Happy New Year!!!

2008, Wow, where in the world did 2007 go? I have no idea. It was big year for us though. A new job and a giant week long trek across the country to move to California!!! We feel truly blessed! I mean, How can you not when you live in a place as beautiful as Yosemite. It is breathtaking!!!

We spent New Year's Eve at the Lodge at Yosemite Falls. It was a hoot and half. They had a kids New Year's party and I called Sara in the middle of it and told her that is was like being at a really fun club, with the music and all, but it was full of kids. It was the most hysterical thing I have ever seen. Brian and I just kept laughing. It really was a lot of fun. There were prizes and hats and crowns, balloon animals and swords and at the end (9pm-our NY time) a balloon drop to top it all off.

I told Brian that I think I have found the perfect place for me...A place where I can stay up to see the Times Square ball drop and still be in bed by 10!! Now that is perfection!!!! :-)

Yosemite Anthem

So this was a possible ad for Yosemite. Yep, that is our family in one of the shots (Jack up close and Brian, Molly and I in the background) and then one of just me up at Taft Point. It was so pretty when we were up there for the shoot.

Christmas

The night before Christmas, we went to a friends "little" Christmas party were Santa showed up with a giant sack filled with toys for everyone there, with their names on each toy. It was quite impressive. I commented to Jack that it seemed pretty cool that Santa had a gift with his name on it and he looked at me (like I was crazy) and said, " Momma, it's Santa, of course he knows my name." Silly me. After we went home we read the Christmas story from Luke 2 and the kids put out cookies and soy milk for Santa (Brian told the kids that Santa has really taken a liking to soy milk lately). So off they went to bed as fast as I have ever seen - we told them Santa only comes when kids are sleeping. They were asleep within minutes. Too bad Santa can't come every night.

We had a wonderful Christmas together! We were by ourselves this year as we are in the middle of a beautiful nowhere. Friends and family were missed, but we had a lovely day in our cozy home. The kids did not get up until 8, which was nice and then we spent most of the day opening a gazillion presents and playing with each in between the opening. It was quite a day. We had some delicious cinnamon buns made by a good friend of ours. And then ate a delicious meal prepared by yours truly. It was pretty yummy, if I do say so myself!!!

I must say that my biggest sadness of this Christmas was not having our annual Christmas Story Party with our dearest friends. Brian and I watched it together and had in on in the background most of the day, but it was not the same with out Grandpa Ralph and his little figurines and Uncle Dan and Cindy and Beedi and Grandma Polly, the Spinales and the Henn clan. Jack got this cool Joke telling thing for Christmas and is quite enthralled with it, above is one of his new Jokes. Molly doesn't quite have the hang of the joke telling, but she is not afraid to give it a whirl.

At the end of the day we started to wind down and chill out after the days big events. The kids began singing for the camera and it made me laugh, so I thought I would share with all.

Jack learned at school this year about all different ways people celebrate around this season, including Kwanzaa, Jewish, and Christian traditions. It was pretty cool. And being like his grandpa Jim, he LOVES languages!

Okay, this last little song is Molly singing Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer. Molly is very into reindeer right now. She either pretends to be one or pretends that the deer in our meadow are reindeer. It is cute!!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and have an excellent New Year.

The Kids 1st Ski Day

We took the kids skiing for the first time on Saturday! It was a perfect day, the sun was out and it was in the mid 40's. Perfect day to learn to ski. The kids bundled up in their new ski suits and hats, sunglasses and skis and made their way to their lesson. They both loved it! By the second day, they had both moved up to the second kiddie hill and Jack was learning how to stop (comes in handy at times) and Molly was busy learning how to turn. What a thrill to see them up there learning one of my all time favorite activities. Their lessons were two hours which gave Brian and I a nice chunk of time to do some skiing of our own on the big hills! It was fabulous!!!

I had to stick in this picture (left) of Half Dome with snow that Brian took. Isn't it beautiful!!! Also the picture to the right is of our drive through the crazy snow to get up to Badger Pass (ski area). It was so pretty up there.

Winter Program at Yosemite Valley School

Jack had his winter program last Thursday night! It was so cute. His class of K, 1st and 2nd graders were all penguins. They sang a cute penguin song and we all had a great time. Molly liked watching Jack on stage.

Bracebridge

Brian and I got to go to the Bracebridge dinner last night and it was absolutely amazing!! It consists of a seven course delicious meal and professional opera singers singing incredible songs and some Christmas carols. And all the performers are dressed in period clothing and your backdrop for all of this is the main dining room at the Ahwahnee hotel. It was beautiful. I was brought to tears and a few occasions during the evening. In the two pictures, Brian and I are standing in front of the official Bracebridge Christmas tree.



That was my take on the festivities, but here is what the Yosemite website has to say about the event...

