Where Did The Last 2 Weeks Go?

It's a long-winded post, I know but c'mon! It's 2 weeks worth.
Here's where my 2 weeks went:

A few days before Christmas we celebrated Aaron's 32nd birthday at his parents' house. Aaron needed help putting his marketing portfolios together so he rallied his family together at his birthday party and put everyone to work. We set up an assembly line affixing the different sticker labels Aaron had printed to the inside of presentation folders so when he goes to companies to sell his product, he can show them some of what he can do.

We had a good time. We had yummy tacos and ended with apple pie. Christmas Eve was lots of fun. Late in the morning me and Ev headed to The Avocado House restaurant in Chino. My friend, Krista's parents run a catering business and are opening their restaurant this month. Every year they invite everyone they know (which is EVERYONE) over for Christmas Eve breakfast. It's great to see a bunch of people I grew up with and especially to visit with Krista.

In the afternoon Aaron, Ev and I headed to Aaron's parent's house to hang out with his family and cousins. We had a used DVD gift exchange and munched on finger foods. What kind of mom would I be if I didn't dress Everett in some tragic Christmas outfit that he'll be embarrassed of in about 13 years? I think the "Mom, you suck" look he gave me says it all: The hat was too small and made an indent around his head that was still visible 2 hours after the hat was removed. Sorry buddy, I didn't realize your brain was being starved of blood supply. I'll pay better attention next time I dress you in a lame holiday-themed outfit.

Then it was off to my mom's house for dinner. We had a good time and got to visit with my cousins that came down from Idaho. We finally got home around 11pm. Aaron and I stayed up until about 2am getting everything ready and the house picked up a bit for Christmas. Aaron was right, Christmas is going to happen whether your house is decorated or not (or in our case, even if your tree is leaning against the wall propped up with a step ladder and your angel is holding on for dear life and is hoping not to crash the other way out the window). We hardly noticed. In the morning we opened gifts as a little family for the first time. We got each other a couple of little gifts and Everett got a couple of little things too. Yes, I know he can't open a present on his own, I mainly did it for the photo op. The rest of our Christmas day is insane. Every year we threaten to stay home, but decide to make all the stops anyway.

At 10am we went to Aaron's parents to open gifts with them. At 12 pm we went to my dad's. At 3pm we went to Aaron's grandparents' for dinner and at 7pm we had to go back to my mom's house to open our gifts from her because she didn't have time to wrap them before we got there Christmas Eve. We finally got home by about 9pm. Whew! It's a good thing everyone lives close so it's a 15 min. or less drive between houses. Maybe that's the problem, if everyone lived farther away we'd have to do less.

One common theme with every household was that Christmas was toned waaaaaay down from years past. One or two simple gifts replaced the usual hoards of gifts and hours of unwrapping. The main focus of the day was spent just being with each other. I have to be completely honest - I did not miss the extravagant Christmas that I've been used to. Although we were running all day long to see everyone some how, we finally weren't stressed and just focused on family.

Ev got a jumper from his grandparents. He loved it! Imagine the fun he'll have when his feet actually touch the ground!Two days after Christmas Aaron's side of the family headed out to Desert Hot Springs to visit and have Christmas with Grandma Nell. As soon as we walked in the door we piled the babies on her lap so she could get as much time with them as possible. We don't get to see her very often, so time spent with her is extra special. She crocheted all of us girls super soft scarves-totally cool. Monday and Tuesday me and Ev went to work. Wednesday was New Year's Eve. My sister, Kelle came out to visit. We went to Victoria Gardens and walked around for a bit. Later on, we picked up Aaron and headed over to my mom's house to eat pizza and play games. We made it to 10:30pm when Everett started to lose it so we headed home. Ev and I were both in bed by 11pm. Aaron headed down to the neighbor's house to hang out by the fire pit and shoot illegal fire works. I vaguely remember hearing them, but was so tired I couldn't care less.

.

New Year's day I worked on taking down Christmas. Since our tree fell over and half of the ornaments fell off, it took a lot less time to undecorate the tree (another positive!) I got it taken down, but not put away. Who knows how long it will take me to get everything put away. You can't see the floor in my living room. It looks like Christmas threw up all over it.

.

Today we had 2 of our nephews over. We spent the day shooting Aaron's BB gun in our make-shift backyard shooting range and launching rockets at the park.Everett slept in the stroller for the most part.Someday he'll be big enough to play with the older boys...

What rocket launch would be complete without losing one in someone's backyard?We ate hot dogs and decorated brownies with frosting and sprinkles. We finished the day by watching E.T. and getting Carl's Jr. for dinner. It couldn't have been a more perfect day.