Christmas 2011

For the first time in my lifetime, Christmas Eve was not at my mom's or at aunt Nancy's. The torch was passed to Tim and Renae, and it was fabulous. We started off at church where Drew used her Sing and Shout skills to sing Angels We Have Heard on High...she's singing Gloria here.

She was so excited to see her Boys. She had told us the day before that she wants to marry Carson. We're a little afraid to break the news to Cade.

The traditional family photo.

 The eyebrows say it all.

 Drew and Kels in their beautiful dresses.

 Papa always happiest sitting next to his dolly.

 The kids' table...Cole was moved up to the adult table this year, he probably would rather be at the kids' table next year.

 Drew and 2 of the 3 boys.

 Good Lord look at all that loot.

 Drew showing Papa the calendar we made for him.

 A trumpet that has already gotten a lot of use.

 An ornament from auntie Kels of the Rockettes.

 Obliging Mom for another picture.

 We always love getting new books from Cindy, Dan and Sierra.

 A pillow pet from Tim, Renae and the boys that Drew has been sleeping on ever since.

 Kels trying to remain ladylike while opening her new panini maker from us...hoping for her to do a little more home cooking ;)

 Showing Papa how her LeapPad works.

Papa: "not sure why this trumpet has 4 valves, a real one has 3."

Me: "Grandpa, the trumpet was $11"

 Drew took my camera and snapped a few photos of her favorite guys: Papa....

 Tim and Cars....

 and Boppa photobombing a picture of Kels.

 Way past Cade's bedtime, Grandpa Don is trying to keep him awake for dessert!

 We left some cookies out for Santa to eat...it looks like he nibbled on some!

 Checking out the new gifts from Santa!

 Yo Yo Drew.

 A beautiful new Princess castle from Grandma and Pa!

 Daddy and his new Tiger-fied corn hole game.

 Auntie Kels got a new bike for Christmas and Drew wanted to go cruising around the neighborhood with her.

 Testing out the new boards...they definitely needed some breaking in.

 Drew did her best to help out too.

 Opening up the Rainbow in my Room from Great Grandpa, definitely a favorite gift. Now she has to have it on when she goes to sleep at night.

 Steve, Emily, Great Grandpa, Amy, Jerry & Josh

 ...and the rest of us! Merry Christmas to all!

Tis the season of Christmas programs

 The Sing and Shout Club sang a short little tune at church a few Sundays ago. Brady Jones was Drew's #1 fan.

 The following Tuesday night was her School Program. All the kids sang the first verses from 7 or 8 Christmas songs. 

She was much more animated this year and enjoyed the singing and all the hand motions this year, even using her singing skills on Christmas Eve.

Trimming the Tree

It took us over the course of several days to hang all our photo ornaments, special ornaments and wait for Kels to make it down so Drew could help her hang her Barbie ornaments. But the result, as always, is beautiful!

El NIguel Santa

This year, Drew promised she wouldn't be shy with Santa. Instead, she didn't speak to him at all and gave a very forced smile. "I just wanted to get my goody bag," she said.

 This year, Drew and Meghan opted to keep their displays of affection under a bit more control.

2011 & 2010

Drew and Meghan took turns trying to make each other smile while the other was getting their picture taken. Drew is really laying her expression on thick here.

Thanksgiving at the Cabin

Thanksgiving morning we started off with a nice hike around our rented cabin.

 The view was amazing from our cabin and there were photo ops all along the hike.

 Of course I'm in my winter clothes and Jeremy's in a t-shirt. On the hard part of the hike, Drew warmed up like her father and I ended up carrying two coats.

 Drew reenacted her Wonder Woman pose.

 Unfortunately for Daddy, Drew got a little tired on the hike so he had an extra 40 lbs. to lift on certain stretches.

 Otherwise she did great and really loved being outside.

 Our rented cabin was less than a mile from Nancy and Don's cabin and when we got in the car to go to their cabin, Nikki did not want to be left behind. She got in the front seat and couldn't be moved. She didn't like the music Jeremy had chosen.

 A little chilly, the pond isn't totally frozen over yet but it's close!

 Drew got to watch the boys do some snowboarding down the driveway while we stuck to sledding. She was very excited when we got going fast enough to hit the jump.

 The day after Thanksgiving we took a little longer getting ready and enjoyed the view.

 Tim, Renae, Cole and Carson left early today to get back for baseball games on Saturday. Cade stayed behind with Grandma and Grandpa to play with Drew. They had a blast together.

Futbol: el fin

After weeks of this...

 and this....we were so happy to reach the end of the season.

 But wait! Is that a smile?

 And who is that blonde girl chasing after the ball and shouldering the small boy next to her?

And why is she standing in line, following her coach's directions? 

 GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!

What could possibly have motivated her to this level of excellence? Snacks? A fancy tea party? A trip to Jumpin' Jammin'? 

 Check out that focused gaze. She had one end-game in mind:

 the trophy.

Well done, girl.

Lutefisk Dinner

As part of our Scandinavian heritage, and loyalty to Grandpa Gabe, we try and go to the Lutefisk Dinner every year. As you can imagine, the meal is filled with exotic foods like boiled potatoes, creamed corn, and beets. But the real reason anyone shows up to these things is for the Lutefisk and Lefse. The Lutefisk is a disgusting white fish that is doused in butter in order to disguise the horrendous flavor. Grandpa loves it. Normally we all go straight for the Swedish meatballs instead, but this year Nancy brought plastic baggies so we could all give our portion of Lutefisk to Grandpa to eat later in the week. Yuck.

 And the Aquavit, a grain alcohol that has somehow made it to our family Christmas meals, which everyone chokes down as Grandpa yells "you're supposed to sip it!!"

We love our lefse and have it at every Thanksgiving and Christmas. Basically it is a potato-tortilla spread with butter and sprinkled with sugar (cinnamon-sugar if you're feeling saucy). Those Scandinavians really  like their white carbs.

Go Sun Devils!

A couple weeks back, we drove to the Rose Bowl to tailgate and watch Roxi Jarvis cheer for ASU vs. UCLA. Drew is always excited to see her friends.

Th whole gang was there! Nice face, Chad. 

(Taylor 5, Teagen 4, Cooper 4, Maya 8, Drew 4)

 Even Auntie Kels made it down for some action.

 Drew couldn't be happier...friends...and chocolate.

 Chad and Jeremy were super happy to see each other too. Chad named their corn hole team "Country Livin."

It's See's Time!

If you plan on buying See's Candy this season please consider buying from Drew for her preschool's fundraising program. Below is the official flyer and I listed the prices underneath. Every little bit helps. Thanks!

Truffles 1 lb.= $18.90

Assorted Chocolates 1 lb. = $16.50

Milk or Dark Chocolates 1 lb. = $16.50

Nuts & Chews 1 lb. = $16.50

Toffee-ettes 1 lb. = $16.50

Peanut Brittle 1 lb. 8 oz. $15.90

Assorted Molasses Chips 8 oz. = $8.25

Assorted Peppermints 8 oz. = $8.25

Assorted Gourmet Lollypops 1 lb. 5 oz. = $15.80

Jolly Snowman Box 4 oz. = $6.50

Mini Holiday Fancy Box 4 oz. = $6.50

Gift Certificate 1 lb. = $16.50