Christmas Morning

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! The kids have been looking forward to this day for a while now and it's hard to believe it's upon us. Today they made pictures for Santa, Mrs. Clause and even an elf. They also picked some carrots from their garden for the reindeer. As you can see from the 2nd and 3rd pictures, Santa enjoyed the beer they left for him and spoiled us all with presents this year! We hope you all have a great Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

Much love,

The New Zealand Bacarella's

Talor's Kindy Trip - The Christmas Party

The first stop on today's adventure out of kindergarten was to a performing arts center near the zoo. These two women performed a skit that involved a superhero as well as a fairy. They had the kids, and adults mesmerized. It was a very cool way to start the day.

After the concert we met the kids at Snow Planet - an indoor skiing and snowboarding place. We were able to sled down the snow for a while, and everyone had a great time.

The kids loved running around in the snow and throwing it around.

Talor's 1st snow angel.

Layla's 1st snow angel.

Santa even showed up to give out gifts to all the boys and girls.

Santa Called!!!!!!

The other day the call came in - Santa called both kids individually to confirm what they wanted for Christmas as well as to check and see if they were being good. Both Talor and Layla were thrilled!!

How to Hula Hoop

Layla thought she would teach us all how to hula hoop. Information for life. Enjoy!

Strawberry Shortcake

Shell picked up some strawberries for the Christmas at the Zoo event last night, however we didn't eat them. So, they spent the night coated in sugar and in the fridge. This afternoon we made another trip to the American store (Martha's Backyard) to pick up some Bisquick. Yes, the label on the box is correct, but it was worth it. The strawberry shortcake with Bisquick shortcakes were amazing and I am so glad we picked it up! Roll on summer!!

Stocked for Christmas

Two shelves are lagers and one shelf is an East India Pale Ale - a new batch of spirits will be brewed shortly in hopes of having it ready before Christmas/New Year. Such a fun hobby!

End of November

It's almost December and we are warming up over here. This past weekend's weather was amazing and we got a lot done. We put the tree up, which was the big chore, and the kids have been playing under/around it ever since. In fact, the photo below of Talor laying under the tree sucking his thumb was taken about 20 minutes after the tree was up. We have an identical looking photo taken 4 years ago at my mom's house with him doing the exact same thing. Some things never change I guess. The other photo shows the kids doing with Paul and I used to do when we were kids - playing G.I. Joe's inside the tree. It's been fun to watch.

Maddy and Lola don't always get along - they were both laying by me the other night and Maddy just couldn't face the fact that Lola was near her. She did everything she could to not look at that cat! It was pretty funny, so we of course took a photo of it.

As I said before, the weather has been amazing. We put the gazebo up by the trampoline and then filled the kiddy pool. The kids LOVED being able to try out their new goggles.

Talor's Birthday and Other Stuff

On Thursday we celebrated Talor's birthday and Thanksgiving at the same time. Nana provided the Ben 10 ice cream cake and we ate that (with pumpkin pie) after going through all of the Thanksgiving staples. Talor was spoiled by everyone and had a VERY good time. Thanks everyone!

Earlier in the day I was able to sneak away from school to celebrate Talor's "graduation" from kindy. Talor and Layla didn't realize I was coming, so it was pretty neat to see their surprised reaction. I had all the kids mezmerized when I moved my car forward a few inches and even got a hand held usher as I looked for Talor. I played hide and seek with the kids and had a ball!

In order to prepare for "graduation," Talor had some work to do. He made his crown, decorated the cover of his birthday card from the kindy, and made a playdough cake. When the big time finally arrived he sat in the birthday chair, after being able to ring the bell for mat time, and was spoiled. They went through his time at kindy, looked at his portfolio and artwork and told some stories. There were lots of songs and then Talor handed out fruit to all the other kids. He had a blast, and I was so happy that Shell, Layla and I were able to be there to celebrate it with him. Now off to "big boy" school at the start of next year.

The day before Talor's birthday Shell took the kids, with lots of their friends, to the zoo for the day. Miss Julie painted all the kids faces (they looked AMAZING, I think) and everyone had a ball. They always love the zoo, but even more when they get to hang out with their friends at the same time.