Mommy Dearest: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

So, it seems that Christmas time is upon us once again. I'm not sure how it came so fast but I am excited for it this year. Last year I was having lots of health problems, so to be healthy and able to enjoy the season means a lot. I wish that our family was together, this will be our first Christmas apart :( We have been married for almost 9 years and have spent 2 years of it apart. Crazy!

We just got back from visiting Daddy in Washington DC. The girls had lots of fun flying, Kallie loved it especially the turbulence, which we had an abundance of on the trip home. She hates the sound of the toilet flushing on the plane, its really loud. So bathroom breaks were a little challenging to say the least. Its not easy taking a toddler to the bathroom while holding an infant in one arm, trying not to touch anything in the gross airplane lavatory, then having to flush the toilet while the girls are not in ear shot of the noisy toilet. Thankfully we only had 4 trips to the bathroom!

While visiting Daddy we went to the museums of Natural History, American History, and the Space one (Cant remember the official name ). I love that all these museums are FREE!

We also saw the Washington Monument, Abraham Lincoln Memorial and the White House.

We decided to go to New York since we were so close (3.5hrs.) We got our hotel booked for free, with all the Marriott rewards Ricky has accumulated. So we headed off to see the Big Apple and celebrate Natalee's birthday in NY. Let me start off with saying the drivers in NYC are probably the craziest I've ever seen. I can understand why no one drives in the city. So what were we doing? Driving in NYC. Just getting into our hotel was quite the challenge but after a few wrong turns and 30 minutes of are we there yet's we made it and never drove the car again until we left.

We went on a sightseeing tour on the double decker bus, just like in the movies. We learned a lot about the history of the city. We went to ground zero and George Washington's Church, which is now a memorial. We went to FAO Swartz and Central Park, the girls LOVED the park and it was beautiful with the changing trees. I can see why so many people come to the park to run. It's so much nicer to look at then the the brown dirt and tumbleweeds Rosamond has to offer. I think I will blame my lack of running on Rosamond's scenery.

After our trip to the NYC, we were headed to Hershey, Pennsylvania to meet Ricky's Dad and sister Crystal and my sweet niece Ava. We went to hershey park and had lots of fun watching the girls ride the rides together, they played so well together. I wish we lived closer to them. It got pretty cold there and we all enjoyed some Hot Cocoa before heading back to our FREE Marriott rooms. ( Thanks again Marriott) We ordered pizza and had the girls had a sleep over. The next day we had a little time to kill before heading back to DC, so we went to the Bass Pro Shop. That store is amazing, they had a carousel and Santa Claus in the store which was a big hit! We enjoyed the quick visit with the Family but then had to head back to D.C.

We then had to say our good-byes to Daddy once again.

When we got back to California we had a few hard days of time zone adjustment and then it was onto Thanksgiving!! We went up to the Cabin and had a good time with the family. We did Thanksgiving crafts, ate, played games and ate some more.

Natee after Thanksgiving dinner

And then I prepared for Black Friday :-) I sent the girls to Grandma & Papa's and off I went with 2 great girls in stow-Nichole and Jennifer. We had a great time and got some great deals. The next day was a little hard after only napping twice for 2 hours. But I managed to hit the stores again on Saturday. What can I say I love to shop, especially when I do it without spending lots of money. I am now completely done with Christmas present and birthday gift through March 2012. Now if only I can refrain from giving everyone their presents early...this is not my strongest point.

And now Myself and Ricky are the proud owners of a 1 year old!!!

It wasn't official until we had the official birthday party