Christmas 2010

Sometimes Santa can't get around to all the houses fast enough. So he sends an elf with all the gifts. This was one of those years we got an elf. But heck, she was so cute and she brought so many presents that we could hardly complain!

This Christmas was better than last Christmas on quite a few accounts. To begin with, Mia slept through the night and woke up at a normal 6:30AM. She got dressed and went to church with the family. Although she is far too mobile and her attention is far too short. So she would not and could not sit still. I spent the better part of Christmas mass running around outside and hanging out in the bathroom lobby with her while she played with the other wild children. She was exhausted when we got home, but a nap, she did not take. We still left her in the crib to rest for about an hour before we got her out for the evening festivities.

The family quickly organized for family photos before Mia went into complete meltdown. Not too bad (even though I never got a chance to freshen my lipstick!)

I need to mention these were the pics BEFORE drinks officially started.

Stephanie had to run to church with her family. I guess Tommy didn't want to scoot too close to Adam.

After pictures, we did presents for Mia and Megan. Mia spent dinner time playing with all her new toys. What a blessing THAT was!

And finally, the best part about Christmas this year was that she again, slept through the night.

Merry Christmas! We hope that yours was as blessed as ours.

Christmas. Part III (December 25, 2008)

We finally make it to Houston. Very shortly after we arrive, Christmas commences, with family, family, and more family arriving. The only thing that is in more abundance than family is FOOD and gifts. Even though we were down to just one dish per family and secret Santa's, I think some of us just couldn't help ourselves =)

Tommy & Stephanie got my parents a Wii Fit for Christmas. What a great invention and idea! We immediately changed into our stretchy post-dinner pants and proceeded to each step on the board for our verdict. Yup. Blup-blup-blups later, we all had round little Mii's rolling around. You have to love that game. It's so blantanly honest... even "ouch"ing when you step on. Well, at least we know what we need to do in 2009!

So even though it's been really busy, I've been really good about keeping up with my training through the holidays. I'm now up to 9-10 miles on my long runs. Now if I can manage to tack on another 5K after that, then I've got me a half marathon!

Christmas. Part II (December 22, 2008)

Generally, our Christmas Part II is spent at the Tran household in Clear Lake. This year, due to wedding plans, Part II was celebrated at the Neubauer (senior) house.

What a great time. It started out a bit frigid when we first got there. But Mark & his dad still managed to squeeze in some golf while Stoli & I got a nice little jog in. I have to say though... those hills of Tahitian Village are a BEAR! On top of that, there aren't any sidewalks so every 5 minutes we were jumping into the ditch to avoid being hit by cars travelling far too fast.

Here's us taking over the sofa

On Christmas Eve, Mark & I went to mass and when we returned, we started warming up our meal just as the Lovelace's arrived. Chaos ensued as Eva escaped within 2 minutes of hopping out of the car. LOL. Mark and Cade both dove a few times to no avail. I was able to finally corral Eva by running around in the yard and telling Eva that she couldn't catch me. Then I raced her into that house. Whew. Disaster averted.

Eva the Diva in her new pearls

We had a great 'ol time opening presents. Jenni & Cade brought us all goodies from France. They were such a treat. Stoli & Eva got spoiled as usual.

Mark with all his goodies =)

Christmas. Part I (December 13, 2008)

The first part of our annual Christmas traditions is the part that we actually throw at our own home.

This year's was the 3rd annual and probably the best, in my opinion. The first year, we were barely in our home and not really sure what we were doing. The second year, it was way over the top and we ended up with close to 75 people in our home! This year, we had around 50-60, the food was simple, but on point and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves including us... the hosts.

Decked out for the holidays... and the party! Some of the goodies that I pulled together! (yes, that's a pie bird in there)

Now that we seem to have this down to a science, I guess I won't shoot Mark when he insists that we carry on this tradition. At the end of the day, I love it too.

Some of the old Riata crew:

Neighbors & friends: