we are back

We got back from Germany a few days ago. We had a wonderful time! I'll post pictures once I gather them all together. :)

The past few days have been sooo nice and relaxing for me. We have stayed at home, occasionally venturing out to run errands, which has been just what I wanted as a way to finish our Christmas break.

Our first errand after being back was to Walmart to restock our fridge. Kendall had some leftover Christmas money and was excited to use it. Cameron, after an unfortunate incident (involving his old fish, walking across the street and dropping said fish) was excited to get a couple new goldfish.

Jetlag has been a bit of a beast only in that we wake up super early each morning. Yesterday we headed to Starbucks to work on our thank-you cards. 

I got my usual (Grande-soy-skinny-hazelnut-latte-190 degrees-or "as hot as you can make it") and I let the kids get a donut from next door. I love how Kendall is seven years old and still eats the frosting off her donuts. :)

The last few days have also included the addition of two extra kids at our house. :) The quad girls have been over almost 24/7, even accompanying us on errands.

Wienerschnitzel after some shopping.

Today will be another low key day with a few errands mixed in. We will head out to Orange County on Sunday to celebrate Christmas with Chris' side of the family.

christmas cards

*The kids' school Christmas performance was this past week. Cam played the role of Blitzen and did awesome! If you had told me 8 years ago that he would not only have wanted to try out for a role, but then would love performing, I wouldn't have believed you. He's come such a long way and we were so proud.

*Yes. We are happy to have great insurance through my job and not have to pay it out of pocket like we have for the past 11 years. No, It doesn't mean everything goes flawlessly. For instance, Chris was told over a month ago that he DIDN'T break his hand (after sliding into second during a softball game). Yesterday, when he finally got an appointment with a specialist, they told him he should have babied his hand more because, in fact, he HAD broken it. Wow. 

(the tiny arrow is pointing to the floating piece of bone)

*The kids have to complete a certain number of community service hours each year for school. Yesterday, we went to a convalescent  home and they sang, read books, and passed out Christmas cards (we went with their two buddies). They really enjoyed it and it was neat for us moms to see how sweet they were to the patients.

*Yep...totally shirked on my sending Christmas cards responsibility. Hopefully next year...

*I bake much less now that I'm working. However I always make time to bake one thing on the weekend that I then take to work on Monday. This past week was, by far, the biggest hit.

Mint Oreo Cookie Truffles

24 hours from now we will be heading to Germany to spend Christmas with my whole family!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

tooth

*Cameron has REALLY been into researching our family tree. He has probably spent a couple dozen hours total over the past few months. He was beyond excited when my aunt, from Texas, sent him some information this past week. :)

*Last night we drove out to have dinner with Chris' family to celebrate our niece's birthday. After dinner we took a few pics out by the Christmas tree.

*Today I took the kids and the quad girls to the library for a Christmas Marionette show. Sadly the marionettes were a no show, but the kids got a free book and jump rope and didn't seem too disappointed. :)

*A friend of mine is so thoughtful in sending pics of Kendall during class events and field trips. It's a little hard for me because it's a reminder that I'm not able to attend school functions anymore (but in the spirit of full disclosure...I was never a fan of chaperoning field trips...ha!). Anyway, it made my day yesterday to get this pic of Kendall on the bus...right after she lost her tooth!

cell phone or hair flip?

*Yesterday morning's advent was to decorate a gingerbread house.

*The kids love eating any meal by the Christmas tree. Last night we ate dinner....so did a fury friend. :)

 

*When we were all in Carlsbad over Thanksgiving, we had quite the family debate regarding this picture from an L.L. Bean catalog. We were split half and half as far as whether or not the girl in the picture is talking on a cell phone or flipping her hair. My claim was that she was on the phone. I thought it was simply a sign of the times that even on an outdoor apparel catalog, a girl would be holding a phone since nowadays people are NEVER without their phones, even in the glorious outdoors. Well, I actually called the catalog and...I was wrong. However I still maintain it looks like she is... :)

Look closely....doesn't that look like a phone??? :)

*After church today my parents came over for lunch. We recently got an early Christmas present from Chris' parents in the form of a new barbeque. Chris wanted to try it out and I think he is officially a huge fan. :) Here he is explaining it to my dad.

*Today Chris and I were talking about Christmas albums we listened to as kids. For me, whenever I hear songs from these albums, I think of my childhood because we listened to them a lot!!

scotcheroos

*Advent started today in our house. Basically each morning I put a 99 cent store trinket or note (explaining an activity they'll do or a special breakfast they'll have) in the kitchen for them to discover when they wake up. This is eagerly anticipated every Christmas. However this morning I realized an epic parent fail when Chris asked Cameron why we do advent. Cam answered that he didn't know. Yikes! We explained that advent is our way of doing little celebrations each day to lead up to the BIG celebration of Jesus' birth.

*Made these last weekend. I have not made them in years and forgot what a yummy recipe it is. I've never been a huge fan of Rice Krispy Treats, but these are completely different.

Scotcheroos

*We've started watching, "Kevin Can Wait". It's not the funniest show in the world, but Chris and I were huge "King of Queens" fans, so it's fun to see Kevin James in another show. 

