HAPPY New Year ... Party Number One ...

First up ... our friends, Josh and Mikele, hosted a fabulous party to ring in the New Year ... not a detail was missed!!
This party had it all ... sparkle hats ...
A little bubbly ...A fireman, standing by, just in case things got a bit out of hand ...
Candy necklaces, teeter totters and a moving Wiggles car ...
An obviously starved child who clawed at my neck to get this YUMMY out of my hands ...
and a father/son eating contest ... Miles totally won!
And as the evening progressed, Adam didn't find quite enough to eat with the sandwiches, nugget platter, salads, chips, dips and extra cheese :) ... so he decided to munch on a little Kate ... really, who could resist her?
And on a side note ... I once had a dream to own a nice camera and become a decent photographer. I once had a dream to tell my children's children that I TOOK THAT PICTURE ... but alas, my dream has been crushed. Ben, who has plenty of dreams of his own ... snagged mine too. It's a good things he's good at my dream ... because otherwise I'd be REALLY annoyed!!
Ben capturing the perfect smile ...
The perfect karate move ...
The perfect sweet cuddle ...
The hilarious race, by two speedy crawlers ... or make that one crawler and one child that should be walking but it's cool ... move at your own pace, Eli. I have a feeling you are a kiddo that will move to your own beat for many years to come!
And one really excited party planner ... who was also ahead in Dutch Blitz at the time this picture was snapped. If we didn't have somewhere else to be ... I'm sure I would have crushed the competition! Oh ... and I'm ordering a set of cards tonight. I'm practicing my one-handed moves from now until next year!!!

Welcoming in the New Year with Sprinklers ...

For the second year in a row, we brought in the New Year with our neighbors.  Well, let me revise that a bit... 

For the second year in a row ... we chatted with our neighbors, eating lovely food and warming our hands by the fire ... 

Until about 10:15 ... when the sprinklers decided to rain on our FABULOUS celebration.  You see, this same thing happened last year.  Only, this year, we switched landscaping companies and we did research.  No one had heard the sprinklers on at night in months.

And while last year, the party dissolved after we all got drenched.  This year, we didn't let a little H20 ruin our fun.  Instead, when the waters came squirting up, our more resourceful neighbors (unlike the rest of us who just stood around and stared) grabbed pots and pans of every size and covered up the sprinklers.
Which worked fabulously until mini-lakes began to form around our feet.  And the party might have continued even with damp clothes and soaking feet ... if it wasn't for ... 
the HUGE sprinklers that came on next.  (I'm modeling the water droplets on my jacket!!)  Next year, we're moving our party to the streets!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, J. Howard!

Our sweet J. How turned THREE today! That means, three years ago, I was at the hospital ... where I think the doctor was postponing the arrival of our firstborn until after the Texas/USC bowl game? No one will admit it but Joshua was born only 15 minutes after the end of the game ... hmmm??

Joshua Howard is a true firstborn. He loves things going just as he had planned. He loves order and rules and yet ... he loves (even more) to see how far he can push those rules. He is spunky ... will dance when no one is looking and will dance even crazier when people are. Everything can be made into a song ... He's LOVES trains, books and a good art project!

We are THANKFUL, THANKFUL, THANKFUL that God chose us to be his parents. We are super blessed to have him be in our family!!

Unfortunately, J. How was born a mere 10 days after Christmas and I have yet to post New Year's pictures ... so his impromptu YO GABBA GABBA party (complete with handmade shirts) will have to wait a few days to be seen by the world. And trust me. You'll want to stay tuned. I even went out in public wearing my Toodee shirt. I told you ... it's a whole new me in 2009!!!

Christmas: Take Two ... Off to Cake and Pap Pap's ...

After Bella's, we got in our new car and trekked off to sunny ... ahem ... rainy California.
Nothing too eventful on the drive over ... just a child who decided vomiting 20 minutes outside Palm Desert was a good idea. What is with my children and their need to vomit? REALLY!
Once we got to CA, J How was a bit curious about Santa's whereabouts ... Aunt Jenn and her iPhone to the rescue!
Making a traditional Slovakian meal ... perogi (I know there's an "h" in there somewhere??) YUMMY!! Filled with cheese and potatoes and drizzled with butter!
A quick picture after attending a Christmas Eve service ...
A visit from Santa himself ... straight to J How's bedroom ... Howser was SO EXCITED!!!
And the moment we were all waiting for ... the annual WRAPPING contest! Here is Ben's entry. He drew his mom's name and hid her presents inside the cake ... an idea he came up with only after he saw his competition ...
My Santa's "Going Green" Workshop for Jenn's husband, Robert. My personal favorite ... Clyde the Red Nose Free Range Chicken .... oh, and there's solar panels and a bamboo forest!
DRUM ROLL ... I WON!!! I WON!! I WON! My prize ... a fine meal at On the Border and movie tickets! YIPPIEEE!!!
Christmas morning ... is that the best face???
And our little E ... still wishing he was sleeping!!!
Joshua is so excited (SO EXCITED) about this HUGE gift that Eli is sitting on and Eli ... is still wondering why on earth he's up so early!!
Love the expression on both of their faces ...
Just what he wanted ... a ride-on Thomas. If you're under 45 pounds, come on over! We have to move half the furniture in our living room to make room for his tracks but it's worth it!

