Happy Birthday Daddy!!!

Happy Birthday to my main man and best Daddy in the world! I thank g-d everyday for sending me such an incredible man to share this road of life with. We celebrated Mike's birthday early last weekend in Flagstaff and then continued the birthday celebration on his actual birthday. Where else but at our favorite sushi place....

 

Here are some from our week of birthday celebrations and a few others of my favorites... 

  

 

 

 

LOVE YOU BABE!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

 

Birthday Celebrations In Flagstaff...

We spent MLK weekend in Flagstaff celebrating Mike and Renae's birthdays. It was a perfect excuse to getaway for the weekend and stay at my friend Kim's beautiful home. The weather was perfect, the food was yummy and the company was great!

We spent a good part of the weekend relaxing, but did manage to get out on Saturday and have some fun in the snow. The kids sled, had a snowball fight with the adults and then completed the afternoon with a Snowman challenge amongst the families.

On Sunday the girls snuck away and got pedis for Renae's birthday. It was an experience and we laughed the entire time. Great memories! We then headed back to the house and watched Football with the guys and enjoyed another great night together. It was a wonderful weekend with great friends. We can't wait to do it again...

 

 

Christmas Morning/Day....2014

I was not sure how early J & J would be up this year, but the magic time was 6:30.... Mike and I tried to get another hour in, but we could hear their excitement so we came downstairs to get the festivities started.

I decided to try a recipe from my friend Shannon so we would have something yummy to eat in the morning. It was Butterscotch Sticky Buns and oh my they were good. I prepared it the night before and then they were ready to go into  the oven for thirty minutes and then oh my goodness. We will definitely be making them again.

The boys were very excited with all their presents and the best part was that Mike did not have to build anything this year. Jayden got an iPhone 5S from and Jordan got an Electrical Guitar. This Momma wasn't sure about the phone, but after talking through it with Mike we felt he was ready for it. The boys walk to the bus stop together in the morning, so it makes me feel better for Jayden to have a way to reach us. Jayden will also be heading to SD in January for his Oceanography trip so I wanted him to have it for that as well. An iPhone at 10.... Spoiled!!!!

We enjoyed a very relaxing day of eating, hanging on the couch and watching movies together.. My Mom came over around 3 and brought over a Honey Baked Ham. She even made that a quick trip since Tom was home not feeling well still. We had a casual dinner and might of even snuck a nap in.

Time to get the house organized and get ready for our NYE Bash!!!!


                                             Butterscotch Sticky Buns

 

                                                          Jayden's Football Poster

 

                                                      Jayden and his iPhone

 

 

The annual picture with Jaydens presents

 

Jordan in action

 

Jordan and his presents

                                                         I Love It!!!!

 

                                            Hanging with Daddy and building Legos

Christmas Eve 2014....

 

We had a great Christmas Eve with family and friends. This year we had the Tannenbaum's over to celebrate Christmas Eve with us. Marla is a foodie like me and she made the most adorable Sushi Christmas Tree. It looked so pretty and tasted even better. We had a few other yummy appetizers and then our traditional Prime Rib dinner. It was a great night and the kid were so excited to go to bed for Santa to arrive. The only thing missing was Tom since he was feeling under the weather.

 My Favorites.

 

                                                      Mommy and J & J

 

                                                               Me and Nana

 

                                             The girls and the classic kitchen pose.

 

                                                            Nana and her boys

 

                                                              Me and Marla

 

The cute foursome...

 

 

                                                        Sushi Christmas Tree... Yummo!

 

 

                                                                     Salami Roll Ups

 

Classic Shrimp Cocktail

 

Our Table

 

Sparklers to End the Night...

 

 

December Has Arrived, and Its Almost Over...

I can't believe it is December 21st and Christmas is four days away. Where has this year gone??? Its been a year full of transition, both professionally and personally. I am ready to ring in 2015 with a bang and start fresh with new goals and desires for the upcoming year.

 

We have had so many fun times over the last month and since I'm not the best at posts (because I have so much time on my hands ;) I thought I would recap the month so far. We ended November with a great Thanksgiving at Carolines house with both of our families. The food was delish, the company was great and the memories are always the BEST!

 

Then it was time to get the tree and get it decorated. I actually sat back this year and let J & J do all the decorating. Usually after they put up the ornaments I rearrange everything, but this year I just left it be. I thought they did a pretty good job and sitting on the couch with a glass of wine was perfect at the time. We also celebrated Lisa's birthday in early December. She has been raving about this yummy restaurant with Oysters and a great Happy hour so we had to check it out. She was right, it was delish!

 

Mike finished another successful season coaching Soccer for both J &J. Yes, you did hear me correctly, he coached both of them, with two practices per week as well as two games. He is one hell of a Dad. Jayden loves Soccer but Jordan did not fall in love with it the same way. So, Mike will be back for the Winter season, but will only be coaching Jayden this time. Thank goodness.... Not sure Mike could keep up with that schedule.

 

We are on our fifth night of Hanukkah and the boys are loving every minute of it. I get very overwhelmed when Hanukkah and Christmas overlap each other like they do this year. I continued my annual tradition and went into Jayden's classroom to talk about Hanukkah and share the Dreidal game and some goodies. Jordan really wanted me to come to his class too, but this year I just sent in some goodies for the kids. 

 

Its so fun watching them light the candles each night and listen as they both recite the prayer in Hebrew. It melts my heart... We had a fun Hanukkah party at the Lindstroms this weekend with all the kids They have hosted for the last three years and the kids have a blast, Unfortunately, the night got the best of Jordan and we made it an early night. Sometimes the fun is just too much.

 

I am now on vacation through Christmas and will enjoy every minute of it. I have been baking up a storm and now preparing for our Christmas Eve dinner. Looking forward to some quality family time, yummy food, friends and our annual NYE bash.... So much more to fit in before December ends.