Festivities, Week 4

We had a great week in Colorado!  It snowed the entire time we were in Granby.  The kids got the sled, tube, and snow shovel (RJ really likes to shovel for some reason) out.

Then the big kid (aka Jip) got the skid steer out to plow the driveway for his parents.  I'm not sure who had more fun!

The kids enjoyed opening and playing with their presents while in Granby, too.

Our drive to Fort Collins was slow. It was snowy. It was a little bit slick. We were in a rental with tags (and probably tires) from California. But, we made it!

Our first morning in FoCo included family photos.  There's still some editing that has to happen, but here's a silly photo!

RJ and Ry enjoyed hanging out with their cousins and the rest of the family.  They played, decorated cookies, and just hung out.

On Christmas Eve, the kids put on their Xmas jammies.

Christmas morning brought lots of smiles.  Santa was so kind as to bring Ry some Frozen stuff and RJ some Legos.

It snowed Christmas Day, so the 26th meant more snow shovel fun for RJ!

We arrived in San Diego super late Saturday night.  But, that didn't stop the kiddos from getting out to enjoy some non-snowy weather with Jip.  The kids went for a long bike ride while I organized, did laundry, and paid bills.  

We have a few normal-life things going on this week between RJ's well-child visit and speech therapy.  Jip has his next-to-last overnight duty on December 31.  And, somehow I will convince the kids that it is okay to take down the Christmas decorations.

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas!  Ours was truly terrific!

Festivities, Week 3

We started the week off with a visit to Christmas Circle, a neighborhood in Chula Vista that has been decorating nearly every house on a circle for 57 years.  We didn't get great pictures, but you get the idea.

On Thursday, we were lucky enough to get to attend a special performance for military families by the San Diego Pops.  

They even sang "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" from Frozen.  Ryleigh was tickled pink.  

We also got a free photo with Santa at the performance.  Here's a picture of the picture.

On Friday, we got to enjoy RJ's school's holiday concert.  Below are a few photos from the morning.

And, you know you want it... a video of them (focused on RJ, of course) singing Jingle Bell Rock.

After the performance, we went back to RJ's classroom to decorate gingerbread houses.  We took in pint milk cartons and candy, and the teachers adhered graham crackers and icing to them ahead of time.  The kids' jobs were to frost and embellish.

And, Saturday morning, we were off to Colorado.  Pictures of our trip next week!

We hope your Festivities have been as fun as ours!  We wish you the a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, a Festivus Miracle, and the best of whatever else you are celebrating this week!

Festivities, Week 2

HO, HO, HO!

Another week closer to Christmas and another week of fun behind us.  Tuesday was a pretty big day for Mosman clan.  I turned 40 and Ryleigh tried gymnastics for the first time.  Both events were successful and enjoyable. No big party or hoopla for my 40th, but below are a few pictures from Ry's first gymnastics class.  It was a free trial day and she LOVED it.  We're going to sign her up for more and try to convince RJ to give it a try as well.

We spent a couple evenings this week going to look at Christmas lights around various neighborhoods.  It's fun to do.  I remember doing it when I was a kid, but that was in Granby where it only took about 10 minutes to find all the good ones.  San Diego is much bigger and there are hidden gems if you know where to look.  We'll go visit one of the best ones this week and have photos next week.  It's a circle here in Chula Vista where the entire circle gets their HO, HO, HO on.

Today, Amy played organizer/host/person-in-charge for a children's party where the big man himself came to visit with the kids.  Originally, this party was not supposed to be Amy's to plan, but the organizer had a family emergency and it fell in Amy's lap.  In true Amy style, it was a great success.  Santa gave up some of his time to give some gifts and take some pictures.  There was a goody table -- yum!  An arts table was provided for the little ones to do some coloring, and lastly, there was a funny photo booth.  My job was Santa's photographer -- I'm not very good -- but my hourly rate was reasonable so I got the job!  Below are some pictures of us in the car playing around waiting for someone to come unlock the venue where we had the party and then there are some pictures from the event.

At this time next week, we'll be in Colorado to visit our families and enjoy some time at "home."  We're looking forward to some snow (hopefully) and some cold (for sure).  It'll be a nice change from the sunny and 65 San Diego we've grown accustomed to.  Happy Holidays!

Festivities, Week 1

Before I get into the festivities, RJ's school pictures came in.  He's just so handsome!

I just realized I forgot to post his soccer pics.  So, here they are.

Friday night, we attended Jip's Command Christmas party.  The kids had a great time at the make-shift childcare facility in a hotel conference room.  Jip and I enjoyed getting dressed up and enjoying a little time with other adults.  Excuse the fuzziness--silly iPhone indoors.

Saturday morning, we headed for the monthly Home Depot workshop.  It was beautiful out and they expected a lot of kids, so they had the workshop outdoors.  It was a lot of fun, as usual!

We then went to Coronado for a little lunch and for a kids' Christmas party.  The party was put on by Jip's Command's Junior Enlisted Association.  They did a great job, just like the party we went to last Easter.  A lot of the sailors in the JEA don't have kids (they are still young and single!), but they still manage to put together a lot of fun things to do for the kids.  They made Xmas ornaments, colored, decorated cookies, and did a cake walk, musical chairs, and a present unwrapping game.  Ryleigh was the first person out in musical chairs--she was devastated.  But, a prize anyway made the tears go away.  The afternoon wrapped up with a visit from Santa Claus, where he presented Ryleigh with an 8-inch Pinkie Pie (a My Little Pony) and a velociraptor Switch-N-Go Dino.  They were both pleased as punch.

Today was the cookie exchange with other military spouses.  This time of year, everyone is so busy or getting sick, so we had quite a few drop out at the last minute.  Still, we had 10 turn out and share their yummy goodies.  I won a prize for most creative for my billionaire bars.  (Thank you, Pinterest). It was nice just to hang with some ladies for a couple hours.

This week's festivities include a meet and greet with Santa, and, oh yeah--Jip's 40th birthday.  It should be another great week!