It's been a long time......

It has been far too long since I have sat down and blogged. Things have been very busy for me over the past few months, just as I am sure they have been for everyone else. We had a great Holiday season. This was the first year we were able to join my family at my brothers house for Thanksgiving. It was a very nice day. I especially love when my nieces and nephews are all together. I am very lucky and feel that I do have the best nieces and nephews ever!

Prior to Thanksgiving Alissa was pledging a sorority. She was very busy with this process. I was recruited to help them out with their bake sale and their big dinner that they had to put on. It was a lot of fun getting to know all of her sisters. They are a great group of girls. After 71 days of hard work and dedication I am happy to say that they all crossed and are now full fledged Sigma Omega Phi.

Chris and I had been planning a trip to Disneyland for most of 2010. We had hoped that our plans would work out and we would be able to surprise my parents with a trip. They have always done so much for us and they were married for 50 years in September. We planned and saved and saved some more. Each month we were diligent about setting enough aside to be able to surprise them. We did just that. They were very excited to be going to Disneyland. We had them fly down and we got to the hotel first. Chris and Tiffany went to pick them up at the airport. We waited to see them arrive. They thought we were going to be staying at The Disneyland Hotel but we surprised them by staying at The Grand Californian! This is some place that both my parents as well as us have wanted to stay. They were speechless when they realized where we were staying.

The staff at the hotel presented them with balloons and Happy 50th Anniversary badges. They wore them everywhere during our stay.

We had the most awesome trip! The time flew by though. It was so nice being at Disneyland during the holiday season. My two favorite things, Disneyland and the holidays, I was in heaven to say the least.

When we returned home Holly was in full Nutcracker mode. She auditioned for the production and was awarded the part of a young angel. She had the best time. Her part took place directly after the intermission. The curtain rose and the audience saw a fog filled stage with these young angels dancing in the clouds. It was something that she will never forget.

After our traditional Childrens Mass on Christmas Eve we went to our friends house for a holiday party. This was so nice. We have been going to their house for the past several years. It is so much fun. Santa made a stop before he got too busy.

Christmas morning was so much fun. Holly got an American Girl doll from Santa. She had been hoping for one of these dolls for a long time. Tiffany and Alissa were happy too. Our morning was topped off with a great breakfast.

It was really relaxing just enjoying each other during the morning. Everyone was very happy. The funny thing is that Holly actually slept in that morning until 7:20. That is a record for her on Christmas morning.

We went to my parents for Christmas dinner. We got to see everyone. The kids enjoyed playing with each other so much. Holly, Olivia and Faith all got American Girl dolls for Christmas so they were busy playing with them. Maddie was just following along and playing with the girls. Jack and Chase hung out together. It was a very nice day and evening.

Before we knew it New Years Eve was here. We were off to Grandmas house for her annual New Years party. It is always nice to see all of Grandma and Grandpas friends. Holly enjoys helping Grandma out. She loves to pass out all of the hats, beads and noisemakers. She really loves to stay up late too. She was up until 2:00 am this year. She sweeps and mops up all the debris frrom the poppers . This amuses her somehow.

Happy New Year my sweet little girl! She was nice and snuggly in her new bathrobe. She loved her red New Years crown too.

Last week we were off to see the Harlem Globetrotters. This was something we had been wanting to see and they were performing close to our home.

Holly was so excited. She got a basketball and after the game we walked around and she got autographs from some of the Globetroters. So to sum it all up we have been through a whirlwind of activity the last couple months but our memories are great and will last a long time.