christmas so far...

We are about half way through our break so far and have had some fun times. Our first day off we had a piggy-play date with some friends in which we brought all five (combined) of our piggies to the park. :)

Christmas Eve started out with a hike in Mecca. We've been before and it is such a beautiful hike. We were the first ones there, but by the time we headed back down, there were lots of people to wish Merry Christmas to. :)

 

Later that afternoon we went to our church's Christmas Eve service, to my parent's for dinner, then rounded out the night with ice cream at Cold Stone. :)

Christmas morning we started out with stockings, then our traditional Land of Nod breakfast while watching Elf. We stopped the movie midway so the kids could open their presents. My parents later joined us for a delicious lunch.

Yesterday we were able to spend some time with Jen and her kids. Cameron LOVED the ATV. He had never ridden one before and spent the majority of the time on it. Kendall had a blast with Jen's girls, making up plays and riding in the trailer pulled by the ATV. I so enjoyed catching up with Jen. :)

 

Today we are off to run errands and then we'll head up north in a few days to celebrate with Chris' family!

the desert

 *On Saturday the kids and I took a trip to a favorite Christmas destination, Robolights in Palm Springs. I would describe it as a Christmas light display made of strategically placed and painted junk. You either love it or you think it's the weirdest, most disturbing thing ever. Chris does NOT love it...hence it was just the three of us. Ha!

 

*On Sunday we dropped the kids off at Chris' brother's house so we could attend my oldest and best friend's 40th birthday party. Jen rented out a roller skating rink for all of her friends. I had roller skated a few times in recent years with the kids, but Chris had not been in a very long time. He did great! The theme was 70's, and while Chris said we were more 60's...hey...at least we tried!

Jen, three of her sisters, and myself

Chris and I had a Vegas trip on the calendar for a few months. As the day approached, we realized we just weren't feeling it. I have had a busy couple weeks of work and we both decided the desert (and much shorter drive) was much more appealing. So we booked a room and off we went.

When we first arrived, we sat outside our room and watched the few golfers who happened to pass by.

 

We loved the fact that our movie and dinner were within walking distance from our hotel.We saw, They Shall Not Grow Old, which was excellent.

 

After the movie, we walked right next door to The Cheesecake Factory. We took a piece to go...then headed back at the super late hour of 7:30pm!! ;)

This morning I got a lot of Christmas shopping done, which was awesome. We are now back home but the kids will stay one more night with my parents. We are now trying to decide where to go for dinner. I have to work tomorrow and Thursday, then I'm finally off for a good long while. Woohoo!

mission inn bike ride

 *My ear buds stream Pandora Christmas music non-stop at work. Instant mood lift.

 *Yesterday my dad, Cam, and I joined up again with a local bike club for a ride. So. Much. Fun. We started in Redlands and rode to the Mission Inn in Riverside, where we stopped for a snack/coffee break and to take some pictures by the pretty Christmas decorations.

My dad rewarded us (latte for me and cookie for Cam) at the coffee shop (where the ride began) when we returned.

 

*I was able to find a podcast that the kids LOVE! We listen to it in the car or with a snack by the Christmas tree. :)

 

*The kids and I are also well into season two of Once Upon a Time.  I've had to fast forward two short scenes (which actually fostered good conversations as to why), but otherwise it's been a fun series to watch together.

*Last year my mom bought us an advent book that the kids LOVED. She bought us a new one this year and the kids enjoy our reading time every night. I actually get into the story as well. ;)

thanksgiving

Last Tuesday we headed up north to celebrate Thanksgiving with Chris' family. Fun. Fun.

LOTS of games were played. Catchphrase was really fun with everyone. I'm not a card game fan at all...so I bowed out of those. :)

The weather was great, which made it so the kids spent tons of time outside. Here they are playing kickball with the dads.

Our Thanksgiving feast was exactly that. A huge feast! My favorites? Sweet potatoes and corn casserole.

No visit would ever be complete without a trip to their favorite childhood restaurant, Espe's.

Kendall loves her grandma's homemade biscuits, so she was quite helpful in the kitchen one morning.

This was the first time I was able to watch Hallmark Christmas movies this season (since we don't have cable). We watched more than one. ;)

We had zero traffic on the way home yesterday, which was great! Tomorrow starts real life again and I can't tell you how NOT ready I am. :)

a night with friends

*Last night we had two families over for dinner. Jen (whom I've been friends with since 7th grade) and Emily (whom Jen and I met in college) and their families drove over an hour to meet up and we had such a fun night. We had eight kids total and it was one, loud house! :)

Here is Kendall helping me prepare our dessert. I've found that trifles are pretty and feed a ton of people! We had so much left over that I was able to bring dessert to my parents today since we were celebrating an early Thanksgiving.

