Trip to Palm Springs

 The day after Christmas, at the early morning hour of 4:00, we piled into the car and drove to Palm Springs to visit Grandma Lala, Papa Rod, Aunt Ashley, Uncle Paul, and cousin Liam.  While leaving hours before dawn wasn't too fun, getting into Palm Springs in time for lunch sure was.

We had a great long weekend with everyone, opened more presents, ate until we were stuffed and enjoyed a little time in the heated pool of our hotel (and by "we" I mean the kids...Corey was only interested in the hot tub and I was too chilly for any of it).  We were not so good at getting pictures, however.  After three days together, I didn't  have a single photo of my parents together, my sister and me together or any of us all together, for that matter.  Corey was really good about candid shots, but next time we have to be better about getting some posed family shots.

 More presents (see above) and this little cutie (see below)...

the girls were in second Christmas HEAVEN!!

 Cousins bonding over a Kindle video.  

 And our little fish...

 Natalie tried out the mermaid fin

Santa brought her last year.  It was a 

little too big last year but she uses it 

like a true mermaid this year!

Super fun weekend!  Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Merry Christmas

 We had an awesome Christmas  at Casa Brooks!  The night before Christmas Eve, the girls slept under the little Christmas tree in the living room.  Unlike last year, when they lasted 17 minutes before heading to their comfy beds, they actually slept most of the night under the tree this year.

Christmas morning, the action started before dawn, as usual.  And by 10am we had happy kiddos buried in wrapping paper and gobbling up cinnamon rolls.

Natalie was thrilled to receive a Kindle, some much needed fun and funky clothes, a lava lamp, and a lot of books.  And this was Audrey's much anticipated American Girl Christmas and she received Samantha, a historical doll from 1904 that I play with when she's  not looking,  Shopkins (these cute little collectible thingies that she carries around and counts regularly) and fun pink boots!

We did have tears at one point in the day because, while Natalie received a lot of stuff she wanted, she didn't receive any toys (woops!).  She wanted to make sure we knew that she wasn't done playing with toys even if she forgets to mention that she wants them.  Lesson learned.  The hard, teary, emotional way.  As most parenting lessons are learned.

But all in all, everyone was thrilled with their loot.  It was a quiet day at home and they played while we packed up the car to head to Palm Springs.  Cannot believe another Christmas has come and gone.  Could life slow down just a little????

Mini Musical

Audrey's kindergarten put on a lovely little show last week.  It was the school's annual Kindergarten Gingerbread Man Musical and, after weeks and weeks of practicing, all three kindergarten classes performed in front of a charmed crowd.  What a sweet event!  And our Audrey was one of the stars of the show as a horse who got to come forward and sing in a trio of horses during the scene where everyone is hunting for the runaway gingerbread man!  Adorable!

 "Stop, gingerbread man, don't put up a fight!

You're delicious and nutritious, let me have a bite!"

This was the nearly life size gingerbread man 

poster she made that helped to decorate the stage!

San Francisco and Santa!

We had a festive, jam packed day in San Francisco on Saturday.  And by jam packed I do not mean we had a non-stop itinerary of activities.  Rather, it's the only fitting description for how we felt on every escalator, street corner and sidewalk.  The city was PACKED with people!  But it's always fun to be part of the holiday bustle on Union Square.  

 We started at the San Francisco Center, headed to Macy's to see the best Santa ever and buy our 2015 nutcracker, made our way over to the St. Francis to visit the sugar castle, hiked up Powell to the Fairmont Hotel to visit the gingerbread house (only to find a line out the front door, down the steps and around the block and decide we'd catch it next year), strolled back down Powell to experience the sights, smells and samples at Williams Sonoma and then called it a day watching the Union Square ice skaters.  No skating for us this year as Corey's knee is still recovering from surgery, but it was still fun to watch the skaters.

 Best. Santa. Ever.

 We also found a great place to have lunch...the Cheesecake Factory on the 7th floor of Macy's has outdoor dining and it was an awesome spot to rest our legs and enjoy an amazing view!

