Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Christmas 2013

I hope that everyone had a lovely and very Merry Christmas! Here are some photos from our morning!
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These guys managed to resist the urge to open prezzies before morning…

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Ready to dash into the living room!

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New gaming console to share Smile 

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Honor gives the kitties some treats.

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Brian gets a book that he’s been wanting and Honor and Pixie demonstrate toe washing techniques.

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Honor is happy to get a big box for Christmas… silly me, thinking it was just something good to hold the used wrapping paper. Ninja was a bit jealous.

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Fortunately, the box is big enough for both of them.

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And then, grandma and grandpa sent MORE boxes for the cats… boxes that just happened to have a lot of nice stuff inside for us too!

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Brad loves his new sweater and shirt, and you know that I’ll put my pretty new yarn to good use!

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Brian LOVES his new slippers and the number keypad too!

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Honor loved her new toys too. The soft plush kitties that look like our former kitties Misty and Ramses (she’s named them Mischief and Rambow) and she was very happy  to get presents to give to the cats too!
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The cats LOVED their new toys too!

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Merry Christmas!

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Trimming the Tree - 2013

Our tree has been up for over a week, but with homework and school and cooties and working late, we simply have not had the chance to put any decorations on it yet… until today! We were supposed to go out and join the embassy Christmas party, but Brian decided that it was his turn to get sick and so we stayed in, had cocoa (with peppermint candy canes to stir), and trimmed our pretty tree. The cats were even helpful and stayed out of the way, mostly… there were a few moments of grabby-ness and a number of wild leaps into boxes. There may have even been a few instances of bad kitty language when a sibling interfered with another’s nefarious plot, but we made it!


It was Honor’s turn to put the topper on the tree. She can’t quite reach, but she can climb – and with dad’s help – place it from the couch!

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The topper is a little angel that Brad and I picked up in a street market in Germany about 20 years ago… amazing that it has survived so long!
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A couple of pictures of the kids and their dad

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Honor was feeling silly… Brian was just feeling hot, like 102F fever, but he was smiling anyway. Must have been those yummy spice cookies I made for them that helped.

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Photos of me and the kids too.

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Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Christmas Fun 2012

We hope that all of our friends and family had a lovely and love filled Christmas day, and that you are all continuing to enjoy your winter break with friends and loved ones.

Our Christmas morning started with a wild slo-mo run to the tree… because slo-mo is more dramatic…

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and the first prezzie was discovered. A poor orphaned fox cub who needed a new home.

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And Ninja got to open the giant box of goodies that Aunt Nancy, Uncle Jim, and cousins Kira and Nick, sent to her.

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She was very generous and shared some of the boxes inside with the kids. Thanks to you all :D !!

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We haven’t tried the game you sent yet, it’s been raining!, but it looks like fun. <3 !! Although they did get the trucks out for a test drive.

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And what about us? What do we get a kid who wants to know everything? Why, books, of course, including one that is supposed to be a Short History of Everything. (Looks interesting… I may read it too!)

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Both kids got a ton of books, and Kindles too… books and more books! (ebooks are lighter to pack!) and we really are that desperate to keep Brian, in particular, in reading material! Honor still has Brian’s stash to go through…

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Ninja liked the wrapping paper.

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There was Minecraft loot. The favorite new tee? The Minecraft periodic table. Yea, this boy likes science!

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Girls play Minecraft too!

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(Sad Creeper just wants a hug)


New software for our little artist. Kid Pix is a program Honor learned about at school and she really has fun with it.

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And speaking of being creative, we got a new Wii game that looked like a lot of fun – CREATE. Well, we’re hoping it is fun. It had good and bad reviews, so we’ll just have to see for ourselves.

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Grandma and Grandpa sent a very interesting Lego set for Brian (which he is setting up right this very moment) Thank you!! :) !! We love and miss you very much!!
Oh, and what you can’t tell by this photo, is Honor is making off with the yummy homemade cinnamon popcorn that Aunt Christine and Uncle John sent. (she eventually let us have some too) We very much enjoyed reading all of the nice letters too!!

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Brad and I got ourselves more practical things, like needed clothes and cookware, but one indulgence was a pair of fleece rugs for our room (this tile gets chilly!). Fleece is so warm soft!

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How soft? The cats loved the rugs. LOVED them. Ninja loved them so much that she wanted to have both of them all to herself. It was really tough for one small cat to try and hog two large rugs, but she tried.

 

There was a whole bunch of goofing off too.

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Honor had an argument with a parrot. I think she won, but I’m not sure.

 

And the kitties were not left out. I got them a toilet training set (not kidding, these guys are smart, I figure I’ll give it a try… ) Pixie did not seem impressed.
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But they really loved the gift that Honor made for them. A box with holes in it and a treat hidden inside.

 

We spent our day goofing off, being lazy, playing games, and staying inside… it was wet all day! I made a slow roasted lamb shoulder that turned out perfectly! The meat was so tender that it just fell apart, and it was wonderfully tasty. Not a hint of gaminess. I served it with mint yogurt sauce, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, bread and green bean casserole. Pineapple upside-down cake for dessert. With plenty leftover too, so I don’t have to cook tonight – whoop! :) ! Speaking of which, I better go get stuff warmed up. Honor is putting another holiday movie in and we’re going to picnic around the tv.

Merry Christmas and Happiest of Holidays to everyone!