*Last week we took a day off from real life and headed to the happiest place on earth. I had enrolled the kids in a homeschool/charter this past summer and we were able to use the funds we received for Disneyland tickets. Despite it being a tad (okay..maybe more than a tad) crowded, we had a wonderful time. My parents were able to join us and it reminded us of old times, when we had passes and went all the time. Ahh...the good ol' days. :)

*This afternoon I really didn't feel like going for a walk due to some chilly and windy weather. I told myself I would change into my walking clothes and then just see how I felt. It's amazing how simply getting dressed for exercise actually gives you that little extra motivation to head out the door. I'm so happy I did as it ended up being such a beautiful walk/podcast/meet up with Cam on his bike time. ;)

*I have to work tomorrow and part of Tuesday, but they will be nice and easy days, so I don't mind too much. We are then headed up north for Thanksgiving!!

skinny cow protein

*This week I made a recipe I hadn't made in a long time. I realized it had been too long because it elicited 10's all around!!

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

 

*Last week I was chosen to be on the jury for a criminal trial. Was I bummed that I wasn't excused? Initially...yes. Was (and is) it hard to catch up on all the work I missed? Yes. Was it a good experience? Absolutely. The whole trial was incredibly interesting and as cheesy as it sounds, I have so much respect for our justice system. We found the defendant guilty on all three counts (resisting arrest, assault of a police officer, false imprisonment).

*Our family movie nights are chipping away at each and every Marvel movie. Last night was, Avengers Age of Ultron.

 

*Cameron has been REALLY into collecting cans lately. He'll walk around the neighborhood and ask our neighbors if they have any extra. He'll then crush them and ride his bike up to the recyclying place to turn them in. He made $23 on his last visit!

 

*I discovered a new Skinny Cow that is amazing. These are my same beloved sandwiches, but are packed with more protein. For some reason that added protein makes them so much more creamy and yummy. I'm officially a fan.

*Had a one night visit from Noonie and Deb last Sunday as they were on their way to the desert for a few days. It was a short, but fun visit!

 

 

the last couple weeks

*Last weekend we left the kids with my parents and went out for a belated birthday for Chris. We had brainstormed fun ideas and had even made reservations at a steak house we had never been to. However the night before Chris decided a celebration is only truly a celebration unless it takes place at The Cheesecake Factory (and I was fully on board)!

We also enjoyed some time beforehand at my happy place...Costco. :)

  

  

*Chris recently did something many golfers dream of...he got a hole in one. I know so little about golf, yet I do know what a huge deal this is. :)

 

*Trick-or-treating was fun this year. The piggies accompanied us. :)

 

*I had to report for jury duty this past week. I didn't have to report until 9:00am, so not only was I able to take the kids to school, but I even treated myself to a Starbucks. I was even more excited when I realized it was, "Free reusable red cup day when you by a Holiday drink." I got a Caramel Brulee latte. So good.

 *Yes, this is the earliest we have ever decorated, but it just happened to work out to where we had a free Saturday and I'm excited for Christmas!

 

*Me and my sis :)

"epic" bike ride

*Today was a bike ride day for dad, Cam, and I. This time, however, we decided to join a group ride, which was put on by a local bike shop. It was so fun. So. Fun. To put it in Cam's words, "Mom! This is epic!" There is something very cool about being with a group of people...all of whom were so nice! We did 30 miles, which luckily were pretty easy miles (hill wise). I was so impressed with Cam because he made his way to the head of the pack, where he remained much of the time.

Here we are stopped to make sure everyone was together. You can see Cam in the middle of the pack (bright yellow shirt with black backpack).

Afterward everyone headed inside the shop for bagels and coffee. What a FUN day!

*Kendall had some fun of her own. Her group at church spent the whole day in Oak Glen. She brought the quad girls, which made it extra special. Before Chris dropped them off in the morning, he and Kendall went to breakfast for a cinnamon roll the size of her face. :)

*I'm just finishing up the most addicting podcast I have listened to thus far (Chris is a fan too). Wow. I would listen every chance I got, even if I was in the car only a few minutes. Here is the description:

"Christopher Duntsch was a neurosurgeon who radiated confidence. He claimed he was the best in Dallas. If you had back pain, and had tried everything else, Dr. Duntsch could give you the spine surgery that would take your pain away. But soon his patients started to experience complications, and the system failed to protect them."