Merry Christmas!!

Surprisingly enough, Dylan didn't wake us up until 8:00 this morning!

He had that innocent, sweet, joy in his voice when he yelled as loud as he could, "WAKE UP!! SANTA CAME!!!" It was like music to my ears...even if I wasn't quite ready to wake up!

The next hour was spent ripping open presents, and Cody was trying to run after everyone with a trash bag. This is the only time I can remember Cody trying to be the clean, organized one!

So here's the breakdown...Santa brought Dylan the Nintendo DSI he wanted so badly, and a bunch of games to go with it. Madison wasn't quite into the opening of presents, but she was checking them out and playing with them a lot more than I thought she would, and she got lots of new great baby toys! Santa brought Cody a new blu-ray player, and the DJ Hero game for his XBox, and Santa brought me a beautiful, big Coach bag, and the Flip video camera. Everyone was happy, and the house ended up trashed even with Cody's trash bag.

We went to the Grandparents house in the afternoon, spent time with family and had a wonderful dinner together! Everyone got along, and drama was no where in sight!

Cody & the kids with Uncle Corey


Before...





I'm convinced my son could break a record with how fast he opens presents.





Maddie trying to reach in her Santa bag for more...


She found more...


She's calling Santa to say thank you!


Dylan & his new Nintendo DSI...


This is what my house looked like after...



Grandma's house...






It was a wonderful, magical Christmas...but they always are!
Hope everyone else had a fabulous Holiday!

Kids & Trees...

I knew Christmas morning would be so crazy that it would be hard to take good pictures of the kids by the tree...so I did it early! And they are so cute!!!

A Very Disney Christmas!

It's the 23rd of Christmas, and I figured if we are going to have to battle crowds, we might as well battle them at Disneyland!!

And boy were there crowds to battle!! It was one of the busiest days I've ever seen at Disneyland...but we still had fun!



Maddie's first visit with Santa! And of course Dylan made sure to ask for that DSI he wants for Christmas!


Mrs. Claus was there, too!


We waited in this spot for an hour to see the parade...great seats.


Every year at Christmas time they decorate Small World in lights, and they do little light shows every 20 minutes or so. It's the best!




My little guy, having a good time...


The Castle, all up in lights!

Love!

I've been practicing, and tonight I got to show off my new cooking skills...for people who don't live with me & therefor have to pretend to like my cooking.

We had Dominic, Hobin and Deborah over for dinner, and I made a prime rib roast, mashed potatoes & fresh green beans. Everyone loved it, and not a single person got sick! Success!

Hope everyone is enjoying the Holiday Season as much as I am!

Random Cuteness...

I can't believe how big she's getting!

Random Cuteness...

My boys...aren't they gorgeous?

Bah Humbug...Not really.

Today Cody & I took Dylan to see A Christmas Carol at the El Capitan. I love the experience of going to the El Capitan to see Disney movies, and this was no different. They really know how to get you in the Christmas spirit!
They started with a Christmas show, which includes a lot of singing and dancing with the characters, and it actually snowed (well...)in the audience, which Dylan thought was amazing...even though it ruined our popcorn.

The movie was in 3-D, and I just loved it!!

Hope everyone is having a fabulous holiday season!!

Kooza!

Sonia's gift to us for Christmas this year was a trip to see Kooza, in Santa Monica. Best gift ever! I have never seen a Cirque show, and I must say, it was even more awesome than I expected it to be!

I loved everything about it...the music, the performances, the costumes, were all amazing!

Madison was bouncing to the music, and staring at the lights and performances, and Dylan must have said "Wow" about a hundred times. Did I mention it was amazing?!
And the tent was right on the beach! I couldn't think of a better location!

Thank you Sonia, we love you!

You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch...

It was the day after Thanksgiving that I saw this story on the news.

Bill Fogerty is a man who runs the "United Labor Agency of Orange County", and every Christmas, he collects food and toys to give the less fortunate, so that they can have a nice Holiday.

Well this year, on Thanksgiving day, someone broke into the warehouse where all the food and toys were being stored, and stole it all. $100,000 worth of food, and $25,000 worth of toys. All that was left was a couple canned goods. I couldn't believe that someone could do that. He said he even thought maybe this was the end, and it was just time for him to retire this tradition.

Well, I was watching the news just a couple of minutes ago, and was even more surprised. Ever since the story was on the news, Bill Fogerty has been receiving hundreds of emails from people offering to help build the supply back up. He has since received truckloads and vanloads worth of food, and the Marines even dropped off nearly 2,000 toys!!

This right here is the true meaning of Christmas.

Random Cuteness!