happy birthday eric!

woohoo! another year for mr. eric. my snug bug got to hang with his fave people all day - me and kiah!! we started the day with a yummy french toast dish and presents (more home depot gift cards, cologne, tools...the usual). after kiah's first nap we headed to the palm springs tram...only to discover there was a two hour wait from the bottom of the hill!! yikes! we weren't going to be able to pull that off with kiah's schedule so we decided to go hiking in the indian canyons. it was a pretty decent trade off actually...check out the pictures!

opening presents

view from inside the canyon looking up

papa, dada & kiah

fam photo

grams, papa & kiah

kiah loved being outside (of course) and even took a little nap on the birthday boy's back :). i had never been to this part of the desert and it was pretty cool. we didn't get to see everything because a little person needed to eat but it was still worth it! we may have to go back when we're down in february.

structure up from the canyon

palm branch hut indians lived in

 we finished off the day with dinner at our favorite desert mexican restaurant, las casuelas! kiah loved all the lights and people :). eric says it was a great day...welcome to 34 babe!

the extended family christmas

monday morning we loaded up and drove back to ontario for christmas with my mom's side of the family. they're usually a good time and this time was no different! we started with a very yummy brunch before the boys discovered the marshmellow guns my mom and dad had made and started a sticky war out in the yard. it looked like it had snowed! there were marshmellows everywhere!

eric, kenton and rich. trouble cubed.

the boys took a break from their combat long enough to open presents, play the dice game, and take a few pictures :). hot ticket items in the dice game this year included the usual see's candy, in-n-out gift cards, and one that hardly made it across the room before getting snatched again - a $25 nordstrom gift card! eric managed to walk away with that one :).

grandma lila and her great-grandsons!

love them...miss them terribly...

the mulder family. typical.

the whole family (minus joel, alane & respective families)

dada modeling kiah's new jacket!

pretty sisters!

the "grown-up" cousins - hehehe

it was good to see everyone again, even if it wasn't nearly a long enough visit.

merry christmas!

and our advent adventures come to a close with gifts and time spent with family! it was quite a late night but we did make it and are so glad we're here. the weather is unbelievably warm and sunny...and just as it got nice and rainy back in seattle ;). perfect timing!

we started with breakfast for kiah and then stockings and presents before naptime rolled around. perhaps the highlight of the morning was discovering "weinerbucks" ($5 gift certificates to weinerschnitzel) in our stockings when linnie found 5 in-n-out gift cards! whaaat?! my dad decided to play a little prank and couldn't keep the smirk off his face when lins kept pulling out gift card after gift card and the rest of us were like, "what the heck?! i don't want weinerbucks!". even better was the fact that he planned it and pulled it off by himself...and even told my mom "this is great - i'll get all the weinerbucks back!" which he totally did. we all had a good laugh about it :)

the weinerbuck incident of 2011

kiah wasn't too excited about his new clothes (even though mommy was) but he did love his new trains! growing up we played with brio trains all the time, even though technically they were my brother's toy. our set grew over the years and may have gotten passed on to my younger cousins, but i think they found their way back to my mom's. now kiah has a starter set all his own...a special farm train version picked out by papa ron :). the tracks are the same but the train got upgraded - battery power! it's pretty cool; kiah mostly just chews on the pieces and destroys any track you create but eventually he'll figure it out!

kiah starting to figure out the paper

trains!!

think i may have to use that for kiah ;)

mom modeling the scarf i made her

some gift highlights...we got my mom a new sewing machine (hers was ancient!) which she was pretty excited about...dad got a new kindle fire and i got him (and kenton) hooked on angry birds which i found hilarious...a ridiculous amount of home depot gift cards for eric...lots of pretty things for me & linnie...and lins getting my brother back by putting a bag of lemons in his present (by getting back i am referring to the year he put potatoes in a huge box to trick her).

kenton's lemons - hahaha

dad & bud strategizing over angry birds

we spent the rest of the day lounging, sitting by the pool and eating! it was a very nice, relaxing day spent with family...finished off with a fantastic meal, good wine and laughing so hard my stomach hurt. all of my favorite things!

pool time!!

christmas-y seesters :)

highlight of kiah AND papa's day :)

advent: day 24

almost there! our advent activity for today was to read the christmas story to kiah before we celebrated christmas as a family! we all had some breakfast (cereal and applesauce for kiah, cinnamon rolls for us!) then sat down and listened to eric read from luke 2. once done it was time for stockings and presents!

kiah is obviously a bit young to really figure out gifts and how to open presents, even if he did like ripping the paper. i suspect by his birthday he may have a better idea :). i have been working on a present that was supposed to end up in kiah's stocking but i didn't get it done on time. oh well...once it is completed i'll share :).  we also opened our gifts from tom, penny & jen since we weren't spending christmas with them this year. here are the pics to show what fun we had!

kiah playing before we started

the tree and pile of presents!

opening stockings

ooh more paper to rip!

think he's excited about this gift?

you have no idea how excited i was about this :) thanks jen!

the giant mess after...

once the fun stuff was over it was naptime for kiah and time to pack for eric and i! we managed to get everything packed and house mostly cleaned up before leaving...pretty sure that was the first (and probably the last) time that's happened! aaaaand we're off to palm springs!

