Weekend adventures

This weekend we watched Starwars episodes I and II(we have only seen VII). Planted trees in a park, went to the zoo and Los Trompos!

 

We watched an amazing mama ice skating with and without her children. Here's a video of her without

Video of the spinning tops here

Bathtime perfection

 I love the hum of the littles playing in the tub. 

Cash, like Sam, could spend hours in the tub, buzzing and playing in his own world. 

I love overhearing the intricate workings of a life they have created for dinosaurs, frogs, boats and planes as I take care of things around the house.  "Geronimo!" as a pteranodon dive bombs the water to swim with a shark. The sound of water sloshing against the tub and inevitably on the floor as said dino and shark swoosh around on an underwater adventure.  

Despite the puddles of water I know I face when I make my way to the bathroom, I savor these sweet  sweet sounds. 

Don't grow up just yet guys!

Here comes February

I thought of you yesterday. For a long time.

Then, Blackbird played on Pandora this morning for the first time in a long time. The Beatles in general remind me of you, and plenty of their songs make me ache in that way that great songs do. But, Blackbird does me in every time, not in a teary way though, this one actually makes me happy and I nearly always have to listen to it at least twice. 

Eleven years has flown by, Soldier is my constant reminder. I went out and adopted him a week after you died, he was my savior for a long time. He is old and grey now. He is so far from the puppy I adopted 11 years ago. He still loves to visit the dog park.  He jumps in the car and smiles the entire drive to, then runs his heart out; but, when we are done his legs are too tired and he needs to be lifted back into the car. Times like those I really stop and think about how old he is, how long you've been gone and what life would be like if you weren't. And that, can leave me brimming with both joyful and gloomy feelings for days. Don't worry too much though, I tend to work it out. :)

 It's just that it is almost February and, February will always weigh heavy on my heart.

I hope you're well. Know you're missed in all of your wise, creative, tall, and stubborn ways. Love always.

On Sundays we grocery shop

Grocery lists are 1000x better when your children write (and illustrate) them!

P.S. Not entirely sure Sam knows what a turkey looks like

Cookie Sales

Hey you!

Just wanted to let you know that it's not too late to pre-order girl scout cookies!

Email me or give Yuliya a call if you have that unrelenting craving for these delectable goodies!

Night before Christmas 2015

The night before Christmas we ate our traditional tamale dinner. Then we snuggled in with hot chocolate and marshmallows and watched A Christmas Carol and prepared for the big man to come down the chimney. 

It was quite the content and cozy night. :)

Winter Break

If you need us, this is where we will be.

All day, everyday.

Hat day

 

Every so often, picking the perfect hat is a process!

Nutcracker 2015

As the last day of school before winter break ticked away I waited patiently for Cash to be dismissed so we could head to the nutcracker. On the way there my guy confessed to me "Mama I have had A LOT of treats today." I figured my little firecracker would have a difficult time sitting still anyway, but this sealed the deal.

We sat through the performance and Cash loved it! He did have difficulties sitting still; so, I offered up my lap, we sat contentedly after that and took in the dance together. :) He was thrilled about the dancing and over all story. The entire time he whispered his interpretations of what the performers were acting out. 

Afterwards we had photo opportunities with some of the ballerinas...Cash had zero interest in being that close to a perfect stranger. Thus, I took pictures of other people's children with one of the soldiers!

All tuckered out, Cash fell asleep just like Clara on the way home. :)

Heavenly Aromas

Over the past few years we have developed the tradition of baking and creating these chocolate dipped pretzels for friend and teacher gifts.  The kidlets enjoy this because they can add a different creative flair to each and every pretzel.  Last night Heather and Claire stopped by after dinner and helped us (First for Claire!) with the process. 




Claire was more of an appraiser than a creator last night. I also caught her sleeping on the job!


Hard at work

  

Tada!



