Christmas and New Years Wrap-Up

What a month we had in December! It felt like our family was on vacation or "home for the holidays" for a long time. We missed seeing our family during this time.... we really, really did. But we had such a good time celebrating with new friends that we have made while in Boston.

Christmas Eve we spent with friends from our ward that stayed in town for the holidays. It was held at an AMAZING apartment in downtown Boston. If I could take a picture and copy all of the details for our own home someday, I would be thrilled. After the party we went home and thankfully Lauren remembered that we hadn't made cookies for Santa. Of course! I should have done this earlier in the day. Luckily I had bought some cookie dough and so making Santa's plate wasn't too time-consuming. Lauren's letter to Santa was so sweet. She is really so sincere (sweet but serious)!

The girls went to bed..... and then all of the magic happened. It was a late night!

Christmas morning, Brandon woke up to take pictures and I loved hearing Lauren's laughter and excitement as she rushed out of her bedroom. She was so excited! Elle knew Santa was coming and that he brings presents, but I'm not sure she really understood what that meant. But she had so much fun and loved opening the presents.

Lauren handed out the gifts, and even though we tried to take turns opening the presents, it didn't really work. The girls were too excited. Overall, there were too many toys! But the girls had so much fun. Brandon and I stayed with practical gifts this year..... snow boots, jeans, jacket, bag, perfume, watch. I don't think Santa got my letter about the new computer or new car I wanted. Maybe next year! Santa needs to earn a little bit more money.

After opening presents and lounging a bit, we were invited to another party. Another couple for the ward who have lived in Boston forever, invited another group over for a get together. They also have a great apartment, basically because they have an amazing view of Boston Common and the Public Garden. Wow! (The view in winter just doesn't give it justice)The next few days included going to the mall and making it to the movie, "Enchanted." The movie was so fun. Our time was also spent organizing places for the new toys. Our space is so limited here! We also had some friends over to dinner and managed to decorate a gingerbread house.
On Sunday, as we were leaving church, a friend asked Brandon if we had plans for New Years Eve or if we wanted to get together with them. Brandon said nope... no plans, but we should fondue! So the plans were set into action.... Four families were invited and we had such a good time. It was a nice night of really good food and fun. Our first course included a salad and then the cheese fondue with bread, pears and apples. The second course was steak, chicken, shrimp, and veggies cooked in the fondue pot of beef stock and chicken stock (other flavorings added). Our final course was dessert.... which was chocolate fondue with cookies, berries, fruit for dipping. So good! We left before midnight due to the kids being exhausted, but Brandon and I made it home to see the ball drop in New York and the Boston fireworks on TV at midnight. (PICTURES TO COME)

So today, we are back to our routines. Lauren is at school, and Brandon is at work. Elle is home with me. Sadly, she is getting a croupy cough. I guess we just wore her out this past week!

Disney World and Cancelled Flights

Last week, we were in paradise. Luckily Brandon had a conference in Orlando, Florida, and so we were able to take the girls for a week's stay of Disney World fun. We flew down three days before Brandon's conference started so that we could all enjoy a few days of the parks together. It was litterly 80 degrees every day. How lucky were we?! Here are few pictures of arriving at the resort and a view from our room (the swimming pool was very fun):

Our main goal over the week seemed to focus on collecting autographs and photos from as many Disney Characters as possible. Lauren loved this part the most! Elle, however, liked the IDEA of visiting the characters, but reluctantly would have her picture taken with them. Therefore, I had to be included in most of the photos. The girls filled their autograph books... there are too many pictures to include.
Fun times at Magic Kingdom with Brandon trying to pull out the sword in the stone and Elle and I riding the Dumbo ride:

Magic Kingdom was elaborately decorated with Christmas decorations. We even attended the Mickey's Christmas party in the evening of our first day. The Christmas party included special holiday events and shows along with "free" cookies and hot chocolate (we had to buy additional tickets to get into the party). The lights on Cinderella's castle were beautiful, the Christmas parade was so fun, and the fireworks, of course, were amazing. By the time we got back to the hotel, the girls were asleep and we were all exhausted.

The next morning we were off to Epcot Center. We enjoyed the World Showcase which included eating lunch in Norway with a visit from Belle, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, and Jasmine. Our lunch overall was good, and I even tried some pickled herring.

The next park we visited was the Disney MGM studios which included seeing a Playhouse Disney show, a Broadway performance of Beauty and the Beast, and a special effects movie set with an explosive car show. They had an amazing display of Christmas lights with "snow" falling for the proper effect in the evening.

The following days included more Magic Kingdom where Lauren was able to participate in story time with Belle.... she played the part of Chip. The following days included visiting Disney's Animal Kingdom with the highlight of taking the African safari ride and visiting Epcot Center for another day.

Here is Elle "enjoying" a show with loud noises... this was typical for most shows and fireworks. After watching the special effects of the car show at MGM, Elle wouldn't watch the anticipated Indiana Jones show... so I had to step out with her and let Brandon enjoy the show alone. Oh well!

Overall our trip was amazing!!

