Where does the time go?

Oh my goodness. Its been almost 2 months. The holidays have come and gone and tomorrow is 2009! Happy 31st Birthday to my brother - the New Years baby!!

Back in November it started. First it was the trip to Las Vegas to visit my parents for a week. The 4 of us drove down there on Friday 11/20. My brother, his wife & daughter also flew out from NJ to visit. We had all of us together the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Unfortunately P had to fly home Sunday so he could get back to work. Stores need their chips delivered for Thanksgiving! The kids & I stayed f0r a week. We saw Santa, visited with friends and just relaxed. And then Grandma drove back with us to Northern CA. She stayed for a couple of days & flew back home.

The following weekend we did our annual trip with P & his sister's family & their parents to the Vacaville outlets. We went up there on Saturday 12/6 & all10 of us in a Marriott Residence Inn suite. It was fun & we finished most of our Xmas shopping!

The next 2 weeks must have just flown by because then Xmas was here before we knew it.

We spent the 20th in El Dorado Hills with my cousins, Aunt & Uncle and their families. The kids really seemed to enjoy playing with the other kids. That was a great dinner & day of relaxing. Thank you to all the Byards!

My parents drove in from Vegas on Tuesday the 23rd. K had a couple of practices for the Children's Tableau at our church. Originally she was asked to be an angel. There were at least 6-8 of them. But, they needed a drummer person and she volunteered. I think she wanted a part that set her apart from all the others. Sure enough, that's what she did at the Christmas Eve Mass. She was the last child to come down the church aisle "bearing the gift of music...pa rum pum pum pum." She had the biggest smile as she walked slowly to the beat of the music & her drum. The moment was just magical!

Christmas just seems to get better & better each year. The kids are at such a great age. They seemed to love every one of their gifts. And were excited for others to open their gifts. Some of my favorite phrases: "This is what I've wanted my whole life!" oh, really, all 4 years of it? "I asked Santa for this & he got exactly what I wanted." - Polly Pocket slides with water! Sorry, K, I don't think the water is in the box. I must say, she was a little disappointed that she didn't get as many gifts as Bubs. But I had to tell her, some of her gifts cost more money! Like her new Nintendo DS Lite. I'm not sure what Santa was thinking this year. She didn't even ask for one. Why start her so young? He wasn't thinking. Some of her friends had one & she was slightly interested. Now she's hooked! She got 5 new games & has been evenly rotating all of them. There is one about taking care of a baby. Its quite a crack up, but I must say she's learning all about how much babies just eat, poop, pee, & sleep!

I think one of the kids favorite presents were the gifts from my parents. Just like my mom did when my brother & I were young, I asked her to do a treasure hunt for the kids. She sent them 9 different places. Under the chair by her desk, in the coat closet, no, not there, where does Oscar the Grouch hide? In the trash can out back. On the way to the trash through the garage (since it was raining outside) we placed the 2 big gifts.

Bubs got a 2 wheeler bike with training wheels. He finally got to ride it the day after Xmas. H took off on it and went "really really fast." I literally have to run next to him to keep up. I'll have to take him with me on my walks! I think he may be off those training wheels before K. She's way more cautious!

K got her first American Girl doll with clothing! She's been dressing it daily & wanting to take it everywhere she goes. One night she went to bed, she said "its amazing how quickly these kids grow up." Really, I'm saying the same thing myself! I can't believe she's only 6 1/2.

The kids loved the treasure hunt. I even found papers Xmas night that K had worked on to put together her own treasure hunt for her cousin. We'll have to do that again, she really enjoyed it.

Christmas dinner went off without a hitch! I tried to relax and not worry as much as I normally do. Everything always seems to come together. I know we've managed to have everyone over for dinner in the past, so I know we can do it again. It just seems easiest to have everyone at our house, if everyone can help out & bring something. We had 16 people total. Our family of 4, my parents and my almost 91 year old grandmother, P's parents, his sisters & oldests family of 4, and my aunt & uncle. Turned out to be 2 tables of 6 and the 4 kids at their own card table. Perfect. I think we could have even squeezed a couple more if we had to. P cooked 2 great tri-tips & my mom prepared the 2 turkey breasts. We finished dinner by 6:30 & could sit back & relax after a busy, but wonderful day. Thanks to everyone who helped make it a memorable evening! We have been so blessed this holiday season. Here's to all of you! Happy New Year! Hope to see or hear from you in 2009!