After hours of baking, dipping, decorating, and patiently watching them dry, I carefully packaged our treats only to discover that..we ran out of boxes! Oops! I managed to pack up a good portion of the left overs. However, somehow we ended up keeping and eating quite a bit for breakfast! :)

Have I mentioned how much I enjoy holidays? Not just Christmas, but really, all of them! I love waking up and doing something a little different, I cherish tradition and I love seeing my birds create new memories. The work is always worth it; but, sometimes it sure can be exhausting! At the end of the night I was beat and ready to hit the hay!

Super Service Saturday

This weekend was busy to say the least. Between office holiday parties, dinner club and sister Christmas celebrations, we managed to fit in gymnastics, caroling, wreath laying with Wreaths Across America and assembling our holiday greetings!

This Saturday, after months of going door to door and standing outside of store fronts, Cash was finally able to see the results of all the generous donations his troop was able to collect! He spent over five hours at the veteran's cemetery participating in the ceremonies and assisting with wreath distribution. This has been my favorite of our projects; it goes to such a great cause. The lessons the children learn about the sacrifices others have made for our nation, as well as meeting the thankful families and veterans is  absolutely priceless. This Saturday, nearly the entire cemetery was decorated with 58,000 wreaths! All by the generosity of other's time and money! 

See more information here WAA-Houston 2015

Yuliya was also out and about spreading joy on Saturday. She spent the day caroling at an assisted living home, and earning her Summit Award! After gymnastics, we rushed to donuts and practice before heading off to the true performance. The girls did such a wonderful job and the audience thoroughly enjoyed their caroling and card / gift giving! 

Handing out cards they hand made for the occasion. 

The girls also kindly gave away their jingle bells; which, brought a great deal joy to the new owners who jingled along with the remainder of the songs! 

Yuliya and her friend Hanna earn their Summit Award- signalling that they have complete the three brownie journeys! Woohoo! She is prepared to bridge in the spring!

 Once we made it home, my helpers spent the next few hours helping me address and decorate the holiday cards that you all should be receiving shortly! And a brilliant job they did!  Enjoy! Oodles of love from our house to yours!

Sister Christmas

Fabulous Purple hat knitted by cousin Madi.

On Sunday afternoon, we had the pleasure of celebrating Christmas with my sisters and their families. We held onto our gifts for Jack and Sam who couldn't make this event, which in the end, I think they might be thankful they missed this one!

All of the children were so proud of their new personalized aprons! I can't wait to see our four in the kitchen baking away with them! Thank you Grandmami! Check out Alyssa's head band and Yuliya's hat that Madi so thoughtfully fashioned for them! 

It is also worth nothing that the three littles looking off to the side were watching Aunt Amy's wild wild chimpanzee impression. :)

 After dinner, the family gathered around and "played" Beanboozled! You better believe that yours truly kept her mouth sealed tighter than a bank vault!  In case you haven't heard of this game. Here are the basics...
Lift the lid, lower the lid and like that magic a bean appears! Is the black jelly bean Licorice, or is it Skunk Spray? Perhaps the blue bean is Toothpaste flavor, or maybe it's delicious Berry Blue. BeanBoozled jelly beans come in 20 flavors, 10 weird and wild flavors matched up with 10 look-alike tasty flavors.  Wacky flavor pairings include: 

• Stinky Socks - Tutti-Fruitti 
• Lawn Clippings - Lime 
• Rotten Egg - Buttered Popcorn 
• Toothpaste - Berry Blue 
• Barf - Peach 
• Canned Dog Food - Chocolate Pudding 
• Booger - Juicy Pear 
• Moldy Cheese - Caramel Corn 
• Baby Wipes - Coconut 
• Skunk Spray - Licorice

Kaitlyn realizing that she just ate Skunk Spray, she was a trooper and ate all of the good as well as the bad. 

Rotten egg for Madi!

Booger for Keith!

Vomit for Amy!

....And back to normal

Merry Christmas from Alyssa, Yuliya, and Kaitlyn!