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Saturday, February 26, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Fishing
Nate has been dying to go fishing. I don't know why but he has been talking about it for months. So finally he got a starter rod and after an hour at the tackle shop we were fit to go. He spent a day practicing how to cast - everything from trees in the front yard, to our car, to finally practicing in the pool.
We got invited by a friend to fish off his boat (while moored at the dock). It was a blast. And success....Nate caught his first fish. Well, two actually- the first with dad's help and the second all on his own. Now he thinks it is an easy task to catch fish.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Santa came to Curl Curl
It has been a relaxing holidays filled with lot of together time ( maybe a bit too much :)), too much sugar, too little sleep (2 nights sleeping in the van in our front yard) but lots of fun.
Following Michael's family traditions we opened up presents on Christmas eve- all but those from Santa who's gifts had yet to arrive (like those coming from Amazon.com via Seattle). Within a matter of minutes the living room looked like a bomb went went off with wrapping paper thrown everywhere (hence why I wasn't exactly Martha Stewart precise on the wrap jobs). Despite my initial aim to have a low key xmas the kids were spoiled- having received awesome care packages from relatives and friends and gifts from friends here too. Some highlights: a surf board for Nate, a princess gown for Reese, a cat that walks and meows for Reese, Zhu Zhu pet, dino dig kit, lego games, new ornaments ("hide the pickle" for Reese -----Michael loved that one ;) ), numerous Grinch (Michael's hero) items, a guide box of exploring Australia and a new big girl bike for Reese. And yet one of Nate's favorites was his Target gift card..."so I can get more presents"....like he didn't get enough already. Funny story about the bike. Reese apparently found the bike box in the garage a couple days before xmas. She didn't tell us but calmly mentioned it to Haha on the phone......she said that she asked santa for a bike but that mom and dad already took care of it and it is in the garage. Nate on the other hand had asked Santa for some hard to deliver items- like a real ATV, a black belt in Karate (since he is on beginning white). We had to tell him that Santa may not give him what he asked for :)
We enjoyed Xmas day with a big pancake breakfast, testing out Reese's new bike and a picnic lunch at the beach. I even tested out Nate's surfboard. All and all a great day!
Hope your holidays were great too!!!!
Poor Sammy- ha!
Some of you expressed concern for Sam after seeing a recent photo of him looking gray and sad. Fear not, Sam is doing great. Although he does seem a bit older and mellow he is still a puppy at heart. While he still can hear a car entering our neighborhood a mile away, scare the crap out of anyone coming to our door and bounce like a kangaroo when he sees his leash. We need to speak in code (due to his extensive vocab) or spell the words "walk", "swim" or "ball"....I swear he can be fully asleep and you mention one of these words even a room away and the dog jumps up and starts wagging.
Santa gave Sam a big bone (roo bone- after all it is Australia) and some solid ball fetching time.
Here are the pictures of Sam's Christmas day.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Christmas Eve
Ho Ho Ho & Merry Christmas!!!!
What is not to love about Xmas....just ask the kids. They have been eating chocolate daily off the advent calendar, the mailman delivers packages, there are tons of presents, Nate got to eat candy canes at 10am today, we sing funny songs all day, we have an great tree with ornaments the kids made, and lots of art & craft projects (not to mention cookie decorating), etc......Of course they have no idea what the holiday means- other than Santa comes and gives gifts.
What is not to love about Xmas....just ask the kids. They have been eating chocolate daily off the advent calendar, the mailman delivers packages, there are tons of presents, Nate got to eat candy canes at 10am today, we sing funny songs all day, we have an great tree with ornaments the kids made, and lots of art & craft projects (not to mention cookie decorating), etc......Of course they have no idea what the holiday means- other than Santa comes and gives gifts.
Today we spent a nice afternoon walking around Manly (& running some last minute Xmas errands before everything closes for the next two days). The local church had "wise men" on camels strutting (what does a camel do??? meander? walk?) down the Corso before their Xmas service. It is a site to see- guys in sequins riding camels among the tourists. Check out the camels in the photo behind Reese.
Then despite all my meal planning ideas we decided to order Thai take out for dinner. The kids wanted to have pizza in the van and I had a lot of wrapping to do so....the traditional roast and stuffing will have to wait until tomorrow.
We have been working on getting van outfitted for our first adventure. Reese has been asking to sleep in the woods since we bought it. Now we have foam and a platform base for the pop top (area where the kids will sleep) so we are nearly ready to go. We plan to go for a trip up the coast over the holidays. But I digress. Reese and Nate had the idea to sleep in the van tonight - their logic was that sleeping outside they would be more likely to hear Santa....makes since I guess. So Michael parked on our front lawn (yes very blue tarp hick of us) and set up the van. The kids almost burst with excitement and I must say seeing their happiness made me giddy as well. So they climbed up in jammies carrying their torches (flashlights). Of course it wasn't instantly off to sleep....they called us on the phone handset intercom feature about 6 times until Michael went to sleep out there with them. I might have to go out there soon and make some bell noises so they "hear" rudolf.
Then despite all my meal planning ideas we decided to order Thai take out for dinner. The kids wanted to have pizza in the van and I had a lot of wrapping to do so....the traditional roast and stuffing will have to wait until tomorrow.
We have been working on getting van outfitted for our first adventure. Reese has been asking to sleep in the woods since we bought it. Now we have foam and a platform base for the pop top (area where the kids will sleep) so we are nearly ready to go. We plan to go for a trip up the coast over the holidays. But I digress. Reese and Nate had the idea to sleep in the van tonight - their logic was that sleeping outside they would be more likely to hear Santa....makes since I guess. So Michael parked on our front lawn (yes very blue tarp hick of us) and set up the van. The kids almost burst with excitement and I must say seeing their happiness made me giddy as well. So they climbed up in jammies carrying their torches (flashlights). Of course it wasn't instantly off to sleep....they called us on the phone handset intercom feature about 6 times until Michael went to sleep out there with them. I might have to go out there soon and make some bell noises so they "hear" rudolf.
Christmas day entry tomorrow. Good night!!!!
Here are the pictures:
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