Super fun day that's turning into an awesome family tradition!

Knit Wits

We've been knitting like crazy around these parts lately.  I got the bug to pick up my needles and work my way through my yarn stash that's been growing for a decade now.  Natalie started knitting again, too, and even attempted to teach Audrey.  Natalie is knitting beautiful stitches now and is working on a scarf for her American Girl doll.  Audrey has a more free-flowing approach to knitting (imagine that) and just likes to knot the yarn around the needles in a happy haphazard fashion.  I cast on 8 stitches for her to experiment with and then gave her a good head start.  Natalie took the knitting instruction from there and at one point said, "Oh, no, Mommy, Audrey has 16 stitches on her needle now.  At least I think they're stitches.  I can't tell."  Yup.  She might be a little young.  But she's having fun.

What inspired my interest in knitting again is this 

poncho of Natalie's.  My knitting instructor in 

Asheville made this for Natalie when she was a baby.  

It was so big on her that she didn't even start 

wearing it until kindergarten.  But she loves 

it so much and wears it all the time.  

So, naturally, Audrey wanted one, too, and asked

me if I would knit her one of her own.

So I did!

We went to the yarn store and I let her pick out

what she wanted.  She has great taste in yarn! 

The yarn store ladies fawned all over her like only sweet 

yarn store ladies do so I think that's 

what actually inspired Audrey to want to take up knitting.

Also, she got to ball my yarn on their huge wooden ball 

winder which I'm not sure the ladies had ever seen spin so fast.

I was quite proud of myself that, not only did I actually finish 

this project (I've been known to have a few unfinished 

projects tucked away), but it only took me 3 weeks!  

A serious record for me!

  

Over the mountain and through the woods...

to Grandmother's house we went!  We headed over the hill recently for a quick visit with GGMa.

 We helped her decorate her house a bit for Christmas even though she really didn't need the help!  But it sure was fun to get out her little tree and a few of her Christmas decorations that we love.  She continues to amaze us, and looks as sparkly as ever!

As the girls snuggled into bed, they were joined by one enormous

Christmas bear and two sleepy kitties, Pepper and Sally.  

Such a fun visit!  Miss you, GGMa!

UPDATE on Princess Post

After sooooo many weeks of waiting and getting the mail out of the mailbox every day, Audrey finally received a response back from Princess Sophia the First.  She was beyond thrilled!  Look at this excited face...

The best part is, her interest in collecting 

the mail has not waned now that her special

letter has arrived.  She still collects the mail every 

day she remembers.  Christmas card season

 is going to be thrilling for her!

Soccer Stars

We had a very busy and very exciting soccer season this year. Natalie's team was an awesome collection of girls, families and coaches and she had the most fun playing as she's ever had.  This season's coaches were all seniors at our neighborhood high school and we could not have asked for better role models for our girls.

The Hurricanes had a nice mix of wins and losses throughout the 12 week season but, in the last game, our Natalie was the one to save the day!  There were only seconds left and our goalie took a ball to the belly and fell to her knees, leaving the goal vulnerable with a capital "V".  The opposing team took advantage of this goalie-down scenario and shot the ball right toward the unguarded net.  BUT Natalie, on defense that day, positioned herself in just the right spot and kicked the ball out of the goal.  That game ended in a tie instead of a loss and allowed the Hurricanes to have a better point total going into the following tournament weekend.

 Natalie's teammates rushed the field to thank her

for her great positioning and save-the-day kick!

That tournament weekend was a busy one, to say the least!  Two games on Saturday and two games on Sunday, three of which they won, including the fourth and final championship game. This meant the Hurricanes won first place in their division and left with huge smiles and even bigger trophies. So fun.  And we all finished the weekend off with a team party to celebrate.  Super fun, emotional and exciting weekend of soccer!

Natalie with her three coaches

and her biggest little fan!

Who knew it was this much fun to be a soccer mom?