Yuletide Fun

We had the busiest weekend when we went home last weekend. Every day was filled with a fun Xmas event, and we got to spend time with both of our families. It was really nice, even though we were more tired than we’ve been in a year!

Christmastime is here!

Friday night we went to my parent’s Christmas party that they throw with their best friends. It’s definitely an adult party, but we dragged Michelle there anyway. It was crazy, but I had a fun night! I haven’t seen 80% of my friends/family friends since losing weight, so Michael and I got a lot of complements and acknowledgements about our weight loss (some were SO nice, some were very rude. Lol! Like saying we look great, and they’ve known us for years and didn’t know we could look so good-looking! Hahaha, thanks).

The next day we went to the Christmas Tree farm with my in-laws to cut down their tree. We’ve gone every year for a while now (5 years? I forget!) It was Michelle’s first time there outside of the womb (last year they closed early so she missed out), and she had so much fun! 

My little family

Auntie Rach, Nona and Gramps

My little family

Yearly Xmas photo

After pretending to be lumberjacks and drinking cider, we got ready for an Ugly Christmas Sweater party. It was my first time attending one, and it was fun to decorate our sweaters! I made Michael, Michelle, and myself matching sweater vests. Ha! It was also an adult party, but there was one other baby there for Michelle to play with for a while. 

Matchy matchy!

Michael's ladies - his mom, wife and daughter (can I just add that Michelle keepts yelling "NONA!" at this picture. Haha)

Caging the other little kid at the party. LoL!

Sunday we had breakfast with my sister and two nieces, then went back to my in-laws so they could decorate the tree. My hubby’s family all have special tree ornaments they like to hang (childhood ones, baby’s first xmas, and sentimental ones), so his parents like to have the kids decorate. We got home pretty late, and then got up and left for Y at 5 am! We hate that early morning drive, but what can ya do? It was worth it.

Cousins!

 

Relaxing with Daddy after he got home from work

SNOW!

I have always known something about myself. I am a mild weather kind of girl. Not too hot, not too cold, and I’m peachy. I’ve always told Michael I have no interest in staying anywhere it snows longer than a 1-2 day vacation. Fast forward to today, when I’m living at a house that’s covered in snow and ice…and I don’t hate it!

Michael warned me that it was going to snow, but I kept thinking it would just be a light sprinkling that wouldn’t stick. Boy was I wrong – the sky dumped 6 inches within hours and our house transformed into a freezing winter wonderland. 

Michelle loves it. Every time her eye catches the bright white landscape that is our backyard, she yells “SNOW!” which sounds more like ‘nnyo!” She loves watching the deer sleep in the snow in our yard, and danced in the falling snowflakes. She never cried when snow got in her Uggs, and laughed when I threw snow in the air above her head. 

Charlie actually liked the snow and ran like a madman all over the yard. He did start to whimper after about 45 minutes, but it was freezing and he doesn’t have snow boots ;-)

Michael’s been working in the snow, and his work truck is a rear wheel drive (the worst thing to drive in the snow), so he’s been driving my Subaru to work. Great for him - it’s the best car ever (Forester – with all-wheel drive), but not so great for us because we’ve been stranded during the day. It actually wasn’t too bad; I ended up online shopping and getting a ton of Xmas stuff out of the way. 

Today we got home from a weekend in the Bay Area to find the snow is melting. I’m sad to see it go, but happy that we’ll be able to safely drive around town without the threat of accident at every turn. I just wish we made a snowman when we had the chance!  

 

Los Cabos!

For the week of Thanksgiving, my little family joined my in-laws for a vacation in Los Cabos, Mexico. We spent the week swimming at beaches, shopping, and eating delicious food. 

Ready to go, Mom and Dad!

Welcome to paradise would have been more accurate ;-)

Michelle has flown before (over the summer on a quick mini-vacation to SoCal), so we weren’t too worried about how she’d be on the plane. Luckily for us, our 100% booked flight had an extra seat, and the woman in our row decided to be the coolest person ever, and give up her seat to Michelle. She offered, and we ended up getting three seats for the price of two! I really hope that nice lady had some positive karma go back to her :) 

Our private row! Lol

Nursing on the plane to pop those ears

Our hotel was in San Jose del Cabo, and it was very beautiful. We roasted marshmallows at the hotel’s fire pit, swam in the pool with a swim-up bar, and lounged in the hot tub. Michelle had so much fun in the water, and loved being able to play with her cousin Nichole. 

Michelle and Nichole sitting by the fire

Roasting mallows

Sitting by the pool - little cuties!

My sassy girl, posing on the beach at the hotel

We went to Chileno Beach a few times, and it was by far my favorite spot! The waves were high, but gentle enough to swim in, and there were SO many fish. Michelle’s Nona held her the whole time in the ocean, so Michael and I were able to play in the waves. It was awesome!

Swimming with Nona

Mama and Mish

Gorgeous!

Watching the waves

Move over Coppertone Baby! There's a new cutie in town!

 

On Thanksgiving day, we had a fish dinner that the men caught, and Michelle and Nichole wore matching dresses (a gift from Diann, Michelle’s Nona!). 

Michael, his uncle John, and dad (Gramps)

Festive girls!

All in all, we had a great time, and we are forever grateful for the generosity we experienced. Michael’s family likes to take care of each other :)

Kisses and cuddles from Nona and Grandpa

We had a whole day layover in Dallas Texas, so we thought we’d make a mini-vacation out of our home trip. Well, it was horrible and Texas left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to visit – it was dirty, ghetto, and frustrating in the town we were in. We tried to make a trip to downtown Dallas to shop, but we experienced a horrible cab ride and things kept preventing it. Boo. We had high hopes, but it was a bust. Thankfully we had such a fun time in Mexico! The Texas trip can fade into the ether. Lol