Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Week 51

Hello all and happy Tuesday!  I hope you had a wonderful Christmas with some special family time and a lot of holiday cheer.  We enjoyed ourselves and made the most of our time together.  There's at least another week off for us so we'll continue to find fun things to do as a family.  Too bad there's not any good snow for a quick ski trip.  Hopefully soon in the new year or at least in time for my birthday trip.

Here are last week's pictures:


Day 351- Sunday, 12/17/17
I got a new snow globe and I'm wishing for a winter wonderland like this, but sadly I know that it will not happen this year since we are very dry here in California yet again.





Day 352- Monday, 12/18/17
We don't typically go to the movies on a Monday night but it was the only time we could get good seats before Christmas. Afterward we hit up Black Bear Dinner for dinner and as you can see Justin couldn't wait to dig in--not even for a picture.  LOL!  It was all great fun and a nice treat.





Day 353- Tuesday, 12/19/17
Scout is wishing for a snowy Christmas and good ski conditions as well.  We're all happy to see he enjoys skiing too.





Day 354- Wednesday, 12/20/17
At work on Wednesday I'm processing water samples for testing and trying to wrap things up for the holidays.  Only one more work day after this before my winter break.  In the evening we all settled down to watch the finale of yet another Survivor season.  Great twist at the end to determine the final three. 





Day 355- Thursday, 12/21/17
Justin is in a gift exchange with 7 of his close friends at school, and I helped him prepare some Christmas mix to give them in addition to the gifts he personally picked out for each one.





Day 356- Friday, 12/22/17
While the younger kids were still in school Tyler helped me bang out some wrapping, and Bella was sad that we didn't wrap anything for her although she thinks every gift bag is hers to open--a bad habit we must work on.






Day 357- Saturday, 12/23/17
On this gloomy and cold winter day I stayed inside with a warm oven and baked the day away while Tyler and Brandon worked together to decorate the gingerbread house.  Justin was working but happily came home to a nice family dinner and some yummy treats for dessert.




That's it for this week.  Check back next week for the last of 2017!  I think we're all ready for a new year.


Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Week 50

Welcome back and happy Tuesday!  There's less than a week before Christmas.  My kids normally have this week off but they won't be out of school until after Friday this year which is only a few days before the big day. This means there's not much prep time with them, but we'll still make the most of it.  We're all looking forward to the break and the family time during these winter holidays.

Here's a look at last week:


Day 344- Sunday, 12/10/17
The tree came home yesterday but we didn't get around to decorating until today.  Everyone did their part to add their ornaments, and we are saving Tyler's for when he gets home.





Day 345- Monday, 12/11/17
It was Brandon's turn  to blow out the advent candles after dinner tonight.





Day 346- Tuesday, 12/12/17
I love this pretty winter grass found around campus at work.  It's refreshing to see amongst all the bare trees.





Day 347- Wednesday, 12/13/17
Brandon helped me make some wintry Christmas Chex mix to enjoy and share.  It's actually called Christmas Crack because it's so addicting.  It's basically Chex cereal, m&m's, peanuts and pretzels all coated in melted white chocolate, and it won't be lasting long in this house.





Day 348- Thursday, 12/14/17
Cheers to having Eggnog back for the holidays.  Welcome home Tyler!  I think this will become a new family tradition--an eggnog toast when Tyler comes home for Christmas.





Day 349- Friday, 12/15/17
I'm getting organized and ready to bang out those Christmas cards.





Day 350- Saturday, 12/16/17
Today we went out with the Wongs to a holiday wine-pairing dinner at Wise Villa Winery which was really interesting, delicious, and a lot of fun.  After that we stopped off at Pink Martini for one last drink.  Happy Holidays to us!




That's it for this week.  I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!


Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Week 49

Welcome back and happy Tuesday!  Tyler comes home in a couple days and then the rest of us have one more week before winter break.   I can't wait for either even though there is still so much to do before the big day.  We did at least have a good productive weekend where we checked a few things off our list and that totally helps.

Here's a look at last week's pictures:


Day 337- Sunday, 12/3/17
Scout found himself a fun sled to sit on, and I picked up a pretty poinsettia to brighten things up.  It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.





Day 338- Monday, 12/4/17
The boys are working their way through the advent calendars and Justin was happy I found him one  printed with a tree full of nutcrackers--his favorite Christmas decoration.





Day 339- Tuesday, 12/5/17
These two are are playing and goofing around after school while I'm trying to catch up on The Good Doctor.




Day 340- Wednesday, 12/6/17
Our minds were with Tyler today.  Here we go with the wildfires again but this time down south.  Throughout the night the Skirball fire came very close to my college boy.  You can see in that first picture where the fire jumped the 405 right near the Getty Center which is only 2 miles from UCLA.  Sunset Blvd. is the exit we take to get to his dorm.  YIKES!  They were right on the outside of the mandatory evacuation line so classes were cancelled for a couple days until the fire was contained.  In the last shot you can see the wall of smoke they woke up to this morning just beyond campus.  Those selfies of him I found recently on twitter and love how they show some of his quirky personality.  I miss that face.  We're so glad he's safe and didn't need to evacuate.  Prayers to all those still in danger from other fires down there and our hearts go out to so many that lost homes and businesses.




Day 341- Thursday, 12/7/17
This is one of Scout's favorite books.  He reads it every year he visits.  It's a really cool pop-up book called The Curious Cat's Christmas.





Day 342- Friday, 12/8/17
It's so nice having my own personal gas attendant.  Now if I could just get him to pay the gas bill ;0)  On that note he did get his first paycheck today, and we did just come from setting up his bank account.  That's a good start!





Day 343- Saturday, 12/9/17
Today was a busy day.  We found our fresh-cur tree and got it set up in the house.  The decorating will have to wait another day.  Later Justin had his cross-country banquet and got his varsity letter.  WooHoo!  Now it's back to tennis for him.



That's it.  See you all next week.

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Week 48

Welcome back and happy Tuesday!  We're into December now which means prepping for Christmas, starting basketball season, wrapping up the 1st part of school with finals and enjoying more family time.  I can't wait to start a new year.  This one has been quite interesting and I think we can all use a fresh start.

Here are last week's pictures:


Day 330- Sunday, 11/26/17
It's time for Tyler to head south back to school for a few more weeks until winter break.  He's saying his final good-bye to Bella before making his way to the airport.





Day 331- Monday, 11/27/17
This is the only Christmas decoration I have out so far but soon it begins.  Time to deck the halls.





Day 332- Tuesday, 11/28/17
LOL! Here is one wiped kid.  He's just now realizing how hard it can be to work for a living.   It will get easier as he adjusts.





Day 333- Wednesday, 11/29/17
It's boot season, the temps are dropping, and the leaves are mostly on the ground now.  Winter is upon us!





Day 334- Thursday, 11/30/17
It's also time for high-school basketball season which means more snack-bar duty.  This is my second day this week volunteering to help the Boosters earn money for sports.   The good news is that I only have 1 or 2 more shift to work before I've met my hours for the year.





Day 335- Friday, 12/1/17
Hello December, and look who is back--Scout, our friendly Christmas elf.  Brandon is happy to pose with my monthly marker because he's excited to kick off this holiday season.





Day 336- Saturday, 12/2/17
Today I put up lights inside and John put up lights outside.  I think I got the better end of the deal.  Outside lights are no joke and a lot of work but they look great.



That's all folks.  See you next week.