Nathan:: Newest Obsession

Two months ago Nathan was into Origami- He wanted to fold and create with any paper he could get his hands on. Currently he is all about Transformers. Do you see a theme here? His interests are all related to building, transforming and creating. Today was a good example of that. Jason was playing with Play doh, so Nathan joined him- what did he make?

 Optimus Prime of course!!

 The toy of the hour- Construct Bots 

The pieces are separate and you build the transformer-cool!!

 3 in 1 Bumblebee transformer

Construct Bots- taken apart & ready to transform into one large transformer- Deceptacon

Christmas 2013:: Family Reunion

After a lovely morning with breakfast and gifts at Grandma Mary's house, we headed down south to reunite with family (Dan's side) we haven't seen in awhile. It was a gorgeous day- sunshine and a bit of wind (welcome to a So Cal Christmas). Debbie and Al Finocchio hosted the gang and put out quite a spread. Debbie's parents and brother were there (Warner, Judy and Sean) as well as Al's folks (Pat & Al). As for our crew- there was Mary, Steve, Dave & Sandy (in from Portland) and then the Crazy Crouts (Dan, Mel, Nathan & Jason). The big surprise today (especially for Grandma Mary) was that Ryan came with his girlfriend Jade. They drove out from Arizona the day before (seeing his mom) and managed to make it down to be with our family today. The food was great, but it was the conversations and connections that were the most special of all. What a blessed Christmas this was!!

 Nate & Uncle Steve

 The boys and Grandma

 Dan, Dave & Sandy

 Jade & Ryan

 Mary and ALL her boys 

(3 sons and 3 grandsons)

 The McIntire Group (minus Katie)

 Deb & Al- great hosts!

 Sandy & Dave

 Melissa & Dan

 The Crazy Crouts (completed)

Cousins- Mary & Warner

Christmas 2013:: Melissa's Family

Christmas Eve- what a wonderful day. The day before we celebrate the Lord's birth and I am surrounded by my family with good health. I have everything I could ever want or need!!

To add frosting to the cake- we spent the afternoon on Balboa Island with my side of the family. We had a great turn out-The Crouts, Brestels, Slevcoves, Reinharts and Kunihiro's were present (we missed uncle Mike this year). There was great food (thanks Mom for the meal), a fun white elephant game (thanks Aunt Chris) and a generous giving of gifts. I have had many Christmas celebrations with this crew- but I have to say that this was one of the best years ever. Now that the kids are older, everyone can enjoy each other and just be relaxed. I sure do love my family and am glad we could spend this quality time together!

 My little elves have grown!

 Mom and her girls

 Aunt Missy & Kalika

 Dan & Desi (sorry for the blur)

 Cousins- Jason & Kalika

Cousins- Nathan & Mike

 Uncle Curt carving the bird

 Nathan & his aunties- Chris & Sherry

 White Elephant gifts galore

Uncle Curt and the boys!!

Christmas 2013:: A time for Family

As we near Christmas, we get to enjoy spending time with family and friends whom we may not see through out the year. Today we had the pleasure of being with Dan's dad and his wife. Grandpa Don and Nana Marilyn are visiting from Northern California- what a treat!! We spent the day hanging out and just being together and then went out for a wonderful dinner at Koki's Teppan Grille. The surprise of the day was being joined by Marilyn's daughter, Meg, and her son, Malcom. I have heard about Meg for over 10 years and had never met her face to face. When I saw her, it was like I have always known her-we hit it off right away (I knew we would). The boys played with Mal and then they joined us for dinner.

 Say Cheese 

(Hey Mal, look over here)

 Nanna & Grandpa and the boys

 A whole bunch of Crouts!!

The whole gang in one shot!!

Birthday Party for Jesus

Our friends, The Hall Family, invited us over for their annual Birthday Party for Jesus. There were games, crafts, snacks and fun- but the best part was when the kids gathered around and listened to the story of Jesus' birth (read by Pastor Hall). As you will see below, they also got to participate. The day before we were given a bag of white model magic. Each child was assigned one or two characters from the story and had to make them. As the story was read aloud, the children took their character and set it on the table (where the stable was). We were tasked to make baby in manger, donkey, Angel of the Lord and a farm animal. The boys did two and I did too- I was quite impressed. 

 Didn't you know that chocolate cake is Jesus' favorite?

 Waiting for the story to begin

 All the kids around their creations!

 Look at how precious these turned out! It was really special

to hear the story and be a part of it (check out our angel on top of the stable)

Balboa Boat Parade 2013

Tonight we enjoyed our annual trek to Balboa Island to enjoy the boat parade (along with thousands of other fools). Thankfully, Grammy lives on the island and can feed us, save us a parking spot and warm us up before we head out. It was fun to have Grandma Mary with us too!!

 The boys and their grandmas

 My sweet boys

 Most lights used on the island!! It's a crowd pleaser!

Cutest couple on the island!!

The coolest boat on the water- a dragon!!

My funny boys

This morning I took Dan to work early and when I got home- this is what I found. I actually heard them before seeing what they were doing. Outside the door it sounded like they were talking (I thought Nate was on the top bunk and Jason on the bottom), but upon entering I saw them snuggled in the same bed. They were tickling each other, laughing and just being goofy- so precious!! Yes, they argue- but lately there has been lots of brotherly love between them. I'm sure it's a phase, but I will take it when it's here!

Gingerbread House Decorating 2013

Let the fun begin!! We all gathered at our home this year to decorate our Gingerbread houses. Now that we have been doing it so long (started in 2001), everyone takes it very seriously. There is some pretty heavy competition with some of our group and its funny to see it escalate year to year.

 Crowd shot

 Gracie & Grammy

 Gidget & Sherry

Chris & Kalika

 

Nathan & Ryan

 Melissa & Jason

 Gidget's creative snowman

 Kalika's whimsical house (below too)

 Chris' beauty with added beads (so clever)

 All the finished houses….

….and the people behind them!

The older cousins!!