"Celebrated annually since 1927, the Bracebridge Dinner transforms The Ahwahnee into a 17th century English manor for a feast of food, song and mirth. The inspiration for this yuletide ceremony was Washington Irving's Sketch Book that described Squire Bracebridge and English Christmas traditions of that period.
The Bracebridge Dinner is an elegant and artistic four-hour pageant of classic carols, Renaissance rituals and entertainment of the Middle Ages. Over 100 players create the roles of the Squire and his family, their servants, the Lord of Misrule, minstrels and other performers. The Ahwahnee Dining Room serves as the Great Hall and stage for the festivities and is decked with magnificent wreaths, an elaborate Squire's table, large banners and traditional Yuletide decorations. The centerpiece of this revered event is a seven-course banquet of rich and wondrous dishes prepared by The Ahwahnee’s world-class culinary staff."

Oh, The Weather Outside is Frightful...

Well, it is not really frightful, it is actually gorgeous here. Still amazes me what an absolutely beautiful place we get to live in. It snowed for the first time this morning. The kids were so excited I practically had to hold them down and help the get dressed before they ran out in their pj's. They kept saying that it was Christmas (b/c the only time they have seen snow is when we are at my parents for Christmas). So this is all new and they are loving it. I must say that I too am thrown back into a childhood wonder of the first snow. It is all so new and perfect and beautiful. God never ceases to amaze.

Well the three of us (Brian is out of town) were so excited by the snow that we decided to walk to school in it. It was fabulous!!! Jack yelled the entire way there about all the things he saw that he just couldn't believe were covered in snow ("LOOK THE CROSSWALK HAS SNOW ON IT", "AND LOOK, THE TREES HAVE SNOW" etc). About half way to school (school is about a mile away) Jack says, "I am sorry I am being so loud, but I am so excited about the snow and it is more beautiful than I ever imagined". Okay, so he will never stop making me laugh by the big thoughts that come to his little head.

These are some pictures from this morning in our backyard before we left for school. Jack wanted to get a picture of Half Dome, but it had disappeared into the clouds.

Molly's 1st Haircut!!

After the wedding was over, Molly had her first haircut.

It is so cute!









Molly at Chuck E Cheese with her new haircut!

A Beautiful Wedding!!

We got beck from New York on Friday after an exhausting yet absolutely wonderful week. My dear brother got married on Sat November 17 to my new (and only) (Okay, I have to put in here a little note about the "only"sister in law line. I actually have another sister in law that I have had for almost ten years. Yet, I don't think of her as my sister in law, I think of her more as a sister. So, my dear Steph, I love you to pieces and I did not forget about you. And a thank you to Lori for pointing out to me that Jamie is not my only sister in law - I am a bit of a nut. Love you all!!!) wonderful sister in law Jamie!!! So very happy for them! It was a beautiful wedding. She was glowing and they both looked so happy!!!! And our two little munchkins walked themselves down the aisle with a grace and poise I did not know they possessed. As our friend Amanda said, it was definitely a proud parent moment!!! They did great! Molly was soo excited about wearing her beautiful dress and having her hair all done up like a princess. And Jack was beside himself with pride that he got to walk my mom down the aisle with Brian and then walk Molly down while carrying the rings! It was great!

Their wedding colors were beautiful fall colors and our dresses were a dark brown, very very pretty! I must say we made quite a pretty wedding party!! :-)



Mr and Mrs Josh Rosales!!!! This is the happy couple in the limo heading to the reception.


Okay, so this is actually pretty funny. When my brother was little he used to sing this song to my mom all the time and so he picked it for his Mother/Son Dance. It was very sweet, yet much to both their surprise, it was much much longer than they remembered and this video is shot toward the end of a very long dance when Josh has begun to improvise a bit on the floor. Look close and you will see Jamie laughing hysterically in the background at one of the tables. Love you guys!!

The Earthquake

Well, in all the craziness surrounding Halloween I forgot to tell you that we had our first baby earthquake last week. It was weird. Brian was at dinner with a client and I was home with the kiddos (who were sleeping) and the house shook, just for a second. I mean it was so quick, that I thought maybe I had just imagined it. I looked up and the blinds were still moving back and forth like the wind was blowing inside. So so weird. So, being from Florida, I know exactly what to do in a hurricane, but not a clue what I should do in an earthquake, so I went online to learn. Turns out there is not all that much to do, you stay inside and away from doors and windows (much the same as in a hurricane). But that was all we felt and the night moved on. Brian and his clients felt it at dinner as well. We checked it out and it was located near San Jose. After we talked to some of our friends that have been here for a while, they said that is as big a movement as we ever get here (very consoling for the me). So we are quite glad that is all we get!

Check out the link for info...
http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/5.6_earthquake_strikes_California