A Christmas Greeting from the Garcia Brothers

Roman and Isaac love to sing. This was one of the songs that they sang in Sacrament meeting the Sunday before Christmas. Unfortunately, Isaac was late getting on the stage, so he didn't get his spot by his friends. He cried behind the taller kids for the first song, and then was pulled off for the second. They were both more than happy to share their song with me the next day.

Picture a stable in Judea...

A Visit from Grammy Great

My grandmother is the glue that sticks our family together. My childhood is full of memories of the families converging on grandma's house for Christmas parties with Santa and Christmas brunch. Not to mention the other year round activities that brought us together. Since she moved to Cedar City, our family gatherings have been few and far between.

The weekend before Christmas, Grandma came out with Aunt Leslie. My mom hosted a potluck at her house, complete with BBQ. I was quite opposed to BBQ in December, but then it turned
out to be mid 70s that weekend!!

The cousins were all there, except a few wives. The kiddos are all getting so big and had so much fun together. Aaron and Teegan are just 4 days apart. They were both a little clingy that day, but once the toys came out, they were much more social and wanted to trade around.

I love family time and wish we could do it more, without needing a holiday or special occasion. But I'll take what I can get.

The Santa House

How do I even describe this place?!? It's in Poway, in one of the custom home neighborhoods. This guy, JH, is like a big kid with an even bigger allowance. Ever year he decorates his house and hires a Santa, and people are welcome to come for free. The kids get a toy, and there are cookies and hot chocolate.

JH is in my grandparents ward, where we lived when we were first married. The year that I was pregnant with Roman, they had the ward party at his house, I don't think there was a Santa though. We walked around and saw the
decorations. This was the first year that we have gone since we have had the kids though. And it was even wilder than I had remembered!! Actually, I hear he does something new every year!!

You walk up to the driveway... because of course there is no parking near by, and there are huge lit archways, and right away you get to wait in line for Santa. Mr. and Mrs. Clause have their own little gazebo with a full size sleigh and garlands and what not. The boys made their requests and we took a few pics. Mrs. Clause gave them each a
candy cane, and then it was time to pick their toys. Buckets of toys lined the back of the gazebo for the kids to pick from.

JH has been doing this for a while, and a few years ago, decided that he needed more room. He actually built an addition onto his garage, just for the purpose of displaying his Christmas toys. So that was where we headed first. Little snow covered houses, animated Mickeys and friends, a Christmas tree and waist high reindeer. Amongst others.

Then you get to go into their actual house, just the entry way. More toys and decorations. One full room of oversized stuffed animals, nearly life sized.

Outside he has a series of little play houses that are decorated and themed. One is a chapel with little cabbage patch kids sitting on the pews watching the My Size Barbie marry Ken. Another is Santa's toy testing area, with a train going around and other cutting edge toys. Then there was a soda fountain where Santa went to relax.

Outside there was hot chocolate and cookies, and more decorations. Giant ornaments hanging from the trellis, lights everywhere, and a carousel with gears and filled with toys.

The baby enjoyed his very first candy cane while the boys snacked on cookies and shared a hot chocolate.

When we lived in my grandparents ward, we had so many people take us under their wing. One of those families lives right across the street from the Santa house. The sweetest, kindest people you could ever hope to meet. We stopped by, unannounced, at 8 pm to say hi. They had never met Isaac or Aaron, and last saw Roman when he was a baby. They welcomed us in and we visited for half an hour. Seeing them was definitely the high light of my night, and perhaps the whole season. They are an amazing example of love and charity and I hope someday I can express to them just how much they mean to me.

Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

Ben was left to pick the tree himself this year. We started out all together. Had a lovely dinner at Olive Garden and then headed to Home Depot. We were 2 trees in, when the boys BOTH decided they had to go to the bathroom. So I found a cart, loaded all 3 kids and raced to the bathrooms in the back of HD. I learned some valuable info that night... you can fit a whole cart in the handicapped stall of the Carmel Mt HD. As we were racing off, I had told Ben to feel free to pick the tree without us. So he did. And he found the tallest, most beautiful tree they had. I was quite impressed.

By time we got home that night, it was time for bed. So we had plans to decorate the following night. We tried to let the boys do it themselves, without worrying too much about how it would look. At first they were hanging them right next to each other, Roman had a small clump and then a foot away, Isaac had a cluster of ornaments. With a little instruction they got pretty good at spacing them out though.

The boys had fun inspecting each ornament that they took out and started laying claim to them. Where did they learn that one?!?

I tried to get a picture of the baby reaching for an ornament, but instead I got it of him after he had grabbed it... just before he threw it. Thank goodness for shatter proof plastic bulbs :)

Ward Christmas Party

Have I mentioned that we have the BEST ward ever?? Well, we do. Anyway.

