1 week before christmas
9 days into the new year and i'm already behind. this can't be good :p
noah, kaitlyn & lou
the week before christmas, we got together w/ our friends again for the annual holiday party. michelle was kind enough to host again and it made the most sense anyways since they have the most kid-friendliest house. they converted the office downstairs into a playroom and the kids had a blast in there. it also made it easy for us adults to juggle keeping an eye on them and our wine glasses.
jenn & kaila
kaitlyn & her godbrothers
the boys cheering on the Sharks game while k looks on
heidi debating whether or not she'll ever have kids
and her hubby jorge, who we always make babysit so we can eat/drink (yes, this was clearly past bedtime... notice k in the background tugging on her ear)
as is tradition, there was a white elephant exchange among the adults. the new rule that was put in place last year carried on into this one... if you decided to steal a gift, you had to take a shot. we were most of the way through the exchange and nobody had stolen a gift. we drew eighth and i had my eye on a gift that had already been opened (gift basket including sneaky chef cookbook & tons of hawaiian snacks) so decided to steal. that was enough to start the party ;) that decision came back and bit me, though, bc my gift was stolen again and i ended up w/ lame-ass christmas scented candles. boo.
classy, huh?
but yeah, after that, it was all downhill for everyone
clearly, we called it a night shortly thereafter... but not before michelle got her group pics in:
although i'll never close the book on the idea of moving back to san diego, it's obvious that we are planting roots here (it's only taken me a decade to admit it). as i watch all of our kids together, it's comforting to see them growing up together. in a way, they've brought us all closer together, especially during the holidays. often over the past year when dave and i have discussed our situation, i've used the word "stuck". we're stuck in the house we're living in because of the dismal real estate market. no way am i going to try and sell our current home right now. if the market doesn't turn in the next few years, by then we'll decide to stay anyways because the schools here are awesome. we're stuck in our jobs because the economy sucks and we're grateful just to HAVE decent jobs that help us pay for the house we're stuck in. sure, i miss my parents, my girlfriends, the perpetual sunshine, the mexican food, and the beaches. but we're making it as a family and have a great support system here and we're HAPPY. can't deny that. so maybe i should quit saying we're stuck and admit that what we really are is "settled".
noah, kaitlyn & lou
the week before christmas, we got together w/ our friends again for the annual holiday party. michelle was kind enough to host again and it made the most sense anyways since they have the most kid-friendliest house. they converted the office downstairs into a playroom and the kids had a blast in there. it also made it easy for us adults to juggle keeping an eye on them and our wine glasses.
jenn & kaila
kaitlyn & her godbrothers
the boys cheering on the Sharks game while k looks on
heidi debating whether or not she'll ever have kids
and her hubby jorge, who we always make babysit so we can eat/drink (yes, this was clearly past bedtime... notice k in the background tugging on her ear)
as is tradition, there was a white elephant exchange among the adults. the new rule that was put in place last year carried on into this one... if you decided to steal a gift, you had to take a shot. we were most of the way through the exchange and nobody had stolen a gift. we drew eighth and i had my eye on a gift that had already been opened (gift basket including sneaky chef cookbook & tons of hawaiian snacks) so decided to steal. that was enough to start the party ;) that decision came back and bit me, though, bc my gift was stolen again and i ended up w/ lame-ass christmas scented candles. boo.
classy, huh?
but yeah, after that, it was all downhill for everyone
clearly, we called it a night shortly thereafter... but not before michelle got her group pics in:
although i'll never close the book on the idea of moving back to san diego, it's obvious that we are planting roots here (it's only taken me a decade to admit it). as i watch all of our kids together, it's comforting to see them growing up together. in a way, they've brought us all closer together, especially during the holidays. often over the past year when dave and i have discussed our situation, i've used the word "stuck". we're stuck in the house we're living in because of the dismal real estate market. no way am i going to try and sell our current home right now. if the market doesn't turn in the next few years, by then we'll decide to stay anyways because the schools here are awesome. we're stuck in our jobs because the economy sucks and we're grateful just to HAVE decent jobs that help us pay for the house we're stuck in. sure, i miss my parents, my girlfriends, the perpetual sunshine, the mexican food, and the beaches. but we're making it as a family and have a great support system here and we're HAPPY. can't deny that. so maybe i should quit saying we're stuck and admit that what we really are is "settled".