Christmas Craft #2

The kiddos were all excited and ready for craft #2...see jammies are even still on!  That makes a mom feel good!!

I had cut Christmas trees shapes out of old cereal boxes from the recycling bin and got all the "goodies" I could think of for the kiddos to have a free-for-all and decorate however they wanted.

I love this...their creativity shines bright!

So simple yet so fun!

Can you see the shine?  Creativity I tell you!!!

The finished masterpieces...awesome!

So proud...they even got dressed for this one!  Isn't Christmas break the time to wear your jammies for most of the day?    I think so!

Christmas Day Fun!!!

We had a really wonderful Christmas day with all of Carl's family!  It's really nice being around so many family members...I don't remember the last time I had 15 people at my house for dinner!

Lots of fun was had by all...lots of presents to enjoy as well!

Some of the favs...

Love the Legos...always a huge hit w/ Z!

More Zhu Zhu Pets to join the fam!

K w/ her beading kit from Aunt Lori!  This one got lots of clothes too...a lot of changing happened throughout the day. 

Uncle Rich w/ Z's rubik's cube!

Z's new Nerf gun...has clips that hold 15-20 nerf darts and he absolutely loves it! 

But the most favorite presents of all were from the Grandparents!

On Christmas eve, Baba gave the kiddos a year membership to MOSI (Museum of Science and Industry) in Tampa!  Not only that but it gets us into our local museum to see Snotty the manatee any day we desire.
We love snotty...he is a fav in Bradenton.
And finally the last fav gift of the season was from Grandma and Grandpa...Dance Party II for wii!

See the fun for yourself!

Aunt Liz joins the fun!

I think she's having some fun!

Aunt Liz finally gets Rich to join in too!

You go girls!

We hope you all had a great Christmas day too! I send my love to all

Now on to the New Year...2011...here we come!

The Christmas/Holiday/New Year's Card!

When can I stop worrying about the holiday picture/card???

I always did one up until about 3 years ago.  I still stress about it though and even yesterday was trying desperately to find a picture that I could get printed up to send out! 

It seemed extra important after we had our kiddos.  I, like everyone else wanted to show off my kids because of course they are the cutest things ever.  I even started an album (in the midst of my scrap-booking phase) that was just for the holiday letter and the pic.  That's it...one album that would show the changes from year to year.  It's a good idea but I didn't follow through and now it's just a reminder that I didn't follow through.  

Why do I/we add this stress onto an already stressful time?  There is always so much to do...endless shopping for needless things, groceries out the wazoo, pies and desserts to make and then stress about eating, making sure the house is cleaned up (kiddos are wonderful helpers in the job-thanks kids)...so many expectations to live up to or at least feel we must live up to, and worrying that all those loved ones will make it safe and sound.  I love it when everyone arrives and the fun begins but I could so live without the crap beforehand.

So why then do I want to add in to that mess a pic that I must pull teeth to get taken and LONG letter about our year in review???  Then I remembered something...I have a blog!!  And it can reach all of you all at once, all year long.  I have thousands of pics already on my computer that I can choose from and post to share our perfect days, the crazy days, the adventurous days...etc.  All of you who knows us, know all about what's going on in our lives anyways.

So Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah/Happy Holidays/Happy New Year!  This blog is the best record of 2010 for our family!

Look in the Archives for past blog posts about our new life in Florida and leave me a comment!  I love comments!

Happy Holidays to all of you who mean so much to me and my family!   

Siesta Key Beach!
This beach is not too far south of us and is known for their white, flour-like sand.  It is really amazing and a fun place to hang!
Come visit!!!!

We send lots of love!

Karaoke Night!

I am not a big Karaoke fan...in fact I had to look up how to spell it but my kiddos love it.
I do love watching them.


They got the High School Musical Sing It for Wii last year from their Baba.

It's a riot!  

Trying to do the copy the dances is fun but it much more fun to just be crazy!

This one is the star...she loves to shine for all to see!

I love that their personalities shine through...Z hates to make mistakes and tries to be very precise. 

Hello, can you hear me, is this thing on??!!!  Yes honey, we hear you loud and clear!

Just another fun night at home.  C has the tv hooked up with the stereo so when we watch movies, we have great sound...it also makes for a wild (i.e. LOUD) Karaoke night!

Thanks for the entertainment Baba!!

Hope you are all enjoying your Holiday break with your kiddos!!

Holiday Craft #1

A lot of us moms are home with kiddos right now and a lot of us know that the day will go so much better if we have a good plan...my plans always include crafts.  It is one-on-three with my kiddos...we craft, we laugh, we critique, we laugh more, and just plain have fun together.  I LOVE it, I really do and I know the kiddos love it too.

Craft #1...Puff Ball Ornaments!

Styrofoam balls, puff balls, hot glue gun, jewels and anything else you could think of to put on them!

Busy bees!  BTW... The Elmer's glue just didn't cut it.

Holiday Boat Parade!

The Holiday Boat Parade put on by the Bradenton Yacht Club was high on all of our lists and it didn't disappoint!

The boats were all decked out and a lot of them had Christmas music.  It was very cool!  

Most of the crew hanging out on the pier!

My FAM!  I Love you guys

I like this one...the towns big Christmas tree and the native palm tree side by side!

"Mom, we got to bungee jump!"

So after Santa arrived by helicopter no less (see previous post), there was a small festival/carnival to take the kiddos to.  C and I were not there...the kiddos went with their Aunt Liz, Rich and Baba.  They filled us in when they got home.

This was the highlight...bungee jumping!!!
What was that?  Did my sweet, adorable (breakable) kiddos just say bungee jump?

YEP!  That's what they said!

K!

Cool contraption!

Why might that ambulance be there?...hmmmm

Z!

Z's turn!

L!

Look at me!!  Are you guys watching me?!

End it with a flip...that's our girl!

They LOVED it...what a cool way to experience what real bungee jumping might be like.  Hopefully the real thing is something they will never want to do.

Fun Times!