Christmas & New Year's

Our family carries on the Wood tradition of having a New Mexican meal of tamales & posole as our Christmas Eve dinner.  I love that we do this and I love that Charlie makes the posole himself from scratch.  Isaac calls it "New Mexico soup."

We spent a quiet evening relaxing together and reading the Christmas story out of the New Testament while the boys acted it out with their Little People Nativity set.

I know a lot of families have the tradition of getting new pajamas on Christmas Eve, and while we haven't really done this in the past I decided to do it this year.

Isaac was somewhat disappointed that he didn't get a toy, but he was actually really excited about the Angry Bird Star Wars pajamas that I picked out for him.  Though his face may not show much excitement in this photo...  silly kid!

Once the boys were sleeping soundly Santa got to work assembling gifts and putting everything in place.

It is always so fun to watch the joy on Christmas morning as the boys discover all of their new toys and gifts.  Luke's favorite was this little plastic broom.  Whenever I sweep the floor he always wants to help and takes a turn pushing dust around with the big full size broom.  He was thrilled to have one of his very own.

Isaac always has a gift list a mile long, and forgets about half the things on "the list" about 2 minutes after he tells me to add them.  One thing that he was consistent about asking for in the weeks leading up to Christmas was this remote control tower crane.  It is taller than he is and has several moving parts.   Isaac was smiling from ear to ear when he saw it waiting for him that morning.

After we opened all of the Santa gifts we moved on to the ones under the tree.  As usual, we ended up with too much stuff.  The floor was littered with paper and empty boxes and piles of new toys.  

One of my favorite gifts this year was from Isaac.  Charlie took him shopping a few weeks before Christmas and Isaac new just what he wanted to buy.  He asked to go to Bloomingdale's and led Charlie to the jewelry counter.  Then he proceeded to walk all around looking closely at every display until he found "the one!"  Charlie reported that Isaac was very determined about this and it totally cracks me up whenever I hear this story.  He was a little nervous that Isaac was going to pick out something ridiculously expensive but when the sales clerk announced that it was on sale for just $18, he was able to breathe a sigh of relief.  So they came home and wrapped it up and then came up with a plan to trick me.  Isaac loved this idea and so he would get a huge grin on his face and tell me almost everyday that he had gotten me a new "ironer" for Christmas.  When Christmas morning finally arrived, Isaac was beaming with pride as he handed me my gift and watched as I opened it.  

Though it's not quite my style, I have to admit that I have fallen in love with this necklace.  As I ood and awed over the sparkly jewels Isaac told me "I knew you would love it!"  And I do.  Here's a closer look at my heart shaped Betsey Johnson rainbow jeweled bling.  What more could a mom ask for?

That evening we went over to my sister Sandy's house for Christmas dinner.  My sister Wendy joined us as well and we all exchanged gifts, ate too much food, and watched the kids play and run wild around the house.  

Karl & Janelle made some last minute plans to join us for the New Years holiday.  It was a quick visit but we were excited to have them.  

On New Years Eve day we all boarded the Amtrak and headed down to Old Town San Diego.  I remember taking the Amtrak to Utah when I was a little girl, but I have not ridden it since and it was a fun little adventure.  It was neat to watch to coastline and get a different view than what we normally see driving on the 5 freeway.  The boys loved riding on the train, watching the ocean from the window, and not having to wear seat belts.  While most of us crammed into the ocean view seats, Karl decided to take in the scenic view from the other side of the train.  I think he liked having the extra leg room.  

From the train station we walked over to Old Town and had lunch at one of the several Mexican restaurants in the plaza.  It was a gorgeous sunny day and we enjoyed sitting outside and listening to the mariachi music while eating our meal. 

Isaac was having fun dancing on this stage and trying to get Luke to join in.  I'm sure there are regular performances here, but we just sat and watched these silly boys making up their own dance to the music playing in the plaza.  

We stopped in this tile store with thousands of different kinds of ceramic tiles and plaques.  Janelle picked out some pretty painted address numbers for their new home in Utah to add a little bit of the Mexican charm similar to the home they left behind in Las Cruces.

  

From the plaza we walked to the nearby Mormon Battalion Museum.  My family went once while I was growing up, but I think it's been completely redone since then.  We had a sister missionary who guided us through the whole tour.  It is all very interactive with a lot of videos, talking portraits, etc.

  

When the guide was showing us the type of gear that the soldiers wore for their trek she asked Isaac to come up and try it all on.  He felt really important and liked trying on all of the cool stuff.  Luke wanted to stand up there with him too.  

At the end of the tour there is an outside area where you can pan for gold.  Both boys loved playing in the water and Isaac took home a tiny little rock of "gold" that I'm sure he believes is the real thing.

It was a fun day and we were glad to have Karl & Janelle there to enjoy it with us.  We headed back home to Irvine on the train and had a quiet New Year's Eve at home.  I don't think we even made it till midnight.  

In the evening on New Years Day we drove out to Newport Beach.  We walked out on the pier and watched the fishermen and even spotted a few dolphins out in the water.  We watched the sunset and let the boys play on the playground.  

Then we got our bonfire going and ate dinner and roasted marshmallows for s'mores.  The beach is always super crowded in the summer time, but we love going in the off season and are lucky to have such pleasant weather year round.  It was a perfect evening for a fire.  