advent: day 23

two activities in one! since yesterday's advent activity didn't happen we had double duty today. but it worked out because today's activity was handing out cards and cinnamon rolls to those lucky enough to enjoy them :) i don't think i got any pictures of the rolls, but i did snap one last year. speaking of which, i just went back to search for the post i was SURE i wrote about these ridiculously amazing cinnamon rolls and was aghast to discover it didn't exist. how is it possible that i missed that?! i apologize, sincerely, for this oversight. these cinnamon rolls are THE cinnamon rolls from pioneer woman and let me tell you they became a christmas tradition last year. absolutely easy to make and to die for good, you must get thee to the kitchen immediately and make! now! (candace they would make you sicker than a dog but they would totally be worth it.)

mmmm....wish i still had a pan of these babies!

tonight we were also fortunate to host eddie, natalie and their son ryley for dinner. natalie is currently my bsf leader, and her and eddie recently started attending mars hill. they live right up the street from us so they are in our community group too! and if we didn't need another connection, ryley is also a westmont grad :). that is actually how we met. the very first year i joined bsf, i would follow this car with a westmont parent sticker home every week. one night eric and i were driving around looking at siding on houses (i know, so random) and i spotted the car. eddie was out front, so we introduced ourselves and natalie came out and we got to meet her too. the next year natalie ended up being the bsf leader for some friends, which led her to mars hill...and that kind of catches us up to now.

anyway, ryley was a business major like eric, and as it turns out currently works for one of eric's good friends from westmont. really we live in such a small world. we had a lovely evening of conversation and yummy food and i think everyone really enjoyed themselves! here's to friends and small worlds :)

advent: day 22

up for today? cinnamon roll making!! except it didn't quite happen. it was a little crazy busy getting ready for our trip and christmas and all that jazz. i needed more time than i had so today's activity got pushed to tomorrow when eric wasn't working and i had help with kiah. :)

BUT something fun did happen yesterday (beside glass blowing that is)...my grandma miersma came to visit! she is spending christmas with my aunt marlene and uncle bill up in mt vernon where my cousin bill lives. i got to pick her up at the airport and then she got to see our house for the first time. it was even nice and sunny for her! we gave her her christmas present, she got to play with kiah, and i set up her new kindle fire for her too :). it was great fun and i'm so glad we got to see her and hang out for awhile. unfortunately i didn't get any pictures which was pretty dumb of me to forget. poop. well grandma will just have to come back ;).

and for your pleasure, here's our christmas card for those of you not on our mailing list (if you want to be added, leave a comment!)

advent: day 21

ooh! i think this may have been the best advent adventure this year :). also might be considered our christmas date, since eric and i flew solo for this adventure: glass blowing!

a few months ago living social had a deal for a mini glass blowing class in redmond. eric gave me the green light so i bought two and because it was going to expire i finally signed us up. this was a very cool experience and we definitely want to do it again.

the class was pretty full but it went quick; everyone was done within two hours. this was probably due to what they would and wouldn't allow us to do, but it was enough! the instructor had been blowing glass for 16 years and walked us through the process before getting started. he pulled the glass out of the oven for us (i wouldn't have wanted to do that part anyway), then we rolled it in whatever color we had chosen - red, yellow, green or blue...although he pulled out purple later. once it was rolled - level, 45 degrees, dot on the top - it was put in a warmer oven, then rerolled in color, put back in the warmer one more time and if needed the instructor would roll it in color again.



the glass oven - on 24 hrs a day

our color options (red, blue, green) and in the background you can see the bench we sat at

hot glass being rolled in purple color

once colored properly, we the student sat down at a bench to shape the hot glass properly. we had the option to add texture (a waffle pattern) if wanted, and then the actual blowing occurred. this required a third party because the student was using giant pinchers to help form a bubble in the glass. the instructor was rolling the pipe that held the hot glass and giving instructions on how much air to blow in the glass. once the proper size, we had the choice of making a float (flat topped) or an ornament (looped on the top).

us on our date night :)

it was totally cool and we definitely want to do it again!! aren't they so pretty??

eric's green ornament, risa's blue float

advent: day 20

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and
shall call his name Immanuel."

Isaiah 7:14

advent: day 19

the final movie night of advent adventures 2011. because eric was out of town i actually just watched it by myself :). home alone 2? yes please!

it will be interesting to see how movie nights change in the future due to kiddos...haha who am i kidding?! nothing will change!

advent: day 18

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Luke 2:13-14

advent: day 17

today's advent adventure was the gingerbread village! you may remember our visit last year; this year was better but that may be because of one station in particular ;). auntie mary came along for her first gingerbread village experience.

daddy providing entertainment while we waited in line

fam photo

with auntie mary!

the theme this year was famous train stations from around the world...and i brought along the real camera this time so here's some cool pics!

the train station from the island of misfit toys...this one was actually the best one!

abominable snowman!

new zealand's...santa was wearing shorts & flip flops!

australia's flinder street station

some train station in canada

my favorite one!! grand central station NYC

the minions!!

 

so the minions...i love the movie despicable me so i was quite excited to see this!! i was NOT happy that i didn't get any good pictures though! i don't know why...sometimes my new camera doesn't like me. even with the anti-shaking thing on. oh well. after touring the village we headed over to nordstrom grill for dinner - very yummy!

BUT...the best part about our evening happened on the way there. before we left i remembered to grab my packages for the homeless and put them in the car. since we were headed downtown i knew our chances of handing at least one out were pretty high. sure enough, we get off the freeway and there is a dude standing on the corner holding a sign. eric rolls down the window and hands him a bag...the guy shakes his hand, says thanks, and turns around to put it with his belongings. then, he turns around and literally HUGS our car then kisses the window! i would have taken a picture but the whole thing was just so crazy and weird! i know it was a small blessing, but honestly it was the highlight of the evening. probably the highlight of our month! i can't wait to give out more...although i don't expect that reaction every time ;).