What a Wonderful Christmas!

It is hard to believe that Christmas was only a week ago... We have been so busy enjoying our family time. I am truly thankful for the time that we had together. Even though it was just the four of us this year, we were joined by our friends from Plymouth and we were with our families in spirit. Here is a brief recap of the highlights of our Christmas celebration.

We started the tradition of Christmas pajamas for the kids a few years ago. I knew of a few families who did it, and I liked the idea of adding a new tradition to our holidays. So, after our guests left Christmas Eve, we broke our the new PJs for Brenna and Andrew.

Then, of course, we had to set out our plate for Santa and the reindeer. As usual, there were cookies, milk, and carrots (for the reindeer), but this year Brenna wanted to make sure to leave a bowl of water for the reindeer too. After all, they must get thirsty flying all over the world in one night.

Right before bed, the kids went outside and spread some reindeer food onto the front lawn just in case they needed some extra incentive to visit the house! And then, they were off to bed.

Surprisingly, the kids actually slept in a bit. We had told them that they both had to be up so we could open presents and that they could not wake the other up in the morning. Brenna (who is not a morning person) got up first and came down to our room. Since the tree was outside our bedroom, she could not help but see a few of the unwrapped gifts under the tree. She was forced to wait in our room for Andrew to wake up. Finally, around 7:45, she went up to her room and heard Andrew waking up. (Or at least that is what she says happened!) Shortly thereafter, they were both downstairs, ready to see what Santa had brought.

Andrew was very excited to receive Lego Rock Band and a set of drums to play on the Wii.

Brenna was thrilled (can you tell?) to receive her Bella ( Twilight) doll. That was tops on her list, along with Edward of course!

The kids were super excited about the gifts that they got each other this year. Andrew actually insisted that Brenna open his gift almost right away. He had picked out a kids sewing machine for her and could not wait for her to open it. Brenna got him a remote control R2D2 which he thought was super cool. I was very impressed by how thoughtful they both were when picking out the other's gifts. It truly was one of those very nice family moments.

This year, we were fortunate to receive many handmade gifts from the kids. In addition to some new adorable ornaments for the tree (which we will treasure forever), Todd received this hat from Andrew. It had hearts on it and says ,"I Love DAD". What could be better?

Brenna wrote me a super sweet note which made me cry (the "good" cry as I often tell the kids), a beautiful card and snowflake. They will be tucked away in a very special place.

One of Brenna's other favorite gifts were her American Girl uniforms. She got one from Sacred Heart, where she goes now, and one from Gerstell, her school back in Maryland. She had wanted the Sacred Heart one for a few years now and was very pleased to finally get it.

After a nice Christmas breakfast we started assembling toys and games. Andrew (seen here in his new Indiana Jones costume) could not wait to try out Lego Rock band. He has enjoyed Guitar Hero for some time now, and was very interested in having a drum set to play too. He dove right in after we set it up and has been learning all sorts of new songs. Even when he is not playing it, I often find him singing some of them. Some of his new favorites include "Ghostbusters", "Let's Dance" and "We Will Rock You". It really is a riot to watch!

We are all truly thankful for the wonderful Christmas that we had. While we missed many of our friends and family, you were all in our thoughts and prayers during this special time!

Merry Christmas!!!

What a great 2 days we have had! It truly has been a wonderful Christmas. As I am typing this at 9:20 PM, I am still in my PJs. I love PJ days and we all enjoyed one today.

We continued with our annual Colvin Christmas Eve get together last night. Ever since I met Todd, his family has hosted a party on Christmas Eve. I remember being so impressed the first time that I attended. It was the Christmas of 1993 and Todd and I had been dating for only 6 months. As always, Kathy had invited all of her family, friends and neighbors to their house to be a part of their Christmas Eve. The party always included Christmas carols. Much to my surprise (and that of my parents and sister), we learned that first year that everyone was assigned a specific part in the Twelve Days of Christmas. It was quite a way to be indoctrinated into one of the many Colvin family traditions!

I don't have any pictures of that party in 1993, but I do have a few from the next few years; 1994 in Kathy & Ralph's temporary apartment

and 1995, the first Christmas in Hampstead.

Singing the Twelve Days of Christmas!

Kathy always knew how to put on a great party! And she taught Todd well.

Todd and I took over hosting the annual celebration shortly after we moved into our first house in Owings Mills. While we eventually dropped the Christmas carols (and some day should bring it back for the kids), we tried to keep almost everything else. We were joined by the Colvin/ Wests and whichever O'Hara family members were in town for the holidays, along with our friends.

Well moving to Massachusetts certainly had an impact on our Christmas Eve festivities. For our 1st Christmas, we were fortunate to have both my parents and Laura and Chuck here. We were also joined that year by our 1st set of Plymouth friends, the Parmas, for our celebration. In 2008, we were lucky enough to have my parents come again for a week in December.

This year, we had to share them with the O'Haras in Colorado, so it was our first Christmas with no guests. Even so we continued with our tradition, and had the Parmas over again and we invited our neighbors, the Watkins as well. They have 2 boys, 1st and 2nd graders, and are a really great family. Brenna always gets a new dress for Christmas Eve. These days, she really does not want to put on a dress very often so I was glad that she wanted to continue with this tradition. Andrew even asked to wear a tie! They were quite cute together!

After an enjoyable party with great food (Thanks Todd), lots of sweets, and some gifts for the kids, everyone headed off on their way so Santa could make his visit. When I last checked before bedtime, he was on his way to North America, and this was enough to make the kids go to bed quite easily.

