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Today was wet and rainy, which seems to be fast becoming the norm. Still, that didn’t put a damper on the fun we had at the neighborhood Easter egg hunt. The boys, dressed in their snappy Easter clothes, joined many of the other neighborhood kids for a story about the meaning of Easter and then enjoyed their very first egg hunt.
They really seemed to like the story: the book was called My Easter Basket: And the True Story of Easter” by Mary Manx Simon, and uses the colors commonly found in an Easter basket to tell Jesus’ story, like the green palm leaves, purple wine, red blood, and brown cave. Anyway, after the story, the kids and parents migrated to the patio for a egg hunt. Our hosts have a huge back yard, but due to the dampness, we were unable to take advantage of it, confining the activity to the porch and patio:
Adam took to “the hunt” right away, and was quickly filling up his basket with Easter eggs…
Alex was not very interested at first, choosing instead to play with a soccer ball, but soon spied an egg perched atop the railing and the hunt was on…
After the kids filled their baskets (and Adam discovered the eggs were filled with candy!), we moved back into the house for coffee and conversation while the kids played and snacked.
GO! GATORS!!
Naturally!
It’s Christmas morning, and the kids are still asleep, well, not really asleep, the boys are playing in their cribs and Kameran is in that twilight realm between dreams and reality. Just enough time to capture the moment just before the carnage begins…
The kids’ stockings…
Santa brought the boys a train table. This is the “Before” picture:
After: The San Francisco earthquake!
Look what I got! What is it??
So many presents, so little time…
So much wrapping paper mess! 😉
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (Luke 2: 8-14)
Have a blessed holiday!
In preparation for St. Nick’s visit, Kameran and her May-May have erected a fabulous gingerbread abode suitable for the jolly man’s elves…
The building begins…
The finished product…
Nice job! It’s a good thing this home is a giveaway, because we sure would have a tough time selling it in this market!! I hope those elves keep the yard up…
Now that the house is built, it’s time to bake some cookies for Santa…
…And with a cup of milk, the biscuits are placed in front of the fireplace, so Santa doesn’t miss them!
I hope he doesn’t trip over them! How would I make that claim on my homeowners insurance?
No Christmas is complete without a visit to Peddler’s Village and Giggleberry Fair!
The kids enjoyed themselves on the carousel, well, Kameran enjoyed herself…
We got mixed reviews from the boys. Adam was skittish at first, but warmed-up to it by the end of the ride; Alex wasn’t into it much at all and needed to be cuddled…
Look: Alex is a conehead!
The boys big sister, Jessica, guides them through a three-story labyrinth of tunnels, mazes, slides, and assorted obstacles…
Bubble Boys…
Kameran made a friend while at “the fair” and together they put on a darling little puppet show…
Dispense with the puppets, the star of the show has arrived…
Adam thoroughly enjoyed driving the firetruck. The costume was, of course, mommy’s idea…alas, it’s “Fire Marshall Bill Adam”
Giggleberry Fair: A Children’s Wonderland
This year’s Christmas Card…
Merry Christmas!
Recently, we took the boys to a photo studio for our family Christmas portrait. What a nightmare! The boys were all over the place! It’s a wonder we got any pictures all all, much less this one, which turned out to be pretty darn good!
The original plan called for the boys to have Christmas pictures wearing the gray sweaters, and for the family portrait, we’d all wear the same blue shirt. As usual, things didn’t go exactly as planned, but hey, you take what you can get with these guys! 🙂
This evening, Cindy and Nana took the boys to the mall to see Santa. What appeared to be a very promising visit with Saint Nick, soon disintegrated into a baby meltdown as Alex wanted nothing to do with the “jolly old elf.” Santa saved the day, though, by inviting Mommy and Nana to sit on his lap with the boys…
Of course, Alex wasn’t too keen on Santa’s solution!
It’s Thanksgiving Day and it’s snowing in PA!
That’s okay because I don’t have to drive in it! 🙂
The morning was uneventful. We drank coffee, watched the snow fall, and played throughout the house. When the boys went down for a nap, Cindy and I started on our Thanksgiving feast. I was in charge of the turkey, and Cindy was in charge of everything else (as it should be ;-)).
We fried a turkey this year (as we do most years), but this year I used my new oil-less turkey fryer. 
Sounds funny, I know. It uses infrared heat to cook the turkey. The only drawback is it takes about 10-minutes per pound, whereas the old-fashioned peanut oil will cook a bird in about 3-minutes per pound. Anyway, I was a little concerned beforehand, but was pleasantly surprised by the result. The turkey cooked very well and was very tasty!!
For dinner we enjoyed a delicious Czech wine: Chateau Valtice Rulandské modré. It was a very delicate red wine, much like Pinot Noir, with a brick-red hue, and a scent of cherry and raspberry. This particular bottle was a gift from the owner of the hotel Cindy and I stayed in during our first trip to Zlín, Czech Republic in 2007.
We’d been saving it for a special occasion and decided to open it today!
So, with the table set, and the boys wearing their fancy shirts, we sat down to our Thanksgiving dinner:
Alex and Adam ate very well and seemed to really enjoy the different tastes and textures set before them (except for the cranberries…Alex thoroughly rejected them!). Everything was delicious and the boys were very well behaved. Of course, Adam had a bit of a meltdown when we wouldn’t give him any wine. (Hey! He had his own grape juice!!)
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
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