Christmas Chaos

Our last big Christmas celebration was on Saturday with my family. Since there are more kids involved with this one, it is usually more chaotic, but also a little easier because Rudy has kids to play with.

Upon arriving at Bill & Renee's Rudy joined Max who was already attached to the Wii.

Batman also joined us. Lucy felt the need to wear a mask too, so she took this piece of cardboard and was holding it over her face.

Gifts were a big hit, of course. My family has always taken turns opening gifts starting with the youngest. This year, fortunately, there were not a lot of gifts for the adults, so the kids didn't have to wait too long in between opening gifts. Lucy just kept standing by her presents saying "my turn to open a present, Kathy?" over and over until it was her turn again. But the kids did a great job waiting.

My aunt has started a tradition of sending hand made gifts for the kids. They all got hats and scarves and then had to pose and show them off.

Lucy kept her hat on for quite a while. She had many choices on which shoes to wear to match her hat.

Max got a Wii for Christmas so he is somewhat of a pro at it already. Rudy is still a little young and doesn't quite get the concept, but Max did an awesome job of telling Rudy what the instructions on the screen said and showing him how to do it. It is just awesome to watch these cousins together. The jealousy and annoying of each other has almost completely gone away and they play so well together and love each other so much.

And then there is our Goose - Lucy - who isn't yet ready to fully play with the boys but loves to have her picture taken and to be held. The most common phrases heard last night were "take my picture" and then she wanted to see it, and "hold me".

As we were preparing to get in pjs and go home, Rudy turned on these singing cats and sat next to them - a perfect photo opportunity - although this is the closest I got to getting him to look at the camera.

It was a wonderful way to end our Christmas celebrations - lots of good food, fun times with family, and a relaxing day.

Boys' Eye View

At the end of the night of Thanksgiving part 2, Max and Rudy got a hold of the camera and this is the result.



















I must say they both did a pretty good job of actually getting people's heads in the pictures. Although I did leave a few blurry ones out.

Roller Skating Party

Although Rudy's birthday is two weeks away, we had his birthday party today. After much deliberation and negotiation, we finally agreed on a roller skating party. Rudy invited just a few friends and relatives and we all met at the skating rink. This place hasn't changed since I was in grade school and would go skating.

Here is the cake Rudy requested - round with pink icing and a smiley face - much easier than the train cake I had to make last year!

The three little monkeys waiting to enter the skating rink.


Blowing out the candle sitting with his sister (on his left) and future wife (on his right).

Renee, Bill & Rudy doing the hokey pokey- always a challenge on skates!



Everyone else lined up for the hokey pokey.

All the kids (minus Max who didn't want to be in the picture but....


...eventually slid over on the bench enough so I could get him in the picture.)

Once we got home, Rudy got to open his presents. The ride home made him crazy because he could see some of the presents that were in gift bags and he REALLY wanted to open them then and there.

Opening and using his Leapster.

His Little Einstein's rocket that turns into a guitar.

A Spiderman watch!

Rudy had a great party; it was the first one we planned out of the house and it was nice not to worry about how clean the house was, or to have to clean up after it was all over!

A Wet Family Weekend

We went to Washington, DC this weekend with my whole family to celebrate my dad's 75th birthday (a few months early). There were 12 of us for most of the time: Dad; his friend, Ed; my aunt, Barbara; Bill; Renee; Chris; Patti; Max; Lucy; me; Paul; and Rudy. Dad, Ed, and Barbara are all seasoned travelers so a little rain doesn't stop them, and the kids of course didn't care what the weather was.

We left on Friday and with some help from our navigator, we made it to DC before dinner.



Of course, because of the weather, the place I was most able to take any pictures, and have everyone all together, was at meals. Here is Aunt Barbara, Rudy and Patti.

Lucy, Chris, and Ed

Dad, Max, and Rudy

Saturday morning the plan was to head to the metro and go to the Air and Space Museum. We met in the hotel lobby and as we were planning our trip to the metro, the shuttle driver offered to drive us to the station. Fortunately, he had a van big enough for all of us. The boys were thrilled to sit in the front.

Here is one of the few outside shots I took. We're all waiting for the light to change. This was actually at the beginning of our walk in DC.

A view of the Washington Monument. Originally we had planned to go up in it, but plans changed and by the time we tried, it was too late to get tickets. It was probably for the best since we wouldn't have been able to see much. Rudy's goal was to see Barack Obama's house, which we did on the way home on Sunday. I didn't get any pictures since we were driving past, and Rudy was less than thrilled. We're hoping to go back again, maybe in the spring and see more things.

Here is Rudy 'flying' a plane at the Air and Space Museum. We started here thinking this would be what the kids would enjoy most, but it was still a little too old for them. We spent an hour or so here, had lunch, and then went to the Museum of Natural History, which they enjoyed much more.

Storytime at The Air and Space Museum. We just kind of stumbled upon this and Max and Rudy immediately sat down to wait. Of course, halfway through the story Max wandered off and a few minutes later Rudy realized Max wasn't there any more and he left too.

Riding the metro. We were sitting on the metro on the way back in what Rudy was calling the caboose. He noticed these two seats that someone vacated and HAD to sit there and be at the very end of the train so Paul sat with him.

Hotel room fun. We were fortunate to have two sets of adjoining rooms and rooms across the hall from each other. So when we were in the hotel, the doors were all propped open and the kids just ran back and forth. Here's Lucy laughing at Paul as he hides behind a book. (Trust me, she thought it was the best game ever!)

Here is Rudy playing with Max's Leapster. It's a good thing we already bought him one for his birthday because he really enjoyed playing with it.

Dinner night 2 at a Southern BBQ place. Great food after a cold, rainy day.

The boys - who's the biggest kid?

Patti, Lucy and Chris

Dad, Aunt Barbara, me, Bill, Renee

And breakfast Sunday before we left: This one shows the kids pretending for just a minute to be nice to each other before Rudy went back to telling Lucy to move and Lucy went back to pushing Max. Ahh, togetherness.

Although the weather wasn't great, and we didn't get to see much in DC, it was a nice weekend away with the family (or the circus, as Lucy apparently thinks of us). Now to start planning Dad's 80th birthday....