Christmas Story

Warning: Long Post (oh, not like you've got anything else going on)

I hope everyone had a joyous Christmas! Can't believe it's over and another year is almost at an end. We had a super fabulous Christmas and feel truly blessed that that we were able to spend it w/ our loved ones.

Before xmas I had grand schemes of blogging in detail of our holiday adventure. But, that vision has been replaced by a more practical and realistic plan which is to blog about what I can remember at this moment. We had Christmas w/ Scott's family the weekend b/f and then went to Fort Smith for Christmas w/ my family. Instead of doing individual posts, I thought I share some of our favorite moments and images, in no particular order. We'll see how this goes. I'm sure memories will come pouring forth as I type.

** Crafts made by Nick in school **

Is this not the cutest?

**Pictures of Nick**
Nick had his picture taken a couple of weeks back by our family friend, Abraham. It was his first time photographing a toddler (a very uncooperative one I might add). I thought he did a great job. Here are a couple of our favorites.

** The Gift Game **
Scott's mom started this great tradition a few years back w/ me and Jill (Scott's sister) and expanded it to include Scott and Denis (Jill's husband) since they wanted in on the fun. We usually head out for a day of shopping when they arrive for last minute gifts. She gives us money b/f we hit the stores, but stipulates that it needs to be spent a certain way and/or in a set amount of time or we have to return the money. The first year Jill and I were required to spend all of our money w/in 1 hour on anything as long as it was for ourselves. Trust me, we had no problem with that challenge. This year our game was a bit different. She gave each couple money and told us we had to give the money away how ever we saw fit. Once we did that we would receive our gift. Of course we could have stuffed all of it in a kettle, but we wanted to be more thoughtful about it, as I'm sure that was her intention. It really was a wonderful idea, a great reminder that giving during Christmas is not restricted just to your family and friends.

** Towel Spa **
I got many fantastic gifts this year (but not one ProCaulk tool, does anyone read this blog?!). One of my favorites is from my incredibly thoughtful husband, Scott. It's the Towel Spa. It's a box that heats up your towel (or robe, gloves, etc...). Imagine stepping out of the shower on a frigid morning and wrapping yourself in a nice, warm towel as if right out of the dryer. Well, imagine no more! I actually put my robe in it. Heaven.

** Christmas Eve **
I think it's part family made tradition and part culture, but as long as I can remember, Christmas eve has always been the big night for my family. Way back when, my family would gather on Christmas eve and hang out, get in a good nap, go to midnight mass, come home and have a huge feast and then open presents. Seriously, we'd be up until 3 or 4 in the morning, at least. Fast forward 20 or so years. I can barely keep my eyes open during midnight mass (don't worry, I'm praying in my head) much less come home to a huge turkey dinner and presents. So we adjust, especially since we've got Nick and it's all about Nick according to my mom. This year we had dinner at a normal time, 6pm, at my Aunt Tam and Uncle Peter's house. Then we came home and let Nick open some of his presents. We saved some for the next day, just so he wouldn't overload on presents. Rough life, indeed. After Nick opened his loot, we made the the executive decision to open ours. Watching Nick open his presents whetted our appetite, so we thought what the heck. We wrapped up just in time for midnight mass. We all crashed when we got home and slept in the next morning. A bit nontraditional, but I wouldn't want it any other way.

** Reinforcing Stereotypes **
My parents love karaoke. My brother, Nghia, got them these fancy new wireless microphones to replace their old ones. Guess who else took a liking to it?

Is his hair not ridiculous?

That's it for now. I was expecting a floodgate (that word looks so weird. flood.) of memories, but there must be a bottleneck. I'll be back once I've had some coffee and clear the cobwebs from my head. I'll load a slideshow as soon as I get all the pictures loaded onto phanfare. Love to all.

Merry Christmas!!

No time for blogging. I'm normally finished w/ my xmas shopping by the 15th. Alas, there is still shopping to be done and presents to be wrapped. What was I thinking?!