However, on our way home we faced huge obstacles. Boston was having major snow storms and Delta wasn't about to let us get home easily. We ended up having three flights canceled and had to stay an extra night in a hotel nearby. The following morning we woke up at 4 am to catch our early morning flight. Boston was expecting more snow that day so we had a small window of opportunity to make it home. Our plane took off and I shouted for joy! About an hour and half into the flight (half way to home) our pilot said over the loud speaker that Boston was closed to incoming flights...... so they actually TURNED the plane around and went back to Orlando! We finally got home at midnight after taking a flight to Cincinnati and connecting to Boston. Wow! We came home to a winter world. The next morning included digging our car out from a foot of icy snow, rushing to get gas (the car was left empty), going to the grocery store, and a lot of laundry.

So we are glad to be home, but now I'm stressed about Christmas being only a few days away!

Being Thankful for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving day 2007 was a beautiful warm sunny day. The girls and I spent the morning watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade on TV and cooking for lunch later in the day. Brandon was on call and had to work in the morning, but luckily was able to come home around noon. We joined three other "medical" couples/families that were away from family for the holiday. We really had a good time and delicious food! Our lunch was topped off with homemade chocolate, apple, banana cream, and pumpkin pies. Yum! Friday we went to a movie, and Saturday was spent walking the mall. Brandon and I are TERRIBLE shoppers. We joked that we were the only couple in the US who didn't buy any Christmas gifts during the weekend! But the girls did get a chance to visit with Santa.

We also ended up decorating for Christmas on Sunday. It didn't take long because we decided not to pack and move the majority of our Christmas boxes to Massachusetts for one year. So we ended up buying a small (sad looking, really) pre-lit tree. We also pulled out one box of ornaments and misc. Christmas things to decorate the apartment. I think I might have to make a couple of purchases to make the place look more festive!

Here are a few pictures from the weekend:

More Fall Colors

It's Snowing!

Today it is snowing. If you look closely at the pictures, you can see the snowflakes. This is our FIRST Massachusetts snowfall. I'm holding my breath, because I hope this winter will be mild. Even though I grew up in Idaho and endured many, many COLD winters; living in California was so nice. Our winters in Elk Grove were wet from rain, but never snow. I'm sure you can tell, I'm not excited for the coming winter months. However, LAUREN is in heaven. She can't wait to go sledding. Okay, I can't wait to take the girls sledding, but I will also love to come home to a warm mug of hot chocolate.

The Holidays Are Here

Saturday, November 18, we bundled up and took the train into the city for our first night of Christmas festivities. The large Christmas tree outside Faneuil Hall was going to be lit for the first time. We joined up with some good friends to enjoy the night (Thanks Greta and Eric). It was really cold!

When the tree was lit, confetti was shot through the air to give the effect of snow. It was fun and the kids loved it! You can see the pure joy and excitement on Lauren's face.

Afterwards, we decided to eat dinner at Wagamama. Elle tried so hard to eat with chopsticks.

I will try not to say Merry Christmas until Friday!

Clean Up On Aisle 6

Elle and I went grocery shopping this morning. She has decided that she will NOT sit in the cart, but will walk. This usually includes touching everything possible, and trying to buy and literally throw into the cart anything interesting. I am usually scurrying back and forth to put things back and telling her, NO! Today, the inevitable happened. A HUGE jar of sweet pickles were too heavy for her to carry. The jar landed broken in pieces on the floor. It must have scarred Elle, because she sat in the cart for the rest of our shopping outing. I still smell pickles. I'm not sure if I'll go back to that store for awhile.

New England Aquarium

The Brookline and Boston public libraries offer residents and those holding a library card Museum Passes to local museums. It is so great! Sometimes the pass covers the cost of admission. Other times, one has to pay a small amount in comparison to the regular price of admission. Saturday we took advantage of one Museum Pass and visited the New England Aquarium. Lauren and Elle loved everything, especially touching the real star fish and sea urchins in the "Edge of the Sea" exhibit. They had an enormous turtle that I thought was great.

On our way, we visited a favorite local Italian restaurant, Galleria Umberto, in the North End for lunch. This eatery is known for excellent Italian food - pizza, calzones, etc., for cheap. It also closes around 2:30 or whenever the food runs out. It rarely has tourists, and the locals love it.

After the aquarium, we walked over to Faneuil Hall for dinner and had a delicious Beard Papa cream puff for dessert. It was a cold day in the 30's (I am NOT looking forward to the cold winter, here in New England)! Elle was also adamant about NOT wearing her coat during part of the day, so that was a not a highlight. I felt like a terrible mother letting my two-year-old run around outside in the cold.... but she was happy has ever. It had been a fun day.

Halloween 2007

Our family jack-o-lantern was designed by Brandon and Lauren. Lauren wanted a happy one, and Brandon did a stellar job of carving the pumpkin.

The girls dressed up as a witch (cute not scary) and Minnie Mouse. Elle would tell everyone she was "Mickie Mouse." We had a really fun time trick-or-treating to the homes near our apartment. Most of the homes decorated their porches with jack-o-lanterns and spooky things. One house even handed out BIG candy bars which is always a bonus!


Our friends at our ward Halloween party (a few days earlier) dressed up with the Peter Pan theme. Mik (crocodile) Paper-mached his head, and note his face makeup in between the jaws (the ticking clock). So creative! Tiffany (Captain Hook) had dreadlocks which worked out well for Hook's hair (can you believe I have a good friend with dreads?). The kids also looked great as Tinkerbell and Peter Pan. These costumes were so great!
The Results of Trick or Treating (hopefully no cavities will follow):