Christmas 2008

Christmas Day

We had a wonderful Christmas and hope you all did too!! We started off the morning opening presents with the kids. Roberts favorite gift was a David Ortiz Jersey. Samantha's was a Samantha American Girl Doll. Michael's was a Lego Indiana Jones PlayStation game that was suppose to be here by the 24th but has not arrived yet - bummer!! Later in the day we went to my parents house and had a blast! We went in with my brothers and had given my parents a Wii, something they really wanted! So you know what was happening the entire time - family competitions! Dean and Carrie brought over the American Idol game for the Wii which was really fun for everyone. Ed wants to go professional for sure - Ha!! It was really a great Christmas Day!!

My Sweet Husband!

Every Christmas Eve we spend at home and celebrate Christmas with Ed's mom, aka Granny. This year she is really sick and is not able to come over - we really miss her tonight. The tradition is that Ed cooks his World Famous Turkey Enchiladas. In keeping with tradition he is slaving away in the kitchen right now! No, they are not really world famous but they should be - they are soooo good!!! Thanks Ed for always working so hard at all you do to make life so nice for all of us!! Kisses!!

Hello Santa!

This morning I took the kids to see Santa, I know a little late!! Robert is such a trooper to still go so I can have my picture!! Today was so funny Michael asked Santa for "a small knife" the look on Santa's face was hilarious!! (Michael was asking for a pocket knife.) Do you see Robert cracking up!!

Christmas Baking

We love our family!

John, Sue, J.R., Annika and Sonnet came into town for a week and we had so much fun. We love them so much and are so thankful for anytime we get with them! We wish they were still here, miss you guys!!

10 squished in a car for 8 - Shhhh!

Christmas with Mark and Pam

Sunday night we had our annual Christmas at Mark and Pam's beautiful house. It is always one of the highlights of the year!! There house is amazingly decorated, I call it the Grizwold's, and Pam's terrific cooking - it's always a perfect night!

Winter Tournament

Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Robert' travel ball team played in a tournament. They did really well and beat out one of the top teams around - Go Fury!! We were so proud of the boys but mostly Robert he really did great!


As for Ed and I - just keep the coffee coming!!

Playing catch up!

Life has been so busy since my last post here are a few highlights
Michael's second grade class put on a program called "Christmas at the O.K.'Corral." It was really great and Michael was terrific. It was so much fun watching him perform with his classmates! .
Here's a picture of him sitting at his desk - what a cute kid!!

Hawaii

Back to the Mainland

Well, can I say fun or what - I had a blast!! It was so good to see Jen and the boys! We even got to talk to Chris via skype! He looked really good and should be coming home from Iraq in February - Yeah! Jen took us all over the place we went snorkeling in Hahauma Bay and Cherie saw a 300 lb. turtle - picture to follow! We also went to this beach called Lani Kai it was the most beautiful beach the sand was as soft as baby powder! We kayaked in a hammerhead shark breeding ground - thanks Jen for not saying anything until we were out of the water! Went to Duke's in Waikiki - yummy! It was the best trip, never a dull moment! Seeing the base life was so amazing, I felt very patriotic, people just stopped their cars when they played colors. Some of my favorite times were when we just hung out talking and laughing. Kyle and Derek are just the cutest and I had sweet moments of cuddling with them. Thanks for the fun times girlfriends!!

Aloha

I'm leaving for Hawaii this morning! Cherie had this great idea of going to visit Jen in Hawaii for the Holidays. Jen is living in Hawaii on a Marine Base with her hubby and two adorable boys Derek and Kyle. Chris, Jen's hubby is in Iraq until February so Cherie found us great, cheap tickets so we could have a special Christmas time with Jen and the boys. I'm so excited to spend time with two of my closest friends and did I mention it's in Hawaii of all places!! These gals mean the world to me and I am so blessed to have them in my life.

I'm a proud Mama

Today has been a day when outsiders have awarded two of my kids on there character. This morning Robert was awarded the Citizenship Award from his 6th grade teacher. Robert wins this award every year and I couldn't be prouder. This award is for being an exemplary student, always kind, helpful and respectful. To me this is the best award given at school because it speaks of their character! Tonight, Samantha is being awarded the Sportsmanship Trophy from AYSO. Her coach nominated her due to the fact that Sammie always came to practice and games with a positive, encouraging attitude towards her teammates and even those she played against. I am so proud of Robert and Samantha for being examples of good behavior and to have others take note of it. I don't want to leave out Michael because he is a super, terrific, wonderful kid too! His award is a big smooch from me:)!