day it was my turn to host a gathering. My side of the family arrived with bags full of gifts and stomachs empty with the promise of a brunch to be eaten.

It was a casual affair that brought my two cousins and their families to my doorstep. As well as a nice visit with my aunt Linda and uncle Al who are always a joy to have in the house. Even my brother Todd was able to come!! I sure do miss that busy guy.

Here's proof that Todd was in the house. He might as well have worn a red suit that day because he came bearing TONS of toys for ALL of the kids in the house. It was unbelievable and the kids were ecstatic! Thanks Todd!

Here's Adam's oldest girl, Audrey sitting next to Doug's wife, Vivian. Don't they look pretty?

We were all exchanging our gifts when it was my turn to open what Al had gotten for me. I opened a little tiny box to find a tiny little wooden chair. You see, in the Summer of 2008 Al took most of our old fence boards home to recreate a bench he had seen at an artsy boutique somewhere. I thought he had made me an ornament of a mini version of his bench. Then he told me to go out to his car to get the doll that fits on the little chair. When I went outside I saw a GIANT chair/bench in the back of his truck. I was blown away! It is an amazing bench that is made to look like a giant stuffed chair but is completely made from wood. It must have taken him forever to create this work of art. I was astounded and thrilled that he made me one of these artistic creations to put in my garden or yard.

I should really take a picture of it all by it's lonesome so you can see the detail. I love it! It's so pretty that Connor is even considering leaving it in the house! :)

It was another lovely day that made Christmas last just a little bit longer.

I love how each Christmas always has a different feel. Different memories are assigned to each and every one. This one was delightful in every way!

The stockings are hung by the chimney with care...

I do love me some Christmas decorations.

I had fun rediscovering old favorites as I pulled them out of their plastic tote homes.

Some are old and sentimental. Some are new and sparkly. I love them ALL.

I love these glass cylinders... I can put ANYTHING in them all year round.

Look, that is sunshine bouncing off my wall! It's a rare sight in December!


I absolutely love these two little wooden snowmen. Nick and Nolan each made one of them when they were in Preschool. I adore their crooked eyes and off kilter smiles.

My Uncle Al gave me these cute elves made from branches he had laying around the yard. I LOVE THEM SO. I tell ya, my Uncle Al is one of the most creative people I know. I love all of his quirky and inventive creations!

Our staircase is flanked by this garland each and every year and I'm always so disappointed when I have to take it down. It such a cheerful greeting when you first walk through the front door.

I found these little snowflake ornaments at Ikea and I think I place them some where different each and every year.

Gigantic poinsettia that I know will not survive to see 2010. For some reason, I was not meant to keep poinsettias alive... I love them but no matter how careful I think I'm being with them, they drop their leaves and kick the bucket as soon as I bring them home.

I'm big on beaded garland, I put it EVERYWHERE. Like on these platters filled with balls and angels. It was a haphazard idea, but I think they turned out pretty cute.

Surprise...more beaded garland! This time in a giant glass cylinder holding up Nick and Nolan's Santa picture from a couple years ago. Their last Santa picture. sniff.

The only thing missing is our Christmas tree. It does exist and it is in my living room right this minute. But it's naked and I think I'll wait to take it's photo AFTER it's been decorated.

I hope you are all enjoying your merry and bright Christmas houses.

Only one week to go!

The Big Kitchen Reveal

It gives me goosebumps to walk into my kitchen these days.

Because I LURVE it so.

Connor and I have been planning on renovating our kitchen for the last couple of years. It wasn't in horrible shape or anything...just not exactly to our taste.

So we rolled up our sleeves and got busy fixing away to make it just how we like it.

Here is the only picture of the "Before" kitchen.

Why I only took one is beyond me.

Now don't get me wrong, it was a very functional kitchen. Lots of cabinets, large pantry, nice and efficient. All it was lacking was a little warmth. It always felt kind of cold and sterile to me. Gray laminate counter tops, blah white back splash, and a white linoleum floor that shows EVERY speck of dirt my boys and dog drag into the house.

Drum Roll please...................

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Ta Da!

Here is the final product. Well, except for the flooring... we still have plans to rip out the nasty linoleum. But that may take a couple of months and I just cannot wait that long to show off my lurvley kitchen before then folks! So until then, imagine some nice tiles in its place. Thanks.

This is the back splash Connor and I found at the local hardware store. Hello? Don't you just love the little crackled glass tiles hidden in the middle of all the stone tiles? Um, I do. Hence, the reason we purchased enough to go around the room! Connor and I worked our magic and installed the back splash over the course of two days. We are now pros at tiling, grouting, and sealing... or so we think!

Here's a close up shot of the counter top. We decided to go with a Quartz counter made by Silestone. The color is called Coffee Brown and I love how sparkly and warm it makes my kitchen feel. It looks a lot darker than this photo appears. In fact, I spilled some diet coke on it the other day and couldn't see it... So really, they should have called it cola brown.

The counter top installers threw in a brand spanking new under mount sink as part of the deal. Oh, how I love this sink. It's deep. Deep enough to hide the morning dishes! Shhhhh...Don't tell.