This year our Stake dissolved the Spanish Branch, and so we got at least 6 new Spanish speaking families. I think it was in their honor, we had Mexican food and pinatas at our Christmas party!

One of the sisters had made tamales, and there was rice and beans and carne asada with all the fixings. It was yum.

Santa Clause was played by the 2nd counselor in the Bishopric. Every year Isaac asks Santa for a candy cane, and he is never disappointed!! Roman is a little more thoughtful in his request. This year he remembered that he had already asked Dana for a Spiderman Monster Truck... so he had to think of something new to ask Santa. I think he asked for a scooter.

Last year the baby was a nightmare the whole day of the Christmas party. He hadn't slept, wouldn't let me put him down, and had cried alllll day. He finally fell asleep on the way to the church, so I had left him in the stroller while the other boys got to see Santa. Yes, he was so naughty that he didn't even get to see Santa. So I thought this year he would be a little more excited about getting to sit on Santa's lap. Nope. He was terrified of the old guy. Or maybe it was that he didn't feel too secure when we plopped him halfway on each of his brothers' laps. It did look a little precarious, I might have been calling for help had I been put in that situation :)

Next year we will try again for 3 smiling little boys on Santa's lap. Will he be able to handle that?!?

Thanksgiving

The Garcia side of the family lives in AZ. They started out here, and one by one moved away. For it being only 6 hours away, we just don't see them often enough. I refuse to go out there in the heat of the summer, and well, in AZ, that is 80% of the year!

This year we went out for Thanksgiving and had a great time. The boys are at the age, and have just recently gotten there, where they remember their cousins, even when they only see them twice a year. They picked up where they left off and were wild animals together for 4 days
straight.

Adriana is the only girl on the Garcia side, and is an absolute doll! She has so much personality and is just so different from the boys, although she does make sure that she is not forgotten in their games.

The first night that we were there (we were fortunate enough to stay with Adrian and Nichole, thanks again!!!) we put all 4 kids in the same room. Sighris, Adriana, Roman and Isaac. We had tried putting all the boys together when they
were last at our house, and it had worked well. They had gone right to sleep. Either we had done a better job wearing them out last time, or Adriana was the little wild card that kept them all up until after TEN!!! (We all tend to lean more to the later) Adrianna finally passed out in the hall way sometime before eleven!

Thanksgiving was delicious!! Julie and Clarissa must have spent the whole week cooking. We had the traditional turkey, stuffing, potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole... PLUS we had Puerto Rican pasteles. Yum. I was so
stuffed but wanted to keep eating!!!

After dinner it was of course time to visit... AKA dog pile. Who am I kidding?? This happened the whole night :) The AZ Garcias are a little wilder than our boys... but they had a blast cheering for their cousins. Isaac tried to jump in a few times, we saved him before he took a kick to the head or got rolled on. A few more years, and he'll be able to get in the mix better.

It was a really great visit, and I enjoyed watching the boys with their cousins. The only problem
was keeping the baby out of their way. Hopefully next year he'll be able to join in a little more.

Oh, we also went to one of the least exciting parades ever in Tempe. There just wasn't a lot of noise and excitement. And we got there as it was starting so there was no where to sit. We had to hold all the kids, and the baby was a fuss ball (he had been MISERABLE the whole day). That was were we took that quick group pic.

A New Christmas Tradition

Every year growing up, we would get piles of presents. The tree was buried in them, they would take up the whole room. Even if my parents were broke, they would scrape up the money to get us dollar items or make us things. I loved it. And I love watching my boys open presents, and I imagine the joy that will fill their eyes as I shop and hide things in the closets.

This year I decided that the kids don't need any more stuff. And we all definitely need a reminder of what the season is really about.

The hardest part, is how much I enjoy watching them open the presents and crawling through a living room strewn with wrapping paper to find more! So I knew we would need to replace that joy with something even better.

This year we are going to give a present to Jesus, as we remember his birth this Christmas. We have a box that is wrapped nicely, and every time some one does something nice for any one else, we will write it down and put it in the box. Then on Christmas morning, we will read the nice things that have been done and talk about how happy this makes Jesus.

We unveiled the plan last night, after decorating for Christmas and reading the story of Jesus' birth. The boys had seen the "present" earlier in the day, and were very excited when I pulled it down off the entertainment center to explain what it was for. Roman seemed on board, and then Isaac asked how we were going to give the gift to Jesus. Ben told him that if he had been listening, he would know. So Isaac started thinking very hard...

"Put it up in the sky?"... "No".