YES!

And for Eli ... his very own train!
And a nap ....
And like they always say ... it's the box that gets more attention than the toy! The boys LOVED playing in the Thomas box. I gave J How a flashlight, pillow and Mook and he was good for an hour!
Pap Pap getting in on all the box fun ...
And finally ... what better way to end the trip than playing your very first board game?

Thanks, Cake and Pap Pap! We had a GREAT Christmas in California!!

A Christmas Review ... First Up ... Bella's House!

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. It's a new year. I have a resolution list a mile long (I typed it out this year) and on DAY 2 of 2009 ... I'm striking out on "becoming the new me!" And while I'm a bit disappointed that the yoga DVD has yet to be opened and I failed to go to bed earlier, so I could wake up earlier and complete the Beth Moore Bible study I started in September and only completed 4 days of ... and I have yet to really plan out a meal (I'm guessing the pizza and pre-packaged salad we had last night doesn't count) ... I figure ... no need to get down. Why not just start the new year on Monday? Like every time I want to start I diet I say, "I'll just start that on Monday." So for the rest of the world ... HAPPY NEW YEAR but to me ... I'll bid adieu to 2008 on Sunday night.

And because of that grand decision ... I have 3 more days to post 2008 Christmas pictures.

And I can breathe a bit.

Now ... onto the Christmas celebrations!

Oh ... first. One more disclaimer. Over the Christmas season, I became the driver of a gold Honda minivan. I figured I'd let you know on the front end ... just in case you needed to find a cooler friend. But before you judge me ... it does have leather seats and a DVD player ... and plenty of room to sneak you off to San Diego the next time we go ... so think real hard about whether mocking me is a good idea ;)
The GIFT OF THE YEAR. A steel drum ... made in Trinidad. Sold at Nordstroms for $108 ... purchased by me for $4.97 at Last Chance. My mom has ALWAYS loved steel drums and we are here to make people happy! (I left the price tag on my gift just because I was so pleased with my deal!)
J How found something for HIM!!!
That Bella knows the way to a boy's heart ... a wind up Thomas that can go in the car!!! My fingers and my back would also like to thank Bella from turning around and winding that SWEET, TINY Thomas from her home to Blythe!
E and his Gigi ... watching Thomas go around and around!
And then ... Big How and Gigi came through with another great gift ... Skarloey!

Thanks for the presents ... How, Gigi and Bella! (I got an iron!! Mine dropped on the floor a few months ago and while I figured that boycotting freshly pressed clothes was a good idea ... thanks to Gigi, the world will see a few less wrinkles).
And finally ... I leave you with our FAVORITE Christmas tradition ... pecan rolls! We eat LOTS and LOTS of these ... when they only appear once a year ... one can afford to ignore the calories!

Guess Who's Eighty-Five??

I know ... we can hardly believe it either but my grandpa ... known around the block as Howie and to our two boys as How How turned EIGHTY-FIVE today!
I'm telling you ... even the little kid is shocked! 85?? He doesn't look a day over 50!
To start off the festivities ... a forced family photo. We have screaming ... the classic "deer in headlights" look from E and the birthday boy ... calm, cool and collected!
Then a walk to visit our local donkey, Tabasco. Joshua was explaining to How How that they (Tabasco and the two black sheep) were taking a nap.
YUMMY! The birthday boy got $10 of credit at The Farm Grill ... I brought along PB and J sandwiches for the younger crew ...
And E decided that ketchup was his new best friend!
We're an equal opportunity family ... even the birthday boy has "trash duty!"
How and Little How choosing a dessert ...
A rousing rendition of HAPPY BIRTHDAY to HOW HOW ...
A bit of pink sprinkle cupcake sharing ... (J How was good to share with GiGi but gave an emphatic NO when asked to give How How a bite ... a kid can only see so much of his pink frosting go down somebody else's hatch before he has to set some limits).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HOWIE!!

And ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY, UNCLE ROBERT!