Christmas Eve dinner

We had a dinner on Christmas Eve. We cooked filet Mignon steaks and jumbo shrimp on the grill and had baked potatoes and corn on the cobb. It was great having Gramdma and Grandpa and Aunt Marci with us for the holiday. We loved that they came out here. We sure did miss our other family in Utah, San Diego, Arkansas and Spain and wish we could see them. But they know we LOVE them!!

This is a letter that Elena wrote to Santa telling what she wanted. It was cute because she asked him questions and he answered her!

Family Christmas Pageant

Our family had a family home evening activity on Christmas Eve in which we ended with a Christmas pageant. We acted out all the parts. I was the narrator and cameraman. Here is Andrea being an angel.




And here is Elena, as Mary, riding the "donkey" (a.k.a. Grandpa). Not shown here is Elizabeth, who portrayed Joseph.

Kevin and Elisa were Shepherds seeing the angel (Andrea).

The Angel... proclaiming tidings of great joy unto all people...

Gifts of gold...

Three wise men going to see the newborn king and bearing gifts.

Church Christmas party

We went to our church Christmas party the week before Christmas. Santa came and we got these pictures of the girls.

Elizabeth wasn't too sure about this guy with the white beard. But she warmed up later.

Christmas caroling

We went to a nursing home for Christmas and sang Christmas carols with our kids and some of the members of our church. Everyone had made blankets to give to the nursing home patients and my kids had a great time giving these gifts. They went from room to room just putting smiles on their faces.

Elena gave this blanket to this nice lady.

Kevin's Band concert

We all went as a family last night to Kevin's band concert. He plays the trombone and I recorded the songs they played. I thought I'd upload the video because I know some friends and family would like to see this. I know his Grandma and Grandpa will be happy to see him playing the trombone they bought for me sooooooo many years ago.

Enjoyment

I had a couple of minutes downtime today, which was odd because we are trying to hire someone at our department. So I decided to upload the video I made for Elisa around our anniversary last year. It was number 13 (we've been married longer than 14 years now) for us. Those that know us might enjoy the walk down memory lane with the pictures and all. I had to break it into two parts due to the length. If you're interested, enjoy! If not, well... I'll have more recent pics up here soon.

Here's Part 1



And here's Part 2

Putting up the Christmas Tree

We put up our Christmas tree today. Since we had been gone for Christmas the last four years or so, this was a very new process for many of our children. It was sooooo fun to do this with everyone and the kids were so excited to each put up ornaments and other decorations.

Elizabeth was really excited about this star to be placed on the top of the tree and this picture was just too cute. We had to post it.

Kevin was very proud of this picture looking out our window into the yard with a Merry Christmas sticker on the window in the foreground.

Kevin Soccer

Kevin's elite soccer team hit the road this weekend for a game. I took the camera along to videotape it for the team and grabbed a few highlights of Kevin. He scored the first two goals of the game, then had to play keeper because the boy who was there injured his finger. So I have some highlights of Kevin in goal, too. His team won 10-2.

Andrea's soccer game

I just had to post one of Andrea playing soccer last night. I brought my camera and had a ball taping her. Then I spent a few minutes this morning in my office brushing up on some basic editing skills and here is the result.

By the way... don't miss the middle of the video, where you can see Elizabeth kicking the ball into the goal. It seems she can't wait to play too!

Daddy daughter date to the pet store

Well, it was Elena's turn to go on a daddy daughter date with me. I usually like to let them choose where they want to go. We try not to spend much money on these dates and this time, Elena has been after me for a LONG time to take her to the pet store to pet the puppies and kitties. So I called home from work and officially asked her out on a date and told her what time I would pick her up so she could be ready. She was so excited. I took her to the pet store and she wanted to pet all the little animals there, including a mouse, hamster and rabbit. But, as you can see, her favorite was this little chihuahua puppy. I wish I could have taken video of her with that dog. She really loved it. She also liked the little kitten she held and played with for a long time.








After the pet store, I took her to look at some Webkins, but the store was closed, so we went to get some ice cream. Elena was so happy to get her turn at a date with daddy. Next up for a daddy daughter date: Andrea. Elizabeth had her turn a couple weeks ago when I came home for lunch and took her to McDonalds. Kevin and I went to Sonic for a burger and drink together during soccer recently.

Car Wash! (and other pictures)

Well we had a family home evening and the kids wanted to wash the van as our activity after the lesson. It was a hot day (still in the 90's in October) and as expected, van washing turned into water fight and everything.











Kevin is learning how to play the trombone. He is doing really well in band and his teacher has great comments about his ability all the time. The trombone is the same trombone I played when I was in high school. We got my parents to send it out to us for Kevin.