I just wanted to take a quick moment to send warmest Christmas wishes to everyone. Have a safe and blessed holiday. We look forward to catching up w/ everyone in a few days and sharing our family fun.

Love,
The Robinsons

Boys Day Out

So that I could get some rest, Scott and Nick had a boys day out on Saturday. Scott attempted on his own to take Nick to get a haircut. It did not go well. He was probably exaggerating, but he said there were 4 women holding down and distracting Nick. You'd have thought they were poking him w/ scissors instead of cutting his hair the way he howled. After that fiasco they headed over to the mall. Since there wasn't a long line for Santa, I gave Scott my blessing to get his picture taken w/out me there. Scott said he was smiling and all excited until it was time to actually go up to Santa. He dug in his heels. Fortunately, after a bit of coaxing(aka a lollipop), he climbed up on Santa's lap. He actually smiled in this picture, unlike last year's. I'll have to find last year's and post it. It's pretty hilarious how tortured he looked. After a visit to the candy store and the toy store, they had lunch at PF Chang's. Scott said he was just perfect there. They ended their outing by coming home, climbing in bed and happily sharing their adventures (and some of their candy) with me. I love my boys.

So Crafty

Hi, hope everyone is well. Been under the weather and blogging was at the bottom of a list of things to catch up on. And with that, let's get started shall we?

I am by far the least crafty person around, but I'm trying since Nick loves them so much. A few days ago, we made ice cream cone xmas trees. Nick loved it. I suspect anything involving frosting would score pretty high w/ him. I got the idea for this craft here. Beth had it on her blog a few days back. It's a really great site, and one of these days I'll attempt to do 1% of what this woman does.

Scott Thoughts: Introduction

I've decided to start a series called Scott Thoughts. He often emails me pictures, articles and videos, many of which he thinks I should share w/ the world. They run the gamut, from insanely juvenile (the breakdancing Indian video) to thought provoking (editorials from George Will, one of his heroes btw). He's what they'd call a contradiction, his emails are at any rate. I guess I'll keep him though, as he tries his best to make me laugh throughout the day even while he's hard at work.

So, I'll share w/ you the more "funny" pieces as they come along. The thought provokers are usually political in nature, and I'll keep them to myself so as not to offend anyone. I'm sure enough of you will be offended by one of his "funnies" at some point.

I got this video from him the other day. He came home and excitedly asked me if I had seen it. His eyes were glowing, apparently, from the awesomeness of it. He said he laughed for a good half hour over this. I'll let you be the judge...

Scott thought everybody should love their library as much as this guy.

*the views expressed here do not necessarily reflect that of the blogger

The Last Few Days

My family came up for a visit over the weekend. Scott's company xmas party was on Saturday night and my parents were kind enough to come up and babysit. Nick always loves playing w/ my mom, dad and his uncles. Not only that, they watched him for most of the day Saturday so we could get some shopping done. The company party was nice, but it was down in Fayetteville. Of course. Last year when we live in Fayetteville, it was in Rogers. Not that it's that terrible a drive, but still after a long night, it's the last thing you'd want.

Sunday, we to Hanna's party. Afterwards, the three of us settle in for a nice long nap. Thing was shortly after, my brother and his friend, Abraham, stop by to take pictures of Nick. Feeling bad about making him wait, even though he insisted I let Nick sleep, I woke up Mr. Cranky Pants. Seriously, he was about as disagreeable as I've seen him in a while. At one point, Nick just scrunched up his face and yelled, "cheese, cheese, cheese, cheese, Cheeeeeeese!" Abe's working on those pictures right now, but I'm not feeling too hopeful about them. I do appreciate that Abraham went out of his way to take pictures for us. I'll post them when we get them back.

Yesterday, we figured out why Nick was being a poot, he's sick, duh. He's had congestion and coughing b/f, but he's usually pretty active. Not this time. I kept him home from MDO today. He was just pitiful. I'm hoping his fever breaks soon, as well as this weather. Feeling a little cooped up. That is all for now.

