Christmas, 2008

Blogging about the Holiday is just going to have to be mostly via these. Enjoy!

Remember to pause the music on the side bar...as these have sound.

First we have the one of the family and our home. The music is from "Christmas Day in the Morning" sung by the Cambridge Singers and directed by John Rutter. This is Jeff's favorite Carol.


Christmas 2008 from Beachbum on Vimeo.

This video was from the camera:


The boys cruisin' on the flying turtles from Beachbum on Vimeo.


This one has the music of the Rippingtons. The song is called Garden of Babylon.


Kade and his zero gravity car from Beachbum on Vimeo.

We also had a *great* time with the family. Rob and Paula had us all over to their home. We enjoyed playing the wii : Rock Band and Naruto. We saw all Robs kids, the Zs were there, Auntie Mary, Paula's Mom and Charlie's Mom. A full house! We caught up on the talking and visiting. Charlie and Rob played their music for a bit. Charlie was also kind enough to play a bit of tin whistle with me. Kade was enamored with the puppy...no shock there! We had a fabulous meal and enjoyed ourselves muchly.

That's the news so far...Merry, merry!

A response to Calvin from those who live in snow country

Check out the fun Ronnie has posted on her photo blog...all inspired by Calvin.

Straight No Chaser 12 Days

I just wanted to share this, because it is cool!



12 Days of Christmas started yesterday...merry, merry!

My Brother's Christmas gift...

Wanted to share with you. Here are his own hands...
Remember to pause the music on the side bar.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Go appreciate your loved ones...




PS: You can get his CD from him directly, if you wish. Just comment on the blog and I'll get the information to you. Not too late for spreading the Holiday cheer.

Calvin, ya got to love him!

Calvin and Hobbs has long been my favorite comic strip. To that end, I have been reminded by Dad Sabo there are some wonderful snow related Calvin adventures.

Hope you are having a wonderful Christmas Eve!

We have been talking a lot, here, about when our presents will be opened. Kai has been asking for them to be opened *now*. This "now" is exactly at the moment it came out of his mouth...even before we had the presents wrapped and under the tree! Kade just wants to get his fudge made before the day is out.

There is much anticipation. Hope the magic is real for you, too.

So, here is the link. Go see and laugh a bit! HERE.

More pictures of Halloween...

Thanks, Flo, for sending these!



Precious Juliet on a broom...







Flo and I.





Kate, Jonas and Gardenia




Vampire friends, Violet and Kai

You can find more pictures by visiting Flo's flickr and Mandy's flicker.

The Party...

was a ton of fun. We had people arrive beginning at 6:00pm and they trickled in with the last arriving at 8:00. The kids played with all our toys, played 'fishing for monsters, and pumpkin bean bag toss. The mini spiders were fun, too. As usually happens at our house, the wii was turned on and since our youngest guest, Jonas, was here - Jeff started us out with "My Name Is Jonas" by the rock band Weezer. Once out and all, guitar hero became a great entertainment for young and old. I think pretty much all the dads had a go and the kids loved it and took turns playing. The mom's hung out and talked, followed the kids around and just seemed to relax in the moments. After everyone got here, we headed out to trick-or-treat down the side streets near here. They managed to get enough loot to be happy. After getting back the organization of it all began...then trades were made. The potluck food was tasty. Kai wanted to bake a pumpkin pie, so we did that. A tad too done, but still really tasty. In prep for the party, we pierced an apple with a bunch of cloves and added it, plus cinnamon and sucanat to some apple juice and was it ever yummy!

We ended up being blessed with overnight guests. The only challenge was that Charis and Kade didn't want to go to sleep...so we were up until 3:30 am! If you are familiar with Sandra Boynton's "I'm not tired" you'll get the general feel of the whole thing! Now just visualize it with us moms in place of the little bear and the kids as the narrator...

Here are the pictures from my camera. The one above with all the adults is from Mandy (thanks!) I can't wait to see the pictures others took! I'll post them as soon as I get them.


Halloween 2008 from Beachbum on Vimeo.

Carved...

We started out our evening with a list of things we had to get for tomorrow. When the boys got back, we ate and then started carving! Here is Jeff doing his favorite (honestly) job of the process...


Kade's was done first, so here it is.



Kai's has sharp teeth!



Mine is like a vampire...



Here are the three in the dark with their candles lit.



Here is the final product!



It's almost time...

Pumpkin time

Last weekend we went on an adventure to get our pumpkins. We traveled to Bate's Nut Farm to have some fun. I didn't get many pictures, but here are a few. The boys had a great time. Kade wanted to feed the animals, Kai wanted the kettle corn, we found all the stamps hidden in the maze, rode the hay ride, slid down the huge bouncy slides, Kade bought a rubber band rifle, Kai salivated over the $400.00 wooden rubber band machine gun, and we found our pumpkins. This year Jeff said he didn't feel up to carrying the 90 pound pumpkin, so we each chose one we could carry. Kade actually made it all the way back to the car carrying his! He was really, really wanting that pumpkin. The boys also enjoyed some cotton candy. Even though we had a great time...it wasn't quite the same without Baba...she was with us last year. Still, we certainly enjoyed ourselves. Maybe we will get the chance to carve said pumpkins this week...