The added bonus was the entertainment that showed up a bit later.  We did a New Years bonfire two years ago with some friends, but we had kind of forgotten about the tree burners.  Apparently it is tradition for some families in the area to gather as many dead Christmas trees as they can and drag them all down to the beach on New Years Day.  Then they proceed to douse them in lighter fluid and light up the night sky with one explosive tree after another.  It's actually quite entertaining - especially from a distance where we didn't feel like we were in any danger. 

And the light from these tree fires was so bright that you could see clear as day around our own fire ring.

Karl & Janelle had to head home the next day, but we were so glad that they came to enjoy the holiday with us.  It was the perfect way to ring in 2013.  

The Month of December

I'm sure it's the same for every family.  The month of December comes with a calendar packed full of events.  This year was no exception.  Here's how we spent the days and weeks leading up to the most anticipated holiday of the year.

December 1st we set out to find our Christmas tree.  We went to an actual lot this year instead of buying a tree from a big box store.  It made such a difference.  Our tree was so fresh and pretty, smelled wonderful and lasted the whole month.  Isaac was impressed with the super tall trees and tried to convince us to pick one of them.  Luke was excited about the blow up decorations.

That night we decorated the tree and put the rest of the decorations out as well.  Karl & Janelle bought Isaac this singing snowman last year, and this year Luke made it his new best friend.  It sings "Sleigh Ride" and wobbles around with flashing lights.  He LOVED it.

We made several trips to go see Christmas lights in the evening.  Luke always wanted to wear his hat whenever we went out.  At first it was just in the evenings and eventually he started wanting to wear a hat everywhere we went.  

The boys absolute favorite house is the one with the giant inflatable snowman and santa.  These things are seriously HUGE.  As soon as you turn the corner, there they are towering above the neighborhood. 

The tree at Fashion Island is always another big hit.  I took Isaac one afternoon while Luke was at speech and he found a "secret entrance" to get back behind the giant presents and run all around with a bunch of other kids.  

Every year I stress out about getting a good family picture for a Christmas card.  You'd think it would be as simple as just hiring a photographer, but I kind of hate to spend the money when the odds of getting a great shot are not necessarily in my favor.  Don't get me wrong - I would LOVE to have some beautiful family portraits, but our boys are so incredibly uncooperative.  I've had several people who've attempted to take photos of us agree with me.  Like it is next to impossible to get a photo with both of them looking at the camera and smiling.  But my dear friend Karlea was willing to give it a try.  Bless her heart and thank goodness for Photoshop. 

This is one of my favorites because it captures the experience so well:

Of course the month of December brings with it a myriad of Holiday parties.  The first for the month was the ICEC Christmas party.  ICEC is where Isaac attended therapy up until he turned three.  We worked with some really fantastic people there and made some good friends, so I always like to go back and say hi.  I think Isaac still has some faint memories of it too. 

Santa Claus always comes to the party and gives each child a handmade wooden toy to take home.  Isaac didn't really warm up to Jolly Old St. Nick, but he was happy to take home another train. 

After the party we went to go visit my sister Sandy and my new niece Emma!  

Now back to the Christmas parties.  Isaac had a party with his class at school.  Families were invited and Luke loved sitting at a little table (even though he was all by himself) and eating all of the snacks.

  

The Edwards family (my mom's side) always gets together for a Christmas party with the families that live here in Southern California.  My Aunt Karen & Uncle Brian hosted at their home this year.  

We always play this silly present game where we take turns rolling dice in a pie plate and if you get doubles then you can pick from the pile of presents in the middle of the room.  Some years we have a stealing round at the end.  Charlie & I usually bring kitchen tools & gadgets, sometimes people bring gag gifts, lots of stuff from the dollar store, etc.  There is a separate present pile for the kids and they really get excited about it.  Charlie rolls his eyes every year when we play this game, but hey -we can't argue with tradition.   

Charlie was also making fun of my sister Wendy and I that night for unintentionally wearing similar outfits.  It is hard to tell from this photo but we both had on tall brown leather boots in addition to the matching sweaters.  

One of my favorite Christmas parties every year is when our friends the Oylers host a Christmas Boat Parade party.  The Newport Beach Boat Parade attracts thousands of spectators every year, but it can be hard to get a good viewing spot.  Tennyson's parents have a home on Lido Island so after dinner we can walk down to the beach and have a prime viewing spot to watch all of the lighted boats go by.  

One of our family traditions during the holidays is to bake treats and deliver them to our friends.  I always thought this was a really common tradition - at least it was in Utah where our family would give & receive dozens of treats throughout the holidays - but not so much around here.  Either that or nobody likes us!  Anyway, we have fun baking and delivering goodies because it gives us a chance to visit and catch up with friends, some whom we don't always see very often.  

No one escapes the holidays without wrapping their share of gifts.  Isaac was a good helper this year.  

And he taught Luke just want to do with those empty wrapping paper rolls. 

After church I made one last attempt at capturing some family photos.  I wanted a Christmas photo of the boys.  And then I added my other two boys.  And finally decided I might as well jump in too.  

And then we were pretty much ready for Christmas!