"Just wait until we die?"

There we had to laugh. Very logical guesses actually, we were impressed.

It took another minute, and I'm not sure that he truly got it, but we tried to explain that when ever we do good things for others, Jesus knows and it makes him happy.



In case you are worried about my poor neglected children... they are getting scooters from mom and dad and a stocking from Santa. Just not the gobs of presents that have resulted in a toy room too full to play in!!

Birch Aquarium

Ben had the day off, and Roman got out of school at noon, so the whole family took a trip to the aquarium last Friday. I love that Ben has every other Friday off, because I hate doing things when every one else is! We almost had the place to our selves!

They had a lovely exhibit about global warming, or was it cooling? Some how we tiny little humans have completely altered the universe, and whether the Earth is warming or cooling, it is all our fault. Has nothing to do with natural cycles... or that giant ball of fire that we orbit around. (Don't get me wrong, we should all do our part, and I recycle and try to use more natural solutions when available... but I think global warming paranoia is way out of control)

Then we went to the Sea Horse exhibit. I liked that, Sea Horses are pretty cool. And did you know that the males are the ones that get pregnant and give birth?!?!? They had a video of the Sea Horse giving birth, horrible contractions and all. Some other lady sat down next to me to watch it. We were all too pleased with the male Sea Horses discomfort and pure exhaustion by the end of it!

The boys liked the playing area in the Sea Horse exhibit. It had different colored corals and you were supposed to hide the different colored puppets in the coral that would protect and camoflage them best. The baby liked the ceiling to floor mirror the best :)

They also have a tidepool outside, and we were there for feeding time! Giant disgusting lobsters came out of hiding to snatch pieces of fish floating down from the sky. The way that the guy was flinging them around, I was terrified that he was going to hit an innocent bystander with fish guts. Fortunately, I think it all made it into the tidepool.

After the aquarium, we headed to Extreme Pizza in LaJolla. (Thanks again, Amanda, for letting me barge in and use your printer!!!). By then the baby had about had it. He was tired of being cooped up and just wanted to crawl around, preferably in the tiny not-so-sturdy table. I scarfed down my pizza and then took the screeching baby outside.

All in all it was a good day. I think we'll try it again in 3 more years or so :P

The First Thanksgiving

At RHE the Kinder- gartners learn about the pilgrims coming to American in the Mayflower in search of religious freedom.

So the last day before Thanksgiving break, they have a feast. The Kindergartners are the pilgrims and the first graders are the indians. (I guess that is why they are still called "Indians" to this day... because that's what we teach our kids from first grade on...)

I got to go and watch the performance and the chaos :P It was pretty cute, and they all had a good time, feasting on popcorn balls, cookies, and

juice.

Everyone Say "Brave Mommies"!!

Roman has half days at school all this week, parent/ teacher conferences. I decided I wanted to do some fun things in the afternoons, since he has missed quite a few fun outtings already this school year. Today we went to the WAP with our friends the Prices.

I had Jillian today, so I had 4 kids. Then Amber showed up with an extra kid, so she also had 4 kids. 2 mommies and EIGHT kids. I can't believe we survived! We wandered through every possible non-animal exihibit for the first hour. First a discovery center where they colored and played with toys (but were contained!!) Then fake animal dens, nests, and shells.

Finally we wandered our way down to the tram. That was interesting. The babies wanted to climb and crawl all over, but all in all, they were all pretty good. Not sure if between Aaron crying, the boys all yelling and a certain "Snood" kicking the seats incesantly, if the people around us would agree though :)

I took the picture before we left on the tram ride, and instead of "cheese", they all said "brave mommies" :) And that we were!

Playing with My Camera

Uh oh. They don't look so good on Blogger

We had a Joy School Mom Meeting last week at the park. I took the boys early to get a few shots with my camera in aperature mode. Haven't worked up to Manual yet. Heck, haven't even read the manual. My friend told me to just go out and play with it, so that is what I did.

I think I got a few good ones. The one of the baby on the slide was with the sport setting, he was moving way too much. He was trying to climb up the slide, up on all fours a few times, it was adorable.

Just One of the Boys

Aaron is getting so big. He likes to follow his brothers every where. He laughs when they laugh and even tries to get in on the occassional wrestling match. A few weeks ago we went to the park, and little Aaron followed his brothers from one end to the other, crawling of course.

Last week he climbed up on our step stool to get to the boys Lego Town.... which was up high to keep it away from him :P

There's just no stopping him. He's getting to be a big boy, or at least has the attitude anyway!

Book Ends

So yesterday was a great day, with the Lion King being the central event. But my day also started and ended very cool. I've had a lot of great days lately. Or did I finally change my rotten attitude?? Whichever it is, I hope it continues!!

