Christmas 2010

Spencer in head to toe Buzz Lightyear with his new Buzz Lightyear!
Making Cookies
He loves rolling the dough!

The Cookie Makers

Opa and Spencer

Malia, baby girl and me...ready to taste test!

We had a surprise visitor Christmas Eve and when asked what he wanted for Christmas, Spencer replied "Candy Cane!"

Christmas morning, Spencer opening his gift from Santa! ( Notice Malia's face too!)

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!

Oma's Chrirstmas hug and kiss!

Opa's Christmas hug and kiss!

Spencer modeling Daddy's new hat!

We had a wonderful Christmas and hope that you all did too! Merry Belated Christmas!

Birthday in the New Year

I am not sure why but I have always wanted a pair of these glasses. I have seen them in Times Square on the faces of those celebrating New Year’s Eve there. I have traveled through New York City twice in recent years, around Thanksgiving and Christmas time, and have looked to buy them. I have searched for years for “year” glasses without any success. My heart was saddened to realize they would probably cease to be made since 2010 does not have a place for two eyes to look through like 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and so on. I thought all hope was lost and that I would never get the chance to wear fun New Year’s Eve “Year” glasses. However, while in Disneyland I found a pair that happened to light up…a bit much I admit, but I have always wanted them so I went for it. It was fun to wear them and fulfill this lifelong dream of mine! Yeah for 2010!

(sorry blurry)

Day at Disneyland

(sorry all the pics are out of order)

It was a cold day for native Californians and perfect for us. We hoped the weather would keep people home but Disneyland ended up being busy the day after Christmas (we were told it was a 50/50 chance). The day went by too fast and lots of fun was had. Spencer made his second attempt at pulling the sword from the stone. Oh how he pulled with all his baby might. Later Spencer was passed around from line to line as our family group paired off to wait for different rides. He napped in the stroller while Grandma & Grandpa Salerno pushed him around and sent the rest of us off for some more rides. We all met up for dinner, a parade and more fun. Disneyland looked beautiful with all the Christmas decorations. We left tired but happy.

Christmas Vacation in California

Rose Parade floats up close...
Made from natural things like flowers and seeds

Made out of seeds and took about 56 hours!
amazing!

If you ask Spencer what Santa say he replies with a "ho ho ho"!

the...the...the THE GRINCH!

woke up to early huh?

A small tear fell from my eye as we left cold and snowy Utah for the warm California sunshine (ok that is a lie). Our new Fit made the travel enjoyable and we arrived ready for family fun. As you can tell from the pictures Spencer got to meet not just jolly Santa but the Grinch as well. He really enjoyed them both as noted in the pictures. We had a lovely Christmas morning with gifts and a breakfast of stuffed French toast, a personal favorite. We relaxed and ate our way through the day as we did the entire vacation. Chad and I were able to sneak away for our anniversary and I spent my first overnight away from Spencer. I think we both did well. Another highlight from our trip was going to Pasadena to see the Rose Parade floats as they were being assembled. I was amazed by all the time, work and flowers that went into the floats, I left excited to see the Rose Parade on New Year’s Day on TV. More highlights from our trip not yet mentioned include, but are not limited to: Spencer’s love of cats, hand dipped ice cream bars with roasted almonds from Costco, the trip to 99 cent store, relaxing and eating.

Christmas Cookies 2009

Here is the list of cookies I made this year, some are actually family recipes but I found similar ones online. I tried some new and some tried and true. My favorite this year is the Pecan Sandies, I included the actual recipe I used…this is a keeper and will make the new annual Christmas cookie list. We are giving most of the cookies on plates as neighbor and home teaching gifts and plan to eat up the rest!
1. Oreo truffles (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-oreo-truffles/Detail.aspx)
2. Pumpkin Pie Bites (http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/pumpkin-pie-bars-89949.aspx)
3. Fudge Meltaways (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/fudge-meltaways/Detail.aspx)
4. Mint Thins (http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/mint-thins-107762.aspx)
5. Chocolate, Cranberry & Oat Bars (http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/chocolate-cranberry-oat-bars-107778.aspx)
6. Mint Brownies ( two boxes of brownie mix and a bag of mint chips)
7. Church Windows (http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1910,159180-241207,00.html)
8. Pecan Sandies (http://www.guittard.com/RecipeView.asp?id=100508)
9. Cheesecake Cookie (http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1613,150165-224207,00.html)
10. M& M Cookies
11. Easy Jam Filled Cookies (http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/easy-jam-filled-cookies-107774.aspx)

My New Car

Yes we finally got a new car. We now have a 2010 Honda Fit…I love it! I got the last blue one in the state of Utah. It is perfect. It has power locks, power windows, lots of space, great gas mileage and it has a CD player! I may seem to be making a big deal about these gadgets because they are pretty standard on most cars now but you have to realize we have been driving a car form the year I was born..1986! Since Chad and I have been married (4 years on the 29th!) we have had a truck with only AM radio, then a car with both AM and FM radio (which felt like a big upgrade) and now a new car with a CD player. Plus it has an AUX outlet for an MP3 player! This year has been the year of technology for us, first cell phones and now a new car with a CD player! What is next? I love joining the 21st century.
PS We are trying to come up with a good name for our new car. Best name so far is Blue Steel (you know from Zoolander). Any suggestions?

Halloween Pics

Inspector Clouseau (Uncle Brian) and the Sock Monkey
The Hunchback of Timberline Middle School (aka Chad)

Frankenstein's Bride (Juju, aka Aunt Jennifer) and the Sock Monkey

Our Pumpkins