The Mistletoe Hunt

This year Bumpa took Luke on his first Mistletoe Hunt, a tradition from my own childhood. Nate and I tagged along, and we were lucky enough to find a giant bunch of mistletoe hanging on a tree so low we just reached up and grabbed it! It was just hanging there on the side of the road for the taking!

We went back to Bumpa's and starting putting ribbons on the mistletoe, and then we took it home for the sale. We set up our booth out front and went door to door.

When we took our money to Wescom to cash in (money Luke had saved over time, earned by the sale, and taken from his Bumpa's coin jar), Luke had over 70 dollars!!!

The plan was Luke would donate a portion, use a portion to buy Christmas gifts for our family, and then use the remainder to get himself a toy. The plan worked out perfectly!!

Nana took Luke shopping at the 99 Cent store, and he managed to buy something for the ENTIRE family, including his cousins, his aunts, etc. Luke and Nana came back and wrapped all the presents together, starting what I hope will be a new tradition. Luke also bought a stuffed animal for Toys for Tots, and later went to Target with me to pick himself out some Star Wars legos.

You cannot begin to imagine the look of pride on Luke's face when the family opened his gifts. It was obvious to all of us that he had learned about the joy of giving.

State Champs

Here we are with Daddy and his State Championship trophy!

We were thrilled to see Daddy's team pack the stands at the Home Depot Center in Carson as they faced Marin Catholic for the State title. We enjoyed watching the game with all our family and friends, and Luke was excited later to himself and his Dad on TV. Best of all, Daddy won, becoming the first team in the South Bay history to win a state title. We could not be prouder!

Tree Decorating

Two nights ago we went to Serra to meet Daddy after practice and pick out our Christmas tree. The Basketball team is having a tree fundraiser, and so we supported them, and got the most PERFECT-sized tree in the history of the world (this excites me because we have such a narrow space in which to fit the tree. That and I am easily excited by such things!) .

Last night we decorated our tree and it was a blast. Nate only broke one ornament; I'm sorry to say it was a cherished New Years 2000 ornament, but at least there were not more casualties. Yesterday, as Luke spent the afternoon looking at the ornaments and playing with them , asking questions about where certain ones came from and which ones were his, my own childhood memories came rushing back. As a grown up you forget that something as simple as your family's ornament collection is so magical for kids!

So far today, most of the ornaments have managed to stay on the tree. And the tree is still standing upright and has not been bowled over... I think this is a good omen for the season!

A Visit to Santa

Bumpa, the boys and I ate at Red Robin and then went for our sit on Santa's lap. Luke easily shared his requests, but Nate refused to get up there, even though he was bribed with lollipops. Now, he's certain that Santa and lollipops are synonymous.

Moms Club Christmas

The Moms Club has been a great experience this year for me and my boys. I found out about the club from Pam, the mom of one of Josh, a boy from Luke's soccer team. In February, the NW chapter of the Torrance Moms Club was started, and I hopped on board. Boy, was that a great decision.

The club is a support for stay at home moms, and is a way of networking with other at-home moms in your local area with children of a similar age. Every week there are age appropriate playdates at public and private places (parks, homes, aquariums, etc.), there's a monthly Mom's Night Out (we just enjoyed pole dancing! Boy my boys will cringe at this post when they're older!), a Book Club, and a monthly field trip (Pretend City, Irvine Railroad Pumpkin Patch, etc.).

I have already met some women that I cherish, and find myself surrounded by more great female friends than I have ever had in my life. And would you believe that all these women live within a mile or so of me, and their children either already go to school with Luke, or soon will? These are women who have all left great careers to be at home. They are married to supportive; hard working guys; they can talk about parenting without getting defensive; they know how to have a good time because they are not frazzled by a long day at work. Life has never been happier.

The boys now have a wide network of friends, and a number of mommies keeping on eye on them. We always have a variety of activities from which to choose.

On Monday we went to the Moms Club Christmas Party at Wendy's house, where Santa made an appearance. The pictures here are from this fabulous potluck event!

Metro Santa Train

Tonight we met Gramma Laurie, Grandpa Burt, Jenny and Shyla for dinner at Stuft pizza (the pizza crust here is HFI safe- and so delicious, too!) and then headed down to the San Clemente Metro station to check out the Holiday Train. The train is decorated in thousands of lights, and there is a stage show with all the major Christmas Characters.

Luke and Shyla watched the stage show....
Luke got to meet Rudolph after the show...

Nate, Burtie, and Gramma Laurie are thrilled by the train's arrival!

What a fantastic holiday celebration!

Imagination Movers

Today we went to the Imagination Movers concert at the Club Nokia and it was AWESOME! The theater was similar to a House of Blues, and the area in front of the stage had a giant carpet just for kids. Excited and unafraid, Luke found himself a spot right up front on the carpet, while Nate sat back (NOT by his own choice) with Scott and me.

The Movers are possibly the most likable people ever born. The concert was high energy and great fun- with little funny asides and jokes (think Van Halen's Panama, Eminem's Slim Shady) meant for the adults. Three of the four lost their homes in hurricane Katrina, and they have 11 kids between them. They all had noble professions before their foray into kid's music: teacher, architect, firefighter... but what was most special was watching their power to move kids ages 3-7 for well over an hour. Scott and I were awestruck watching these kids act like mini adults at a rock concert. Mouths agape, the kids swayed, danced, followed along to choreographed moves, and sang their hearts out. The Movers often came down into the crowd, serenading and offering a plethora of high fives. There was swag thrown from the stage and lots of opportunities for audience interaction. Luke walked away with a blow up basketball he caught during Smitty's "Playing Catch".

Can I be honest? It was one of my favorite concerts, ever. We all had a blast!

http://blog.scrooks.net/very-short-video-from-the-imagination-movers

The Latest Craze

LEGOS!

These are NOT the legos they had when I was a kid! Now there are Power Miners and Star Wars legos, Indian Jones one and cars to build... there's a even a free monthly magazine, "Club Lego" that has activities and different models of things to build. Today we built an airplane. Pictured is a car Luke created awhile back.

Pretend City

On our recent visit to Pretend City, Bumpa helped Nate navigate all things beach (mostly water!), while...

Luke played fireman and operated the dispatch center....

And then tried his hand at construction!

Pretend City was a huge success and we'll be back again soon!

Gwampa How

Last month our Grandpa Hal took all the grandsons to a special train show at the Botanic Gardens. Since I love the Gardens so much, I invited myself along, and so the boys and Hal and I took in the trains and explored the terrain. We fed the ducks, saw some turtles, and found our favorite old Indiana Jones trees. It was a lovely way to spend a Fall day, listening to Nate scream out, "Gwampa How!!" as we hiked the beautiful trails!