This is a view of one of my favorite things about this new counter. Can you see that the eating bar is now slightly curved? We agonized over the decision to change the shape of the eating bar. We were afraid to mess with the original shape for fear it would look ridiculous. But I'm so glad we decided to risk it... I think it looks fab and a little more modern.

With the money we saved by installing our own back splash, we purchased a new kitchen table and chairs. I've been searching high and low for a round table that has the perfect pedestal to adorn our kitchen. It appears that I am VERY picky when it comes to furniture design. I finally stumbled upon this black and brown table on-line. It's pedestal was not to skinny. Nor was it too fancy. It was perfection. So with one click of the mouse it was en route to our home. I was very nervous that it would show up on my doorstep looking NOTHING like I'd hoped, but we lucked out and it is fantastic! The chairs came from a separate on-line purchase and I think they compliment each other well. Phew...another sight unseen purchase that went as planned. :)

This angle shows a better view of the pedestal that called to me. It's pretty chunky which I think looks fun and casual.


It's fun to walk into a whole new space that we designed ourselves. I love the coziness of our new kitchen and I think Connor loves the fact that I seem to keep it so much cleaner now. :)
Have I mentioned how much I love the Grand Canyon sink?

Thank you Connor for agreeing to update our home and helping with the tiling job. I love working with you, I think we make a darn good team if I do say so myself!

Picasso Does Not Live Here....

My Brother Scott's family sent Nicholas a very fun and fitting Birthday present for him.

We opened the package to find the gift surrounded by fabulously hand drawn greeting cards from his fave far off cousins. That was gift enough!

Then he opened the wrapped gift to find a collection of artist tools.

There were graphite pencils, erasers, water color pencils and this helpful dude... Nick ripped open the box the mannequin came in right away...

Then he invited me to sit down next to him to draw a still life of said dude.

This is Nick's rendition of the dude.

Awesome if I do say so myself.

This kid has got some mad sketching skills.
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Now for my rendition...

I'm a little embarrassed to demonstrate my total lack of skills...

But it made me laugh so stinkin' hard that I have to share....

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Are you ready?

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You might be asking yourself, why? Why on earth does that so called lady bend like she does? Or... Why is her left leg so much smaller than her right? Or... why is it that her arms could possibly wrap around her tiny little head fourteen times? Or why is Jay Leno's chin on this lady's face? The questions are endless really.

I ask myself this... Why would the local elementary school put me in charge of teaching art to school aged children every month for the past three years?

If they saw this, I think they may revoke my volunteer art docent status.

I will say this... WE NEVER DRAW PEOPLE in any art lessons. It's just not a good idea.

Nuff said.

Your kid could so NOT kick my student's butt.

Dearest Nick,

Let me start off by saying I think you are a rock star. I know these last couple of months have been trying. Not only have you started attending a new school surrounded by unfamiliar faces, you had to get up an hour earlier. Ick. The amount of homework you've had to face each night is massive compared to last year's homework. Not to mention the level of difficulty has increased by leaps and bounds... But have you seen your report card lately? You amaze me kiddo!

The cherry on top of this scholastic cupcake is when I opened an envelope from the school saying you had been chosen as one of the students of the quarter by not one, but TWO of your teachers.
It's nice to know that your parents aren't the only people who recognize all of your outstanding efforts. You should be proud of yourself. Your hard work is paying off. It can be hard to see the benefit sometimes when you're buried under homework, projects, and getting up at the crack of dawn to do it all again. You are a prime example of a fantastic student, classmate, brother, friend, and son. Keep up the great work, we love you!

Love from your biggest fan,
Mom

When life gives you lemons...

I finally got over the loss of a sunny vacation to sunny Arizona. It was not an easy thing to kiss goodbye. Especially after packing up all my cute summer outfits...dreaming about warm sunshine... and wanting desperately to see far off relatives that just make me smile.

So... Nolan was feeling better after a couple of days on the AMAZING Tamiflu medication. It seriously erased any symptoms he had within a matter of 48 hours! We would have totally rebooked out airline tickets for later that week if the price hadn't of sky rocked to almost quadruple what we paid. An extra $1300 on top of what we already shelled out was not a viable option. :(

With a mostly healthy family in the house, we decided to put a little fun back into our week of misfortune. On Tuesday afternoon, we hopped in the car and headed one hour South to a resort that has been beckoning my children to come visit since it's opening day two years ago. We visited the Great Wolf Lodge! A ginormous rustic lodge that comes equipped with a tweens dream arcade room, gift shops galore, cafes, and the coolest indoor water park that is always a balmy 84 degrees. Hallelujah! We found warmth!

Connor and I were equally excited as the boys to be shooting down slick water slides. It. Was. So. Much. Fun! There were a couple slides that were big enough for all four of us to go at the same time. Those were the best, we'd laugh, hoot, and holler the whole way down. Good times.
Nick and Nolan's favorite part was the wave pool that could slosh you around like you were a grimy garment in the heavy-duty wash cycle of a washing machine. Insanely wild but fun.

We loved our time at the lodge. It was impeccably clean and every employee we met was helpful and unbelievably friendly. (It was a far cry from the last water park we attended...) It was just what this deflated family needed to raise our spirits.

It was a perfect opportunity to look for the bright side. We were feeling better! We still had time off from work! We were having fun together! And now we still have a vacation ahead of us to Arizona to look forward to...