Here he is eating breakfast, not wanting to take pictures. Not like him at all.

Sweet As Sugar

Sweet little Hanna turns 3 today. Happy birthday, Hanna!

She had her birthday party yesterday and the theme was Candyland adventure. Hanna looked so adorable in her tutu (which Christina made, fabulous job). Let me tell you, Heidi did a phenomenal job with everything. I've always admired her domestic prowess, but she really outdid herself. Scott even said he could tell she put a lot of work into it. And Scott, like most men I'm sure, notices only the food.

The kids made a Xmas craft and then decorated a cookie "lollipop". I will say she is quite insane for letting the kids have free access to all that colored sugar. I could feel it crunching underneath my shoes. *cringe* Nicholas really enjoyed himself. He loved, loved the cake. I cannot stress this enough. While all the other kids took a few bites and took off running, Nick sat there and finished every last bite. He was methodical in his removal of the frosting and did not leave a crumb behind. As if the kids did not have enough sugar coursing through their veins, she filled up take out boxes w/ candy from her display as party favors. For those of you who know Scott, you'd know that he was in heaven. Check out her blog here.

Heidi, you did a fantastic job. Thanks for inviting us to celebrate Hanna's big day. Are you available in Feb?

One last note, there are several kids celebrating birthdays this month. I want to send warmest birthday wishes to Gabby, Lauren and Zach!

Oh Christmas Tree

Well, we finally got the Christmas tree up. Standard fare, no garland, no topper. Nick helped us out by "showing" us where he wanted to place his ornaments. In reality, we kinda guided him along about where to put it. He really didn't care though, he was more concerned about playing w/ the gift boxes. If Nick had real control of where to place the ornaments, he would have put them all in the exact same spot, which is what he tried to do on the real tree. They would've been stacked on top of one another. We'll give it another go next year, or maybe we will just get him his own tree to decorate. That way Scott can hang his hideous looking Star Wars ornaments.

We dusted off the advent calendar and hid a small treat behind each door. Nick got it after couple of nights. He immediately asks to open the next, but doesn't put up a fight when we tell him he has to wait. He knows exactly which number to open each night. It's pretty cute to watch.

Our mantle is relatively bare, still trying to figure that out. I did hang a little scroll Nick made in his MDO last year, along w/ a paper angel ornament on the tree. So so cute. My parents still hang ornaments and various crafts my brothers and I made when we were kids on their tree. Remember the clothespin reindeer everyone made in 3rd grade? They still have it, just missing an eye and an ear. I always marvel at the time that has past when I look at them. I hope to do the same thing and add all of Nick's stuff to our tree every year. This is one time I don't care if it doesn't match.

Thanksgiving - Final Leg

(Warning: Long Post, but the last one)
I told you it was an extravaganza. This was not so much a leg as it was a detour. Scott's granny Helen(Scott's dad's mom) was celebrating her 88th birthday. She is the one I refer to as the emailing granny. Saturday morning we headed out on a 3 hour trip to Synder, TX. We would be meeting other members of the Robinson family for a celebratory lunch at Mo Malee's steakhouse.

Granny looked quite spiffy in her green sweater and leather jacket. She is just so cute, I'm glad we got to see her! Also in attendance were Connie(seriously, one of the nicest people you will ever meet), her husband Wes and brother, Bo. We missed you, Becky, and hope you're feeling better. Most of the Key family made it, along w/ the Kirkpatrick family. Nick was quite anxious about seeing his cousins Krece and Zaran. To say Nick took a liking to Krece is an understatement. He followed him around everywhere and sometimes would just walk up to Krece and grin like a fool at him. Krece was a bit unsure of how to deal with suddenly being an idol, although I think he handled it quite well. Nick loved the whole thing as there were new people for him to show off his singing skills. He will perform on demand.

Lunch was a typical TX affair with lots of steaks, chicken fried steaks and gravy. My "side" dish was a 4lb sweet potato. It came w/ separate containers of brown sugar and marshmallows. I seriously should have taken a picture. After lunch we went to Granny's house for some cake and ice cream. Nick was front and center for the cake, of course. Connie, you did a fabulous job arranging everything.

