3 Years, 36 Weeks.
We want to extend our best wishes to you and yours during this holiday season, and especially this week at Christmas.
It has been another incredible year full of action and adventure; we feel humbled and grateful that everyone in our family is healthy and doing well.
God has continued to bless each and everyone of us, and we hope that His grace and blessings are with you all.
Merry Christmas!
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| O Christmas three, O Christmas three... |
Here was our [short] week:
- Friday was Braelyn's last day of school before winter break. They were dismissed at noon, but she and her gymnastics crew put on their Christmas program for us parents, so Tangie joined us from her office for a bit while we ooo'd and aahhh'd at their routines, which lasted about 25 minutes or so. She did great and we were very proud of her! We celebrated later that evening with dinner out and then a drive around Winter Garden to see the Christmas lights. We saw this one old house all lit up and then realized the owner was standing outside dressed as Santa Claus. So I stopped the car and opened the windows so the kids could see him, and he came across the street to pass out some candy canes. But when he saw all three kids he told me to hold up for a second, crossed the street back to his yard, and then came back with three stuffed animals, one for each child. Totally unexpected, we were too shocked to refuse; he seemed like a nice old man and we didn't want to offend. As we drove away feeling warm and happy about the nice gesture, Braelyn said, "Ugh, it smells like pee!" Alarmed, I asked for the stuffed toy and gingerly sniffed to investigate. It was very musty, like it had been packed away in an attic or basement for years, but it wasn't pee. Still, we confiscated each toy and inspected them to make sure there weren't any hidden drugs inside, lest the Winter Garden police had staked out and was watching "Santa Claus" for whom we had inadvertently become the drug mules! That would've been quite the adventure, wouldn't it? Fortunately, they were just old toys, and even after 2 heavy duty wash cycles in the washing machine the smell was still there, so now they're in the donation box(es) awaiting their fate.
- Saturday we attended church and Sabbath school, which was very crowded because 1. It's the time of the year when everyone comes to Florida for the holidays and 2. the church was putting on their Christmas program. It took us forever to find a parking spot and even then we ended up parking at the very end of the lot; thank goodness for those wonderful golf cart driving volunteers who come and offer rides up from your vehicle to the church ~ Maddy would have never made it! We did Sweet Tomatoes for lunch and then headed home for a walk/bike ride around the neighborhood. I convinced Braelyn that she was ready to have her pedals put back on her bike and when she started pedaling and riding without falling off she was so psyched and pumped up and so proud of herself! We went down to the clubhouse and hung out at the playground for a bit, before heading back and changing for our evening out. We hooked up with the Bergherms at a neighborhood all the way into the Casselberry/Winter Park area, the Grodack's old stomping grounds, to see this ridiculously lit up house, as well as some garages that had been transformed into miniature villages and train sets. It was very nice to see and hang out with everyone, heading back home close to 10 pm. Luckily we learned our lesson from last weekend and brought pajamas this time!
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| The twins pray with Ms. Patty at Sabbath School. |
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| Kohl working on the craft with Maddy in the background. |
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| Braelyn finishes up at her Sabbath School class. |
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| The sun was a little too much for Kohldie. |
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| Bet you can't guess what color was the theme for the day? |
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| Maddy showing her climbing skills! |
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| Kohl pretending to be a flag. |
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| The ridiculously lit house in Winter Park. |
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| Enjoying all the lights. The homeowner's power bill is $800/month. |
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| And...we're out. Again. |
- Sunday morning started very early, with Braelyn bounding into our bedroom close to 7 already dressed and wanting to go practice on her bike outside. Tangie turned over and told me that this was motivation for me to get up and get my bike ride in. So I acquiesced, taking my time for coffee, to dress and to stretch, she and I heading out by 8:30. We did the entire bike trail in the neighborhood, swinging by the Grodack's to pick up Corey's newspapers and harvest Duncan's broccoli and tomatoes, and then biked up and down the sidewalks for a total of just over 5 miles in an hour! And she wanted to keep going! I was so proud of her and thoroughly enjoyed the moment to just hang out and bike around together. Can't wait until the twins can join us. Upon returning home I immediately set to mow the lawn, while Tangie took the kids out for the afternoon and some last minute shopping, coming back to join me watch the Broncos game at the Grodacks, who had again graciously allowed us to watch our team wallop on the Houston Texans 37-13, witnessing Peyton Manning throw 4 touchdowns en route to setting the record of most TD's in a single season with 51, with still one more game left! It was so neat to see that and be a part of NFL history. After the kids went down for the night we continued cleaning and preparing the house for guests, as we started down the homestretch for Christmas day.
