PICTURES to come tomorrow- too late to do it tonight!
As previously posted, we spent the holidays in Sacramento visiting with family. Dan's mom Debbie came out to help me fly the kids back a week before Christmas. Dan stayed behind to work. We spent the beginning of our trip at my mom and dad's house. We spent the weekend tending my nieces and nephew as Nikki and Julio worked hard to get all moved in to their new house. It's beautiful!!! A house definitely worth the long wait. Though a bit crazy with 6 kids running around, Noelle and Corom enjoyed every minute of cousin time. Noelle simply idolizes her older cousin, wanting to do whatever Lucia tells her to do, wanting to sit beside her and playing endlessly. Our slumber party night was a dream come true for her. We had Lucia, Marco and Noelle all in the guest room and they giggled and played into the late hours of the night. On Saturday, Callie and Eden flew in and Brian drove. What a treat it was to spend time with them as our visits are so few and far between now that they are in Arizona. That little Eden (just 4 weeks younger than Elijah) is such a sweet baby. We had a nice visit filled with lots of catching up, goodies and laughing. So fun to fill up my parent's house again. Brandon was gracious enough to lend out his bedroom to make room for all of us. It was crazy, but I kept telling my mom that crazy times are just memory-makers! Thank you to Mom, Dad and B for all of the help with my children. As said before, I think it was eye-opening to see what it is like to parent 3 children so close in age! They were so helpful!
On Monday night we packed all of our bags and headed over to the Aldama's for the remainder of the trip. We arrived a little early to spend some time with Nana and Papa before Dan's arrival. We spent our week relaxing and playing with the kids. We hadn't put up a tree back in Utah, so Corom and Noelle were both intrigued by the tree and train set and festive decor of the house. Corom developed a fascination for Papa's truck and all of the cars and race track. How nice it is to spend times like this just letting the kids get to know their grandparents. Dan arrived on Wednesday and the festivities began. We did a big birthday/Christmas party that night with grandparents, great-grandparents, Gina, Josh, Nancy and our little gang. It was a night of tamales and birthday cake. YUM! Nana did a great job hosting us all and making Noelle feel special. On Thursday, Noelle officially turned 4! We took all of the kids and some of the adults to see the new Disney movie "The Princess and the Frog," which was a hit! Noelle couldn't have been more excited about the popcorn and was a little wiggly for the movie. (Maybe she will grow into movies this year) That night we celebrated Christmas Eve and Noelle's birthday at my parent's house. Again, we had a fantastic dinner and dessert. Noelle opened presents, we White Elephanted and searched for Santa. The kids were eager to go home and fall asleep in anticipation of Santa.
On Christmas Day, Santa came to Nana and Papa's house. Noelle received from Santa a BARBIE GUITAR and a pink Barbie laptop. Corom got a Matchbox car garage and a leapfrog tag set. We were so overwhelmed and grateful for all of the gifts that proceeded. Everyone truly pitched in to give us a wonderful Christmas and many, many presents. Being in a student situation this year, we couldn't be more grateful to have been given so many nice things. Our children received toys and clothes, blankets and more. All of the gifts were thoughtful. After opening gifts at Nana and Papa's, we had another session of gifts over at my parent's. This is the part of my Christmas where I felt nostalgic. I get so homesick for my family and we were all together this year- many gifts were exchanged and the kids played. We felt so spoiled. That night we concluded our day with dessert at Grammy's house. I always feel so at home there and appreciative of all that she and Nancy do for us.
We did family Shirley pictures and went out to eat with the Aldama clan on Saturday and flew home Sunday. Our total luggage count on the way home was 3-50 pound suitcases, 5 small carry-ons, 3 babies and 2 tired adults. We did make it home and have spent the last 2 days trying to get settled here at home and finding places for all of our new toys. Another thank-you to everyone who helped us make this trip possible and to all who helped us make this Christmas such a special one! I had a good cry when I got home last night. I am such a family girl and have such a difficult time being away from everyone. It was a wonderful Christmas season!
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2 comments:
It just kills me that I don't get to see you guys more! We had such a good time with you guys. I still need to send you money for the movie-once I find my check book. Miss you already!
Sounds like such a fun trip. We would LOVE to have you guys over for a playgroup, or if you need a break you can just send the kids. :)
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