Monday: my mom, brother, sis-in-law, and nephew came down from utah and stayed a hop and a skip away from us and thus we spent every single day together <3.
Wednesday: we picked up the monkey and re-introduced him to the family (a whole year can be eons for the little guy). we swooped up the kiddos and took them down to long beach for a day at the aquarium.
they totally hit it off.
yay! for family photos :)
rolled down grassy hills
grabbed some lunch at chili's
Friday: black friday! our very first and it was a great sucess! we "napped" for 3 hours, then hit wal-mart at 3am, sheesh! we were all ready to wait in line with our chairs and our blankets, but those sneaky wal-mart folk tricked us by opening early. our next stop was toys-r-us and we shopped and shopped, until our Christmas shopping was done and it was only 8am! had ourselves a tiny rest, then i was off to the hospital to cuddle and love on diego.
grabbed some lunch at chili's
then headed back home where nanny and pap made a super lovely dinner for us and my family, chatted over some wine. landon was all googly-eyed with all the toys henry showed him. and then it was off for a late night swim at the hotel (i wish i had pictures, the boys were too cute!). by the end of the night, herny was asking about his "best friend, landon."
Thursday/Turkey day: we woke up for a great big breakfast with nanny, pap, and aunt jaye. dropped the monkey off with mama and mark, then set in for the drive to palm springs. it was so wonderful to have the whole family together. (mom, dad, mama, cheri, andy, robert, nicole, daniel, landon, sammy, brandy, josie, sam, jayd, angie, lucy). joey and i tackled each girl (6 nieces!) equally. tickling, chasing, carrying, poking, you name it, we did it.
then came the wonderful news from dahlia and alex, their first baby was on his way into the world! turkey baby, diego luciano gonzalez was born at 6:36pm, 6 lbs 13 oz, 19 inches, pure sweetheart.
what a thankful blessing
Thursday/Turkey day: we woke up for a great big breakfast with nanny, pap, and aunt jaye. dropped the monkey off with mama and mark, then set in for the drive to palm springs. it was so wonderful to have the whole family together. (mom, dad, mama, cheri, andy, robert, nicole, daniel, landon, sammy, brandy, josie, sam, jayd, angie, lucy). joey and i tackled each girl (6 nieces!) equally. tickling, chasing, carrying, poking, you name it, we did it.
the tickling culprits!
then came the wonderful news from dahlia and alex, their first baby was on his way into the world! turkey baby, diego luciano gonzalez was born at 6:36pm, 6 lbs 13 oz, 19 inches, pure sweetheart.
what a thankful blessing
Friday: black friday! our very first and it was a great sucess! we "napped" for 3 hours, then hit wal-mart at 3am, sheesh! we were all ready to wait in line with our chairs and our blankets, but those sneaky wal-mart folk tricked us by opening early. our next stop was toys-r-us and we shopped and shopped, until our Christmas shopping was done and it was only 8am! had ourselves a tiny rest, then i was off to the hospital to cuddle and love on diego.
instant LOVE
after the hospital, we hopped back on the road to san marcos to visit my grandparents. only this visit was nothing like the visits before. my grandparents are fading fast (no pics this time, we decided to remember them the way we've always known them to be).
we pulled up a chair around their bed and chatted them up as much as they were able. grandma kept talking about spaghetti, so i rummaged through their cupboards and made them a nice little spaghetti dinner. we made them as comfortable as possible and said our goodbyes, it was so hard to hold it all together. i wrapped my grandpa's arms around me and felt him hold me tight while i whispered "i love you" over and over in his ear. i am so thankful for those intimate moments, for not letting that lump in my throat keep me from expressing such toiling emotions. i love them, i love them so much.
Saturday: and so the time came to say goodbye to my mama and big brother and hon and landon. i think we shared a billion hugs and kisses before anyone could pack back into the car for the long haul home. the week simply flew by. i miss them already!
at home we unpacked the christmas decorations, sent joey up on the roof for light duty, and turned the house into a light show (music and everything!). i'm almost positive you can see it blinking to "frosty the snowman" from space. ;)
the it was back to visit the new mommy and daddy and baby. it was the best saturday night snuggling and loving on them, pj's and all.
Sunday: sleep sleep sleep!! we slept until the bed became uncomfortable, and we were still zombies! we did however manage to be productive, loaded the christmas gifts into storage and stumbled upon our winter and heating blankets (thank God! i thought we were gonna freeze this winter). I made a whole thanksgiving dinner (minus the turky, nanny was on turkey duty). Homemade mashed potatos, turkey gravy, stuffing, green bean cassorole... for the second time this week. it was amazing (pap even said it was better than claim jumper, hehe!). i picked my turkey coma self up outta the couch and made my way back to diego (i know i know, but he's just too precious to stay away for too long).
alas, this thanksgiving gave me so much to be thankful for. it was quite the week of living in the now. my dear family, my dear friends, you all mean the world to me. <3
Christmas 2008
we pulled up a chair around their bed and chatted them up as much as they were able. grandma kept talking about spaghetti, so i rummaged through their cupboards and made them a nice little spaghetti dinner. we made them as comfortable as possible and said our goodbyes, it was so hard to hold it all together. i wrapped my grandpa's arms around me and felt him hold me tight while i whispered "i love you" over and over in his ear. i am so thankful for those intimate moments, for not letting that lump in my throat keep me from expressing such toiling emotions. i love them, i love them so much.
Saturday: and so the time came to say goodbye to my mama and big brother and hon and landon. i think we shared a billion hugs and kisses before anyone could pack back into the car for the long haul home. the week simply flew by. i miss them already!
at home we unpacked the christmas decorations, sent joey up on the roof for light duty, and turned the house into a light show (music and everything!). i'm almost positive you can see it blinking to "frosty the snowman" from space. ;)
the it was back to visit the new mommy and daddy and baby. it was the best saturday night snuggling and loving on them, pj's and all.
so in awe of him
Sunday: sleep sleep sleep!! we slept until the bed became uncomfortable, and we were still zombies! we did however manage to be productive, loaded the christmas gifts into storage and stumbled upon our winter and heating blankets (thank God! i thought we were gonna freeze this winter). I made a whole thanksgiving dinner (minus the turky, nanny was on turkey duty). Homemade mashed potatos, turkey gravy, stuffing, green bean cassorole... for the second time this week. it was amazing (pap even said it was better than claim jumper, hehe!). i picked my turkey coma self up outta the couch and made my way back to diego (i know i know, but he's just too precious to stay away for too long).
alas, this thanksgiving gave me so much to be thankful for. it was quite the week of living in the now. my dear family, my dear friends, you all mean the world to me. <3