We left shortly afterwards since we were heading home the next day. We made good time on Sunday and made it up here in the nick of time. I'm positive had we been 15mins later, we would've been stuck in traffic for at least a couple of hours. The bridges from Alma to Fayetteville were pretty slick and there were a ton of accidents.

That wraps it up. Whew!! It was a fantastic Thanksgiving and it really was wonderful seeing everyone. Just wanted to say to my family that we missed you, but can't wait to see you this weekend.

Thanksgiving - Second Leg

(Warning: Long Post)
After our stay with Granny Charlotte, we made our way to Scott's parents in Hereford, TX. This is usually an 8 hour drive (pre-Nick) from Fayetteville. It was around 3 hours from Glazier. Nick was ready to see his Magi and Grandad. As if he needs any more spoiling. The Key family was on hand to spend Thanksgiving with us. Nick had great fun w/ his cousins Emma and Zoie. Thanksgiving dinner this year was not only delicious, but stress free. Scott's mom did much of the cooking ahead of time and all we had to do was reheat. We had a really nice time catching up, eating and watching football with everyone. Here are a few highlights from our trip.

* Nick got to go out to the farm and ride his Grandad's tractor more than once. Scott said he shrieked with excitement when he saw the tractor rolling towards them and immediately started running towards it.

* Scott, his mom, and Darby braved the frigid temp and crush of people to get black Friday deals at Walmart. Crazy, I know! This was Scott's first time, and I imagine it will be his last. His mom wanted to get a Wii and he went for moral support. He's such a good son. I was slumbering away, nice and toasty in bed. They all got what they wanted and then some.

* All the ladies headed out shopping on Friday. Our annual trek is usually to Muleshoe and Clovis, NM. We don't hit any of the large retailers, just mom and pop shops, so they're not too crazy. I do okay w/ the shopping, but what I'm really there for is lunch at Leal's. It is the best Mexican food. We eat there every year, I request it anyway. I'll stop talking about it as it's making me hungry.

*Scott's mom actually had the nerve to tell Nick to stop doing something. You should have seen the look on his face. It was as if he smelled something bad. He came over to her and laid his head on her lap and announced how sad he was. How could she be so heartless? After this big production, his Magi spent the next several days trying to get back into his good graces w/ M&M and ice cream.

Thanksgiving - First Leg

We kicked off the first leg of the Robinson Thanksgiving Extravaganza with a stay in Glazier, TX on Tuesday. We stayed with Granny Charlotte (Scott's mom's mom). It's normally a 6 hour trip, but you have to tack on an hour or so when you've got a kid. We got off to a little later start than we wanted. We let Nick sleep in, thinking he might sleep until 7:30, maybe 8. He chose, of all days, to sleep until 9. He would never do this on the weekend. The extra sleep did pay off, as he was relatively pleasant during the trip. You know, if I was strapped in a comfy car seat, forced to watch all my fave dvds, and stuffed my face with sugary snacks, I wouldn't have much to complain about. Back in the day, I (one of 7 passengers) rode in the middle console of the '78 Oldsmobile, listening to an 8 track tape (there was only one, it came w/the car), on a ten hour car ride.

We were enthusiastically met by Granny, Aunt Kay and Jett, Kay's grandson. Jett, who is 7 and in the first grade, was just wonderful with Nicholas. We love that Nick got a chance to hang out with his cousin. It was very obvious Nick loved being around Jett, as he followed him around and copied all his actions.

We had a wonderful time catching up and watching Nick and Jett play. Much thanks to Granny Charlotte for putting us up for the night. We were happy we could be there to wish her a happy 90th birthday. I'm posting a few pictures here, but you can check out the rest of the our Thanksgiving pictures here.

Nick with his great aunt Kay
Can you tell he loves his cousin Jett?

Nick's great granny Charlotte, still a spitfire at 90

One of my favorite pictures