The Joys of Multiple Families

Aloha.

Hope you're staying warm. I'm ready for a solid week of sunshine. You?

So Christmas lasts awhile, doesn't it? After our quiet morning it was time to visit Becky's grandparents. So we packed up and hit the road. (It's only 15 minutes away!)

Ava and Nikki plyed in a room of balloons. Doesn't seem real Christmassy, but it's really all about the joy, yeah?


See? Joy!


"Now what we do is get a balloon..."


"Let me go find one..."


"There are so many!"


"Okay, but you have to grab 1 at least..."


"Got it! Now we pop them!"


Many thanks to Nikki for playing with Ava. The girls sat on balloons for a long time, popping dozens of them. What a "blast" !!!

Now, to Becky's folks. We celebrated with them after they got back from vacation. Christmas lasted weeks at our house this year!

Ava needed a little "support" for some of her presents this year!


Nani, will you help me?




She's still at an age where clothes are exciting!


Papa behind the camera...


...he'll do almost ANYthing for a photo op!


Seriously, I love this kid's smile.




Oven mitts for the kitchen! Time to put this kid to work.


"You put this hand in here..." "Mm-hmmm..."



So that's the holiday. Season's greetings. Oh yeah, and Merry Christmas. :)

Next time you can see why I'm learning to enjoy winter all over again.

Smile.

Cheers.

Christmas Morning

Aloha.

Now to the big morning. Our Christmas is a little non-traditional (like us!). We have a palm tree for our Christmas tree. So we piled up presents around the fireplace with our stockings.

First: an update to the castle. We've spent a lot of time decorating it. It's a family affair. Check it out. (Yes, mama and daddy color, too. I forgot how much fun it is!)







So exciting!


No shirt, no shoes, no worries!


Whipped cream for the lattes!


The aftermath.



Well, a shorter post than I thought it would be. But I need to break it up a little. In my next post I'll take you to the other side of the family.

Cheers!

Christmas Continues

Aloha.

The nice thing about different sides to a family is that holidays sometimes take weeks to get through. Today we'll look at more Christmas memories. This time it's the nuclear family. Or as W says, nucular.

"So Ava, you push the snow onto the shovel, then toss it over the snow bank. Like this."


"Like this daddy?"
"Yep, that's right."


~Sweet, I can let her do the work, then take the credit.~


"You're not going to help me? I'm out of here."


"No really. I'm out. If I olnly had the keys..."

And so ends the "teach Ava to shovel" idea. Now I'm back to doing it myself!


Christmas Eve Dinner. Portabella mushroom dressing. Baked Potatoes. Brussel sprouts. Red wine. Venison tenderloins. (thanks Al!) Amazing.


And now... WE DANCE!


"Wait for me mama!"


Look at those pinchable cheeks. Wait, bottomless dancing.... Ava!!!!!!!!!!!


"You want me to twirl how?!?!"


"Oh! Like this. Okay!"



Still to come on Ava's blog: Christmas morning!

Keep on spreading the joy and love.

Cheers.

Christmas Take 1

Aloha.

It's cold. Really cold. Like dangerous, mind numbing, take-off-your-gloves-and-get-frostbite cold. Seriously. I took off my gloves yesterday (0 degrees with -20 wind chill) after shoveling and in about 5 minutes or less my fingers went numb. Crazy. But that's not why you're here.

After vacation, it was time for Christmas! Being Ava's second Christmas, we were excited that she's more aware of what it means. Plus she gets what presents are now, and loves to help open everyone's. First up: my folks, and Doug & Crystal. We had the whole group over for an afternoon of snacks and season's greetings.


A little quality time with Grandpa. Ava was very cuddly that afternoon. And it's not often Grandpa gets the spoils.


Laughing it up with Grandma


Goofing it up with Uncle Doug.


Dora stickers with Aunt Crystal.


A gift from an artist. Look at which hand that is!!!


A gorgeous necklace.


What a roomful!


The always-helpful Ava.


Smile!


Doug & Crystal gave Ava this castle. It's cardboard and you can color it.


Like this.


"Ava?!" "What? Can't you see I'm creating!"


Look at that blonde lion. What a "family" crest!



Next: teaching Ava the joys of winter.

Cheers.