Monkey Mess

So we had some friends over for dinnner tonight. Well, the little girl, Lane (aka Laney), is 2-1/2, and Mia's "best friend". Anyway, Lane and Mia went into the girls' bedroom to play. Hailey proceeded to come out and inform us that Mia and Lane had destroyed the closet. (It's a big walk-in closet that houses all of the girls' stuff.) I thought nothing of it at first. After all, they weren't destroying the living room or my bedroom, and it's not like they hadn't destroyed the closet before. (Those two, together, are a force to be reckoned with.) A little later I decided to check out the wreckage. I was in for a surprise. Hailey had been right, and it was the largest case of mass destruction yet for our little apartment. Chris decided it was blog-worthy, so he took a picture. The full extent of the destruction cannot be captured by man-made equipment, but here's what it looked like through the lens.

Notice how Mia is all smiles and innocence, whereas Lane is feeling sheepish.

(At least it was confined to the closet. Whew!)

12th Anniversary!

This past Saturday (1/5/08) we celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary. 12 years seems like such a long time, but it doesn't feel like 12 years could have possibly gone by already. Well, to celebrate Chris took me to a place he's been anxious to go to for months--Fogo de Chao. (http://www.fogodechao.com/) It's a Brazilian steakhouse where about 15 different cuts of meat on skewers are carved tableside at your bidding. It is fantastic! And, wow, is it expensive! But it is well worth the expense to enjoy the experience. If you are ever near one of the 10 locations in the U.S., save your pennies and be sure to go!

After dinner we took in a movie. "I Am Legend," to be exact. It wasn't exactly my cup of tea (Chris asks how I know what my "cup of tea" even is since I don't drink it--pill!), but it was well done and rather well acted. But don't just take my opinion. If you've seen it and loved it, let me know. I often give movies a second chance. (Except for "Nothing But Trouble"--that was just plain awful.) :)

Almost like home

Ah, we've had such perfect weather in the DC area over the past two days, it almost feels like we're back home in Yuma. We went to the park both days in just short sleeve shirts and pants. No sweaters, jackets, gloves, or earmuffs required. Thinking of Yuma, it reminds me that May is just around the corner. Of course going back in May means we will have missed out on the perfect winter weather our portion of Arizona has to offer, but it also means we will have missed out on all of the snowbird traffic. Oh, I'm sorry, winter visitor traffic. :) Hope things are wonderful in your little neck of the world.

New Year's Eve

Ah, the end of another year. And the beginning of a new family tradition: the eating of the gingerbread house. Chris remembers his family breaking into the gingerbread house on New Year’s Eve when he was a kid, so we’ve decided to make a new family tradition for ourselves. (The grown-ups didn’t care much for week-old gingerbread, but the kids didn’t much mind. Maybe we should decorate a second house on New Year’s Eve to use from now on…)

The anticipation.

The demolition.

The payoff.

Happy New Year!

(Hey, we get the Times Square ball drop live this year!)

Merry Christmas!

Ah, what a wonderful Christmas we've had! Being with family, enjoying the Spirit of the season, and great food--what could be better? We hope that your Christmas has been just as wonderful for you as it has been for us.

Hailey and Mia modeling their new scarves and hats from Grandma Van Wagenen

Our Christmas ham, up close and personal

The Christmas feast with Grandma and Grandpa Barajas

Hailey and Chris admiring the star on our tree

Beautiful gifts

The 2nd annual gingerbread house

Creating the gingerbread house

Let it snow!

So Dec 5 was the first snowfall of the season in the DC area. Seeing as we don't get much snow in Yuma, we took the opportunity to go out and play in it. Fun times!

The dog, the hog, the frog, and the log

Hailey wrote this cute little story in school this week and I thought it was too good not to share.

Just in case the image isn't clear enough to read, the text says, "The dog chast the hog and the hog chast the frog and then they all sat on a log and that is the story. The end."