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| Ready for our excursion! |
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| She did so great. |
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| Trying to spot alligators. |
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| Bringing in Corey's papers. |
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| A few of our stats. |
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| Well, well, well...sorry Tom! |
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| Maddy pretends to be a flag. I took the girls to Costco after the game. |
- Monday morning Tangie went to work for a half day, while I continued cleaning and packing up our things for a short road trip to Avon Park, where we would spend 2 nights there with Lolo and Lala. The kids were excited as we left around 2:30, getting to their place just after 4. Even though we were only going to be gone for 48 hours it seemed like we packed up our entire house, including bringing all the bikes! Braelyn, especially, wanted to show her grandparents how well she could ride. We had a nice supper and then chatted around, planning for the big get together the following night for Christmas Eve, while the kids decorated some gingerbread cookies they had made with Mommy the night before, finally retiring to bed close to midnight.
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| Doing circles in our front yard. |
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| Taking a breather and contemplating what he needs to do to not fall again. |
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| Games and puzzles with Lala. |
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| Gonna decorate some cookies!!! I love Kohl's face here. What dramatics! |
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| Just... |
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| plain... |
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| silly! |
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| Mommy sets up the decorating supplies. It would get real messy very soon. |
- Tuesday morning was a little soggy and overcast; a cold front had come through overnight with some rain and wind. But that didn't deter Lolo from taking the kids on a walk/run/ride around Lake Olivia mid morning. I started prepping the turkey around noon, this time doing an Indian tandoori recipe that I had found at the World Market. We also broiled some salmon and made a nice salad. Tangie took Brae and Kohl out for some errands in the afternoon while Maddy hung out with me and the grandparents. Our families and friends arrived just after 6 for dinner and festivities. It was great to see them all and share some time catching up with everybody, but especially at Christmastime, this was very special. It was so neat to see the children interacting with everyone, as we hadn't seen some family members in quite some time. The party lasted until 10, and even though the kids were exhausted, they were too excited, knowing that Santa was coming that night!
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| Maddy officially completes the last day of the countdown calendar. |
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| They just loved riding around inside Lala's house! |
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| Some spirit before the party began! |
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| The picture doesn't do any justice. |
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| The family gathers in the kitchen for prayer. |
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| Uncle Tito lets Maddy touch the ceiling. |
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| Kohlden with his great grandmother Fernandez. |
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| Tangie with Lala and Lolo. |
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| The birthday celebrants: Lolo, Grandpa Fernandez, and Aunt Winnie. |
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| With Lala. I sent this picture to Uncle Mike just to make him jealous! |
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| Having dessert with Kuya Patrick and Ate Lyka! |
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| A Christmas dance with the Mrs. |
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| Can we open up presents now??? |
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| "Are those Christmas jammies?!? They are Christmas jammies." |
- Christmas morning began with a tradition that Tangie wanted to start: making monkey bread with the kids for breakfast. They had a lot of fun rolling the dough and shaping the pieces into little balls to fill up the bundt pan with yummy cinammony goodness. We opened up some gifts and played around, checking to see where Santa was delivering presents on Google's SantaTracker before cleaning up and getting packed and ready to head out; Papa and Nana's flight was due to arrive from Denver at 4. We had lunch before leaving Avon Park, swinging by Auntie Esther's house to see our old dog Zoe to wish her a merry Christmas, which she just absolutely loved. It was nice to see the old girl and I know she was happy to hear us since she couldn't see us anymore. Our drive to the airport was uneventful, and we arrived at baggage claim just minutes after they had retrieved their last piece of luggage. The kids ran up to them with open arms and it was a very sweet reunion. Let the vacation begin!
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| Putting the crew to work. |
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| Their monkey bread balls weren't quite as shapely as Mommy would've liked! |
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| Can we open up more presents??? |
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| Christmas morning with Lala. |
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| We sold the Pathfinder! Auntie Esther signs the bill of sale and makes it official. |
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| Parting photo with the grandparents. |
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| Saying hello to Zoe girl. |
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| Heading to the airport to pick up the next set of grandparents! |
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| Hoping all their luggage fits in the van, along with 7 people! |
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| Kohl pulls the one with the presents inside. |
Randoms:
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| Another reason I like driving a minivan: I can fit presents inside. |
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| 4 days 'til Christmas and 91ºF. Wowsers. |
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| Saw something swimming in one of the ponds on our walk Sabbath afternoon. |
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| A fireball sunset. Sorry about the thumb in the picture. |
Food:
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| Tandoori Turkey. |
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| Field Greens with Pear, Pomegranate, Pistachio, and Bleu Cheese. |
Quotes:
- On our walk Sabbath afternoon, Madelyn noticed a couple of construction workers working on a house by the bike path. One of them uncannily resembled yours truly:
Maddy: [pointing to the man] "Look Daddy, it looks like you!"
Me: "It does?"
Maddy: "But it's not you. It has a mustache."
- After putting his toys away Kohl jumped on the couch and saw the football game on TV:
Kohl: "I'm tired...I need a holiday. Go Broncos!"
- Tangie was driving when Braelyn asked her to draw something:
Tangie: "Oh, I'm not a good drawer."
Brae: "Oh yes you are Mommy!"
Tangie: [sarcasm] "Haha, thanks."
Brae: "I just said that to not hurt your feelings."
And yet, it had the opposite effect!
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| What a bunch of old kids! |
Have a great weekend!
