December 30, 2011 - Venice, CA (Not Italy)

After considering a plethora of things to do today, we landed on going to Venice Beach and the canals.  The 70 degree plus weather in Whittier was not what welcomed us in Venice.  It was overcast and cold, but we were happy nonetheless to stroll the quirky strip and collect seashells on the beach.  The canals were something we'd never seen, so we headed a few  blocks east to check them out.  The beautiful homes and decorated canals were enchanting despite the fog that crept in and engulfed them.   I have to say, being there made me miss the real Venice just a little.

December 29, 2011 - Fans of Farrells

Today we had a long overdue date with Josefina, the boys' former nanny.  The festive Farrells  was the location for lunch.  What a fun place! The staff was over-the-top friendly, attentive, and fast.  Celebration must have been the word of the day because choruses were springing up every 5 minutes for anniversaries or birthdays. Diners were encouraged to clap and sing; Anthony and I were the diNERDs all over that!

~Loved their newspaper fashioned menu~

Cassandra, our server, with our dessert.

December 27, 2011 - Christmas Over & Out

Daniel has been busy taking down all that is Christmas.  Most of it is down and neatly packed away including Thomas the Elf.  It was fun finding new viewing spots for him; Daddy even got into the action.  I sure will miss seeing the boys search for him and hearing them say, "Elfie, where are you?"  Until next year ;)

December 25, 2011 - Merry Christmas

The boys didn't really get the whole Christmas thing until THIS year.  The Sunday paper was now regularly ravaged by them in the hunt to find the toys section of the store circulars. They made sure to tell Thomas what they wanted and sometimes even showed him the circular. Thomas must have done some great reporting because Santa was very good to them.  The boys were allowed to open 1 present in the morning because they knew they had to "worship the Baby Jesus today" and jingle to Joy to the World at service. Once we were home, the flood gates opened, and they were happily ripping :)

December 24, 2011 - Noche Buena

Only on a 70 degrees California day can these two be in shorts, eating ice cream, and playing with sidewalk chalk on Christmas Eve. Je t'adore California!!!!

The boys' Christmas tree awaiting presents

December 20, 2011 - Music to My Ears

Busy at the computer was I when pleasantly interrupted by Anthony singing in a low voice.  I strained to hear the words and asked him to sing louder.  He was singing Christmas songs from his program at school.  I lavished him with praise and asked for an encore; here is what I got.

December 15, 2011 - Fresh & Easy Fundraiser

When you are married to a teacher, hubby and kids are pulled into school events :)  Kuddos to my clan!

December 12, 2011 - Christmas Program

The boys had their first Christmas program ever, so naturally Daniel and I HAD to be there.  Their class did as well as can be expected for 3-4 year olds.  Nonetheless, we were happy to witness this performance.  Anthony sang away like a champ; Our Daniel had a little stage fright.  He eventually warmed up when Santa arrived.

December 11, 2011 - Christmas Boulevard

My friend's church held its second annual Christmas Boulevard celebration. They transformed their church grounds into a winter wonderland for the benefit of members and visitors.  We had a really neat time that included a sleigh ride, train ride, sledding, smores making, and playing in falling "snow."   The time flew by way too fast, so we didn't get to enjoy the shows, bounce house, face painting station, or puppy petting zoo.  We did find time to eat from the Monster Burger gourmet food truck.  We completed our meal with a fried Twinkie drizzled with Nutella, raspberry sauce, and whip cream...YUMMO!

December 9, 2011 - PJ's and the Polar Express

Movie night at the boys' school.  Preschoolers, Christmas cookies, pizza, The Polar Express, and Santa.  A+ night!

November 27, 2011 - Thomas the Elf

We are starting the tradition of the Elf on the Shelf this year.  The boys are old enough to understand the concept of actions being naughty or nice, so this may be a nice reinforcement.  They are also young enough to believe in Santa Claus and the magic of this season.  I will figure out how to teach them the true meaning of Christmas, but in the meantime, we'll keep their elf, Thomas, around.
*The book states that the elf must be named.  They tossed around names and landed on Thomas, in honor of their love for Thomas the Train.

November 26, 2011 - Quack, Quack, Quack

A beautiful afternoon at the park!  The leaves shouted autumn, but the temperature whispered summer.