*I finished the new Gilmore girls on Netflix. I got teary throughout and wasn't disappointed. :)

carlsbad

Thanksgiving with my parents took place last Tuesday. We spent the morning decorating our house for Christmas, then headed over to my parents for the feast. :)

The next morning we headed down to Carlsbad. Chris' aunts have a time share that they very generously used on us as well as Chris' brother's family. We had such a wonderful time. It was relaxing, the weather was perfect, and we had such a great time with the family. Some highlights:

The weather was actually warm enough for swimming. This was a big bonus for the kids and they went in each day.

 Right next to the pool was the arcade. They spent a lot of time here as well.

On the first night, I took the four cousins down to the pool area where they had a looming class. Basically there were a couple of resort staff who gave a lesson in making loom bracelets. The kids really enjoyed it.

Each morning the four of us walked down to the main lobby, where they had a hot chocolate machine. The kids really enjoyed pushing the buttons and getting their own drinks.

The mornings were very relaxing in our condo. They started out about 5am for Cameron. Fortunately he was able to sneak out into the living room and watch TV until the rest of us got up. On this morning, Chris had left earlier for golf. The kids watched TV in the living room and I watched a Hallmark Christmas movie (woohoo!) in our room. :)

Yesterday the dads took the kids to the movies. Afterward they went to Fry's (electronic store) and killed some time before getting pizza to bring home for dinner. While they were out,  Rebekah and I got to watch two full episodes of the newest Gilmore Girls. We were not disappointed and it was fabulous to be back in Stars Hollow!

THANK YOU, Noonie and Deb!!!

poop vs. berries

*Yesterday we went on what has become my favorite hike, Murray Hill. I love desert hikes. I also love that it takes less than five hours, so we still have the rest of our day.

The trail starts in a residential neighborhood, which makes it easy to get to.

We quickly shed our jackets and the day ended up being beautiful and warm.

My mom always asks us what we talk about on our hikes. I always tell her that there isn't a whole lot to report. Despite being out in nature, which often fosters deep, thought provoking conversation, ours typically centers around the hike we are currently on, previous hikes, or in yesterday's case, whether or not this was animal poop or berries (I maintain they are berries). Ha!

Chris and Kendall ended up going out to the desert as well. They hit up the street fair and Kendall was very excited to get a new watch. :)

Since we were all in the same area, we met for lunch at where else? Costco!

On a totally unrelated note, I recently let both kids take the reigns in brushing their own teeth. Know what I discovered? They are incapable of cleanly using a toothpaste tube. Pet peeve!! :)

strawberries and cream

*Hooray for Thanksgiving Break! I have to work Monday but then I'm off until the following Monday!!! This last week has actually been a bit of a reprieve as far as having to work so much at night, but I'm still more than ready for a break. :)

*We met Chris' brother's family for dinner last Friday. In a nutshell: The girls loved coloring on the paper table cloth. Cam did not like his pizza because it had, "too much flour on the crust". They got my SIL's meal wrong. The bread is always good. I prefer plain butter to olive oil/vinegar It was a fun night. :)

*Chris joined a men's club at the local golf course. One of the perks is getting a certain amount of money per month to spend at the clubhouse restaurant. We went to dinner last night and it was so fun.

*Prior to dinner I visited the chiropractor for the first time. The jury is still out on whether or not I think it's worth it.

*Chris and Kendall had some time to kill the other day before Cam's pick up. Strawberries and Cream Frappuchino for the win!

*Chris hurt is hand pretty badly at softball the other night. The X-ray didn't show a break, but it's swollen and not comfortable :(

*We will be heading to Carlsbad next week with Chris' family for Thanksgiving. I'll be making what has become not just my favorite Thanksgiving dessert, but probably my favorite cake of all time. I can't believe there is no chocolate in it.

Pumpkin Crunch Cake

our day

We are currently in the middle of a four day weekend. It is divine!! The kids had Friday off as well as Monday (for parent conferences). I had Friday off and will be taking Monday off. Yesterday we lounged around in the morning and then met some friends at a trampoline park. The kids had a blast.

Don't be fooled, Kendall (and Cameron) were NOT fans of the bull. I think it was a tad painful when they fell off. :)

After the trampoline park we met Chris' brother's family for dinner. Always fun to see the cousins. :) Today Cam and I had plans with my dad for a big hike. Unfortunately my dad got sick. We decided to take a trip instead to Ontario Mills.

(For the record, Kendall IS wearing shorts. Ha!)

I spent a lot of time in the kitchen this afternoon and wasn't in the mood to do anything else cooking related. In the past, I've often told the kids that it's, "Choose your own dinner" night. Well, tonight was, "MAKE your own dinner" night. They (especially Cam) loved this idea. It was quite cute how seriously they took it.

Cam: Costco frozen Chicken Bake, pears, Cheez-its.

Kendall: Peanuts, pears, frozen pizza, homemade granola bar, snap peas. For dessert, she had made some sort of Christmas tree composed of leftover Halloween candy.

What will Chris and I be having for dinner once they are in bed? I bought some Cafe Rio tortillas the other day so we'll make our own burritos and eat while watching a movie we rented, Star Trek Beyond. :)