2013! happy new year!

Wow, what a fun and joyous Christmas and New Years and Anniversary celebrations we had!
The fun all began way back about mid December. We got our tree and had a great time decorating that. It took all three kids to get the angel on top, then Nell and Zaven slept beside the tree. Then Milla and Poppy came, we Started getting ready.
I had a group of girls over for a party, it was really fun, although I will say 10 am is a hard time to throw a party, when you don't do much the night before to be ready. But I was a success.
Poppy treated us to a great dinner at 2nd street and took Nell and Zaven to a William & Mary basketball game.
Then the real fun began.First, Brice, Christie and Bea came. We were thrilled to have Bea sleepover. She Nell and Zaven all wore matching pjs and went to sleep great.
Then Berk and family arrived.
It was really fun to have all if the cousins together again. Everyone is growing up so much so quickly. It was awesome how well everyone got along.
We were really lucky with the weather and there was lots of time outside playing and exploring acW.

Luckily Milla had done some cooking ahead and brought many great meals. Feeding 16 people is no joke! Especially out of my kitchen. The paper plates that we bought were a welcome addition to many meals.
We enjoyed showing off the Colonial experience with Fifes and Drums, lighting of the crescents, signing carols, plenty of trips for hot chocolate etc.
The Christmas eve service at Bruton was great, Nell and Zaven had fun doing the pageant. Mom and dad were kind enough to stick around that evening and I was able to attend the 8:30 service and hear Chris preach and hear the choir, it was a real treat.
Christmas day was a lot of fun. The gift exchange worked well and there were many happy givers and receivers.

We were sorry to see everyone leave on the 26th. Chris quickly fell ill. Armen arrived and we were happy to be celebrating with her. Esmé has enjoyed all the new and extra attention of her grandmothers.
Zaven sang a duet of the 1st verse of "Once in Royal David's City". He and Garrison did a great job.
On NYE Chris and I celebrated our 16 th anniversary. We had a great time going to see a movie and going out for Thai food and dessert. It was a fun date.mwe also reviewed all of the albums.
Then i got sick. Thank goodness Armen was here and I was able to sleep and sleep and sleep and I got better in a few days, but it was rough, I am calling it the flu. We are all well now.

The kids are back in school. Activities are starting up.
Zaven started piano lessons and went to a swimming practice to try that out.

Esmé is still napping twice a day so no activities yet.

Happy 2013 to you all
(lots of photos below, they get a bit jumbled as I upload, sorry.)

A great December day

Last night, Chris and I went to the CW Christmas Party, it was very nice. We saw a lot of fun people and then we went to dinner at the Blue Talon. Because we knew party would be tricky we rode the CW bus to the party and then to Merchant Square for dinner and then home, it was fun.
Then we got home and the fire detector was beeping, so Chris was trying to see about replacing the battery and it started to go off, waking Zaven and Esmé, not Nell! So security came and turned it off, but they could not stop the chirping, so we just slept with that. Luckily we were tired.

Then this morning we were up early for Zaven and Chris to go run the Sleighbell 5k. After they left Nell got dressed in sports shorts, so I asked her if she wanted to run the 1mile fun run, a few kids from her class were so she decided to. It ended up being such a fun event. Lots of people, lots of kids. I think Nell was worn out by the run, I don't think she had any frame of reference for the distance, but she did great, finishing in 11minutes.
Then Chris and Zaven ran the 5k, Nell Esmé and I cheered with another family the Feils. Their son is in Nell's class and their daughter is in Zaven's class.
Zaven finished the race in 28:25 with Chris just ahead of him. There was a $100 bet, so Chris needed the win :)
After the race Chris took Zav and Nell to a pancake house for brunch, while Esmé and I came home for her nap. Then Chris took Zaven to see the Hobbit, they had a great time. Nell Esmé and I stayed home and got the Christmas ornaments and decorations out and spent the afternoon in the living room playing and listening to Christmas music, it was really fun.
Then Chris and Zaven came to pick us up and we went to get a Christmas tree, grab some dinner came home ate and decorated the tree.

It is always so fun to get the ornaments out and remember where they came from and what they stand for. Really heart warming. The kids are sleeping in with the tree tonight!

Birthday party and beyond

We had a great time at Paint on Pottery for Nell's party. There were like 6 friends and they had a lot of fun. Most of the girls painted mermaids. Zaven had two friends come they painted frogs. We had fruit kebabs and spinach dip before cake and ice cream. I had pre scooped the ice cream into little cups, it worked well.
Church on Sunday was fun we did crafts after church. Tuesday Isabel came over after school and brought Lilly and Splash, we had a fun visit.
Then last night we had the Brewers over to make gingerbread houses and eat pizza.
Nell got to bring home the class gingerbread girl stuffie. We decorated a paper gingerbread girl and Nell put her doll bunk beds beside her in bed for gingerbread frederika.
Tomorrow is the CW Christmas party and then Saturday Chris and Zaven are running in a 5k and we have plans to get our Christmas tree. Then Chris and Zav may go see the Hobbit. Lots if fun and bustle!

November wrap up

We had a great celebration of Thanksgiving and Nell's birthday. We loved being in Chattanooga with family. The meal was delicious and lively.
Then thanks for the generosity of our families And meg and Chris, we jetted off to Mexico for 4 days. It was so delightful. We had great weather and a wonderful time being with Meg and Chris and celebrating Chris' birthday.
We had good air travel both ways and got home in time to celebrate Armen's birthday with her!
Te 28th we headed home, but made time to stop in Johnson City. We had lunch at Gourmet and drove past 907 Forest Avenue and on the St Johns where to new rector showed us around. It was neat to show the kids the pieces Larry made.