In all, it was a wonderful Christmas Eve with our friends. Even though we miss everyone terribly back home, it is nice to be able to find the kind of people here that enjoy sharing in some of our family traditions.

Tis the Season...

Well I was here over a week ago and promised to return with some vacation pictures shortly. I did not want to get all caught up in Christmas and forget to share those memories. Well, it is a week later, I am still trying to finish my Christmas cards and get ready for our annual Christmas Eve party and I still have not posted anything. So, rather than dig through the vacation pictures now (I will do it later, honest), I thought that I would just share a few snapshots of our holiday preparations.

The Bat Kids decorated our tree this year! It was quite cute. Andrew gave Brenna this costume last year for Christmas and I love it when they get dressed up together and play.

This picture was taken before the 9 1/2 foot tree (that I begged Todd to get) fell over. We were almost finished decorating it when Todd went to check on some football scores. The kids were playing with their nativity scenes. (I love it when they do that.) And I was adding some last minute ornaments. I looked up and saw it starting to fall. I jumped up, grabbed it (taking out only one sizeable branch) and yelled for Todd. We spent the better part of the next house getting the tree secured in the tree stand, straightening it, and then securing it to the wall. It is hard to believe but the only casualty was the one branch. We did not break any ornaments!

In keeping with the Colvin family traditions, we made our gingerbread houses. Ok, in truth I baked a ton of gingerbread, but for the first time ever, did not make a house myself. I started one, but the dogs got a hold of the pieces before I finished. I was going to bake another one, but we just do not have enough time. I was very disappointed when I realized that I would not get one done, but as Todd pointed out, the kids made theirs, and that is what is really important.

Since we have moved to MA (and do not have Liz right next door anymore), Brenna has been allowed to invite a friend over to make the little houses. This year she invited her friend Julia. The girls seemed to really enjoy making the houses (and eating their mistakes)!

Andrew made his house at the same time. His house made me smile. He put anything and everything on it. Each time he would put something different on the house, Brenna would ask him what it was. For example, she asked, "Why do you have a tree on top of the house?" To which he responded, "Because a tree fell on top of the house. That can happen, you know."

Not only did I get a kick out of watching him build it, but it reminded me of many years ago when Kevin (who I think was in 7th grade) made a house with reindeer and various gingerbread people falling off of the roof. And there was Emily with her color coordinated and symmetrical house. I think that it must be a boy thing!

We heard a rumor last week that Santa was going to be in Braintree (where Todd works) one evening. So, I headed up with the kids on day after school and met Todd. I was pleasantly surprised that no one else was there to see the Big Guy when we got there. The kids kids sat and chatted with him for a bit, and patiently posed as we took some pictures.

I was not standing close enough to hear their conversation so when they were done, I asked them what they had asked for. Andrew pointed out that he only asked him for one thing, Lego Rock Band. When I commented that it was nice that he only asked for one thing, he explained that Santa had already gotten his letter (in which he asked for a few more toys) so there really was no need to talk about it. Brenna asked for something called a Hex Bug (which was not in her letter to Santa and I, of course, had never heard of it before). As it turns out, it is a robotic (if that is the right word) bug which responds to sound. I later found out that one of her friends had brought one to school recently and that was where she had gotten the idea from.

Well, I am off to work some more on my cards.... I will be back..... Don't know when yet... But if I do not post again before Christmas, I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas with your families. We love and miss all of our family and friends and will think of you often during this week.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Love,

Todd, Shannon, Brenna & Andrew

Vacation pictures... finally....

Can you believe that it has taken me soo long to get these vacation pictures organized? I figured that I had better get it done now or I would never get it done. Soon I will be back logged with Christmas pictures too!

We started our trip off at the Kennedy Space Center on Titusville, Florida. I had been as a kid and I was really excited to bring the kids there. It was a great day (weather wise) and there was hardly anyone there. We did not have to wait to see anything.

When we first got there, we explored the Rocket Garden where a number of space crafts are there for hands on exploration. The kids got a big kick out of seeing how larger than life they were. And, they loved checking the ones out that you could explore.

Both Brenna and Andrew insisted on having their picture taken with Astronaut Snoopy.

As I mentioned before, the highlight of the day was having Lunch with an Astronaut. We had lunch with Space Shuttle Astronaut Susan Kilrain. It was a great experience. The kids even got to ask her questions about her experiences in space.

After lunch, we took a tour of the facility and were able to see the Shuttle Launch pads and the building where the shuttle is assembled. We even got to see the actual mission control center that was used for the Apollo flight program.

As the day wound down, we were able to explore the inside of a Space Shuttle and Brenna and Todd rode the Space Shuttle Simulator. Andrew was a little too short so he and I watched them on a TV. During the whole time, he kept saying that he did not know why he was not allowed on the ride.... "they aren't really doing anything. They are just sitting there." He was a bit frustrated.

I am so glad that we were able to squeeze this into our vacation. It was such a great experience. I would highly recommend it to anyone in the area.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARL!!!

Well it is hard to believe that it is December 1st.... the start of the Christmas season.... and the birthday of one of my favorite people.... Carl Hordesky! I would be remiss if I did not squeeze in a quick post to wish him a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I had to dig through my computer for quite a bit to find a nice picture of him to post today. After spending a decent amount of time doing so I realized something... Carl as sucessfully avoided my camera for some time now. I will have to fix that next time I see him! :)

Eventually I found a good shot of him and Todd from last Easter. Carl put on quite a spread that day! And of course, no holiday celebration would be complete without a Pomegranate Martini (see below).



HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARL! We hope you have a great day!