Dana and I woke up "early", by Saturday standards, and went for a trail run. There is an insane trail straight up Black Mountain, and the last few times I have tried, I haven't been able to make it. I've had to walk. So yesterday I was finally able to make it to the top. It was hard, but I did it! And it felt great.

Then we went to this great clothing swap/ giveaway that a few of the wards in our stake had organized. Scripps Ranch is pretty well-to-do, and they were part of it, so I was hoping for a few good freebies. I was NOT disappointed! Dana and I ended up with a garbage bag each! Their were so many good clothes, and it was very well put together. I got a lot of sweaters and a sweet pair of Calvin Klein jeans! Dana picked out that sweet 80s jacket for Isaac, and he loves it! He calls it his "Rainbow Jacket" and packed it in a suitcase to take to the play. He had to leave it in the car, but it is a good thing he had it, because it was cold when we went out to dinner :)

Then we went to the Lion King, which rocked. Poor dad has not been feeling well, so he went home afterwards, but the rest of us went out to dinner.

Dana has been dying to go to Romano's Macaroni Grill... I've only been there once, and it didn't do too much for me, but I figured the boys would find something to eat there, so that was where we went. Dana and Josh left our house before we did, so when we got to the restaurant and they weren't there, but the rest of Esco was.... I probably had flames coming out my ears. We tried to call them, and they didn't answer. But then I decided to stop being irritated and see if they had signed in. Sure enough, they had called in reservations for 615. Phew. The host came to get us just a minute later.

Service started slow, but then got better. The bread is the best part. The food was comparable to Olive Garden, but you don't get salad with it. Well, the prices are comparable, the food might be a tad better.... but my mind works better in prices :P

The boys were good, the baby was happy to be with his family again (my cousin Kristin watched him while we went to the play). It was just nice to spend the day together. It was a long day, as evidenced by the boys practically falling asleep at the table once they were done eating.

I really do love and appreciate my family. I hope they know that, because they also tend to be the brunt of my grumpiness on my bad days.

The Lion King

The Lion King Broadway show came to San Diego this month. My mom really wanted to go and

couldn't get my dad on board, so invited the rest of us. Actually, dad did go too.

I was worried that the boys wouldn't like it, so I prepped them the whole week before. We watched the movie and talked about how excited we were to go. They like doing anything with grandma and grandpa anyway. And they have seen a few little youth theater performances, so they're relatively "cultured" (say that with a red neck kinda twang in it).

Again, my pictures are in backwards order, I hate that. So the last is the first and the first is the last.

We all crammed into the mini van to save on gas and

parking. I couldn't resist a pic of everyone crammed in like sardines. Anything to save a buck.

We found a parking lot that cost $10 flat rate, but that was the same price as the venue, so we thought if we were going to pay $10, we might as well not have to walk. So the attendant could tell we were cheap, and directed us to a lot across the street that was only $5. Score!

We walked to the Civic Theater and headed inside to rent binoculars and wait for them

to open the door. My mom was able to get a Saturday matinee.... but only the balcony seats were available. So up FOUR flights of stairs we marched. Then, once they opened the doors and we were able to get seated... we had to climb even higher! We were in the 2nd row from the top. Ben and I have spent many a show in the very top row, so these were "good seats" to us :)

The show was great. Ben and I had seen it in LA many many years ago. I almost want to say the show was brand new. The stage in LA was bigger, which only matters really in the opening, with all the big animals gathering around pride rock.

I love the way the costumes are made to move like the animals, the cheetah is my favorite. And I think I counted at

least 4 differnt hyena costumes. It was very cool. Rafiki was a native of Africa, so she did some improving talking with clicks, it was crazy. The boys said the monkey was loud.

The boys enjoyed the show, but they especially liked getting treats from the snack bar during intermission! They were so cute looking through their binoculars. And Isaac talked the whole time, shocking, I know. My favorite was when the hyenas and the lionesses were around Mufasa's body after he had died, and I hear Isaac... from 4 seats away : "Why aren't they

eating him?" Nice.

So we got out of the theater without any souveniers, it was a close call. But we also didn't get any pictures in front of the posters for the Lion King. Josh started saying that we should just photo shop us in front of the pictures from the paly bill. Then someone remembered the giant trailer parked in our parking lot. So that is where we took our picture. Never mind the reflective stickers :P

Thanks mom and dad for a fun day. We love doing things with the family.... just wish the other half would come back to CA to join in on the fun.

** I'm just noticing that Isaac's carseat isn't buckled... don't worry, we were in the driveway, and he was buckled before we hit the road. Thanks for any concerns :) **