Kid Mayhem 2010

For anyone that remembers this Christmas fondly, these pictures are to remind us of the mayhem that ensued. Here are the kids all playing together:

Does this sound familiar: "Hey! No playing with the firewood stuff!"
But they are so cute, how can you stay mad?

One happy moment captured



They were all so cute together though. Even when it sometimes drives us to the brink of insanity, it's fun to get the cousins together!

Texas Christmas 2010

This year we ended up having Texas Christmas Day before Texas Christmas Eve. It also seemed to come very fast since we were leaving so early for California.

Gotta love that "just woke up" look:
Santa brought a new couch for Andreas -- he loved it!




Then we went to Sam and Tiffany's house for Christmas Eve and had a great time. Here are the kids getting excited for presents!
I'm not sure what was happening here, and sorry the picture is fuzzy, but I think Zoe had the ornament entirely in her mouth.

Dad's 60th Birthday

For Dad's 60th Birthday we all drove down to Mill Valley to visit his childhood homes. The first stop was this little house:



The people that lived there were so nice. They saw us milling around in front of their house, but I guess with all the kids figured we weren't too dangerous, so they came out and turned on all of their lights and inflatable Christmas decorations for us. Didn't even ask us if we were planning an attack of any kind.
Here is Dad's high school
It was very well kept up for a school that has been there for so long. We were able to walk around and look at some of the buildings
The auto shop, but in my dad's day was an electronics class (I think).
The outdoor amphitheater

Then we went to the other house my dad lived in as a kid

We think this was the same fence my dad helped put up.




We all really enjoyed the day. We even finished up at Marin Joe's (a place where my dad and his family used to eat) and had some amazing minestrone soup. Happy Birthday Dad!

Christmas Eve Day 2010

Early in the day on Christmas Eve we got all packed up and headed over to Great Grandma K's house. She turned on all of her trees and lights and we played Christmas carols on the organ. We also enjoyed a great lunch and watch the little kids run around like crazy.

The drums were a particular favorite:
The youth in Grandma's ward brought by a real tree that was fully decorated. It was a very nice gesture and I think thoroughly enjoyed by Grandma.
Here is the new Christmas hat we brought for Dad:
The three boy cousins -- Andreas, Jacob, and Tyler:
The faces in this one are so funny. Jacob is the spitting image of Aaron :) It's almost the caveman face!
We were so glad that Brandon and Erika could finally join us, if only for a few days, for Christmas. An extra special Christmas treat this year was that Erika came dressed as Michael Jackson. As always, we appreciate everyone congregating for Christmas, but not the germs they bring with them. Thanks for not sharing Erika!
Dad and the grandkids
With Mom in the mix

Christmas Eve Night 2010

Christmas Eve was fantastic again this year. We went up into the mountains to spend the evening at Aunt Diane's house with the Zim Fam. The only downside was that with the mix of curvy roads, baby crying, noxious fumes from the car (it just had started having a problem), and early pregnancy nausea, the drive was a little long for me. But we survived!

Here are Andreas and Great Grandma Z. She was very brave and volunteered to hold Andreas while he ate (or dropped) a few things from the appetizer table.


Around the food table. We had amazing appetizers and delicious soups. Just right for Christmas Eve! And then a few amazing desserts to wash it all down!
Sitting around the tree listening to the Christmas story
Before the great Christmas exchange
By the way, Aunt Diane was especially generous to Andreas by getting him some finger puppets and a car. Did I mention that last year she gave him the "twilight turtle" that projects stars on the ceiling? He absolutely loves it and plays with it every night (thanks Aunt Diane and family!). Grandma gave him a book too which he always loves, so he was a happy camper.
Waiting for Santa

Andaverde Baby #2 on the way

For those that don't know, I will be having baby #2 in the end of August. I hope that hospital has good air conditioning! And there better not be a hurricane! I will find out in about 2 months whether it is a boy or a girl, so stay tuned.