holiday recap:: part 1

from the moment the kids got out of school we were on the go.  it started that weekend with the brockett family early christmas.  or what is now being called the brocket family express christmas.  any modern family fans reading this?

we went to irvine to visit with everyone, enjoy a turkey dinner and give out presents.

loved seeing kendall.  what a sweet little girl.  next year i'm sure she will be running around playing with all of the kids.

i made a queso dip: velveeta and rotel melted together in the microwave.  it was addictive and good.  i also made fresh salsa for those that were counting their calories.

the dessert table was full; pumkin pie, apple pie, banana cake, lemon meringue, cherry pie, ice cream and lots of whipped cream, oh my!

this was one of my favorite memories of the day, watching grady open up his toy story dolls action figures.  i remember the boys and sofia loving them too when they were his age.

and what does an almost 13 year old get excited about?  new ear phones for his ipod and a best buy gift card.

yeah, more legos... this was exactly what he wanted.

sofia got a set of princesses to add to her collection.  and she loves every single one of them.  she's giving them a group hug.  

 the cousins started a poker game that didn't last very long.  but i think it's becoming the family tradition at get togethers.

 posing in the godlewski's new kitchen.   they were great hosts, as always.

the very next day jordan and i headed to burbank to fly to sacramento.  jordan's best friend, owen, moved their after kindergarten and he invited jordan to his 13th birthday party.  the added bonus was that i got to fly him there (i was too nervous to let him fly alone) and visit with april for a bit.

the kids spent most of their time playing games, watching psych and hanging out in the backyard.  i enjoyed catching up with april, going for a run and experiencing their daily lives of tennis and drum lessons.  it was strange to be away from bobby and the other kids.  but i think it gave me a nice break during this busy time.  jordan stayed with them the rest of the week to go san francisco.  i flew home the next day. i've never flown by myself so that was a first for me.

wednesday the kids and i were invited to a cookie decorating party with some friends.  it was pot luck style.  love that.  then the kids decorated their gingerbread people and ate all their frosting.  hee hee.  at the end of the day we all decided that this will become a yearly event.  i would love to host it next year. everyone had so much fun.

that night we got a chance to celebrate the 2nd night of hannaukah with our friends. 

 oh do we love hanukkah... 

especially the food.  amy and anthony made us chicken, kugel, latkes and green beans.  everything was sooo good.  i don't think kugel is a traditional hanukkah dish but we were so happy they made it for us.

of course we exchanged gifts. gotta love the bff pajamas.

and these two goofballs.  it's fun sharing everyone's holiday traditions.  something so special about this time of year.

andrew and sofia missed jordan while he was away but it was a good bonding experience for these two.  they tend to have the most conflict.  they made puppets out of notebook paper, kitchen twine and cardboard to keep them busy.  pretty crafty don't you think?

jordan came home on christmas eve, just in time for my family's celebration.  no we didn't have tamales or buñuelos, which are traditional this time of year.  instead we had a turkey dinner with all the fixings.  for dessert i made these rocky road parfaits that were yummy and didn't make us feel guilty.

 the grandparents' gift was a photo calendar and a clip frame.  each of my siblings helped put the calendar together with photos of the grandkids and each family.  it turned out really cool.  i didn't get a photo of the finished product but maybe i'll do that.

i got my sister in the exchange this year.  i gave her some giada delaurentis products from target.  can you guess what this is?

i shared some of our christmas day photos already.  we had a quiet day.  my parents came over to see the kids open their santa gifts.  then bobby's dad and step mom came over for breakfast. and we ordered chinese food for dinner with his mom and stepdad.  the kids had fun playing with their presents and sharing time with their grandparents.

santa went to trader joe's this year for stocking stuffers.  the kids each got coal and a variety of holiday specialties.  i especially enjoyed the chocolate covered minty marshmallows.

we also have a new family tradition.  meet sam the elf.  

he came to us from the north pole (of target).  he was sent to watch over the kids and report back to santa about their behavior.  yes, it totally freaked sofia out but andrew thought it was fun to wake up each morning and find him in a different place.  those elves sure are mischievous. 

stuck in the apothecary jar 

reading a christmas book

having an m&m fight with the andre ethier action figure.

lying in our bed and watching tv.

sitting on top of the christmas presents.

it was a fun new tradition that we'll continue next year.  i've pinned quite a few suggestions about where other people have found their elves so i have a lot of ideas for next year.

are you exhausted?  i am.  and there is more to share.  

part 2: kernville, new year's eve and jordan's birthday.

take care.