Christmas 2015

Recap of our 2015 holiday happenings. Traditions are in full effects around here...looking back at the Christmas 2014 and Christmas 2013 blog posts there is definitely a holiday trend happening. Enjoy!

Eva finally got to be involved in her school Christmas play this year! She practiced "we wish you a Merry Christmas" along with the "choreography" non-stop for weeks prior to the actual performance. She got sick the day of the play but powered through like a champ. She was so proud of herself!

The Polar Express and a chat with Santa

Christmas Eve Cookie Decorating

Eva's middle name is Noel and Maia's is Joy. We had professional pictures taken with their props several years ago and thought we should try again this year. Let's just say that we will leave the photography to the professionals in the future. But they still turned alright!

Christmas morning. Thank you to friends and family for spoiling us for another year. We have a couple of happy girls here with more than enough to keep them busy for quite a while!

 

For the second year in a row we had a white Christmas...and I do mean a VERY white Christmas. We got about 2 feet of snow over several days and it provided ample shoveling opportunities and lots of fun!

Happy New Year! We are looking forward to whatever 2016 has to offer!

Hasta...

Happy 4th Birthday Eva!

For the very first time, Eva had a real birthday party with her friends! A Pink Princess Birthday Party. Her favorite things are the color pink and princesses, hence the party theme. Eva's 1st birthday fell the day before Thanksgiving, her 2nd on Thanksgiving, her 3rd the day after Thanksgiving...you get the idea. Until now, she hasn't really grasped the idea of her birthday and since we have been traveling and spending Thanksgiving with family, her parties have gotten combined with all the other festivities. Not anymore... She is now officially aware of her birthday and wants her party!

With Eva being in preschool, she has made some new pals of her very own that she wanted to celebrate with. She also invited one boy. A seven year old boy... To be fair, he has been one of her best friends for several years and he is quite the gentleman. I mean, he must be to agree to come to a Pink Princess Party.

Eva was specific in her party requests. She wanted princess carriages and crowns. And everything pink. Thanks to Magan, this was a success. They girls made crowns and rings and magic mirrors and colored cardboard carriages. There was pink lemonade, strawberries and watermelon, pink pretzels, and a pink princess cookie "cake". Like any good party, there was an official dance off as well. Pink Princess Party success!

Happy Birthday Baby! I know you keep reminding me that you are no longer a baby...and I keep reminding you that you will always be my baby.

Hasta...

Partied Out - The 2015 Edition

Feel free to refer to the "Partied Out" 2013 and 2014 editions to see that we have clearly become predictable with our annual Thanksgiving celebration. Some might call a "tradition", which sounds much nicer.

Wednesday:

Once again, loaded up the whole "fam damily" for the trip over the mountains to Denver. The good news this year... As the girls have gotten older and more accustomed to this drive, the commute tends to be uneventful. Thank you, dear children, for being able to control your bladders and vomiting for an extended period of time.

This year's commute also included a (scheduled) visit to Magan's Doctor. Thank you, corporate scouting person, for building a Cabela's in the same parking lot as the doctor's office so the girls and I had something to do besides look at old magazines in the waiting room. Turns out Maia and Eva are Cabela's fans and this was an unexpected highlight of the trip!

Thursday:

Happy Thanksgiving! Happy Birthday to my sister Christa! This was the 3rd year in a row we were able to get my entire family together for a giant family photo.

Friday:

No trip to Denver is complete without a trip to Casa Bonita (or so Maia thinks). Our friends, The Blocks, were nice enough to join us on this adventure and then have us over to their house for "real" dinner (for those of you who know what I'm talking about!).

P.S. Happy Birthday to Magan's sister Stacy!

Saturday:

Happy Birthday Eva! Taking in some "theatre" while in the big city has become a standard post-Thanksgiving Saturday event. Eva chose "The Peanuts Movie" for her birthday celebration.

Magan gave Eva exactly what she wanted her for her birthday Saturday night, which was cookies and ice cream and cartoons on the couch, while I went out downtown with my sister for her birthday celebration. Apparently spending time at some downtown clubs has also become a Thanksgiving tradition of mine...thanks Christa!

Sunday:

Loaded up the ole family truckster and headed for home. With Maia in official school now, we have a schedule to keep, so no more adding extra vacation days to our leisurely trips. Times, they are changing.

We continue to be thankful for so many friends and so much family to celebrate these new "traditions" with.

Hasta...

GOOAAAALLL!

Maia had only ever participated in individual sports until this fall when she decided to join her kindergarten soccer team. And when I say she decided I mean that I signed her up, told her how much fun soccer would be (I should mention that I have never played soccer a day in my life), and informed her that she would be starting the following week. Maia has participated in several sports (swimming, bike riding, gymnastics, ice skating, dancing, skiing), but never on a team and I wanted to see how she would do. 

She took to soccer like a fish to water. More importantly, she was an awesome team member! She insisted on keeping score even though official score was not kept, not because of winning but because she was so excited every time anybody on her team scored a goal. She was super involved in the games and always cheering on her friends. And I should also note (because I am a proud Daddy) that Maia is pretty good at soccer herself! 

At the end of the season the whole team was rewarded with trophies and this has become Maia's prized possession. She takes it everywhere and will tell anybody who will listen about her games. Just as I hoped, being part of a team has really encouraged some good friendships outside of soccer. Maia is already driving us crazy asking when the next season starts...so I guess I better brush up on my soccer skills. 

Hasta...

Halloween 2015

Here it is... The annual installment of the the Garcia Family Halloween blog post (about a week late). Almost identical to last year's, this year also included a trip to the fall festival at Sutherland Farms, reverse trick-or-treating with Eva's class at school, and having fun with friends on Halloween night. 

We were invited to trick-or-treat this year with friends on what can only be described as a street right out of a made for TV movie. The street is blocked off at each end to traffic and the kids are free to run from house to house collecting candy while the adults stop to warm themselves by fire pits and collect adult beverages. It was awesome! And we continue to be thankful for such cool friends! 

In case it's not obvious, I was a bearded lady and Magan was my strong man. Maia wanted to be a witch. And Eva wanted to be a "princess fairy butterfly". Nailed it! 

Hasta...