NYE 2013: Watch out for Wooden Spoons!

It’s almost 2014 (!) and we’re celebrating with some Martinelli’s bubbly and blinking glasses yet again. I can’t believe my CVS bargains made it through a move across the country to blink once more on NYE.

We did the east coast drop, since midnight PST is way past our bedtime unless it’s a patented Argenal-Parents-Gone-Wild weekend.

The countdown began with enthusiastic jumping and screaming, and as soon as the ball dropped at EST midnight the boys began ferociously hitting pans with their wooden spoons. So ferociously, in fact, that Bo hit himself in the face…with his own NYE spoon. It was Bo-dramatic, with lots of tears, frustration and complete confusion, but alas, we made it to 2014…and we have the whole thing on video.

Totally AWESOME Tahoe Trip!!!

One huge perk of Division II is the new rule that there is no practice or games during a period toward the end of December. We HAD to take advantage of this, especially now that we’re only a few hours from the snow.

Unfortunately, after the 3 hour car ride and with tennis shoes on, Ace quickly realized that snow is COLD and WET. NOT A HAPPY CAMPER.

His first introduction to snow wasn’t exactly ideal, but he eventually warmed up to it with some warmer gear.

I definitely fell, but at least we got a quick pic of our foursome with the timer.

The next day we took the kids up the Heavenly mountain on the Gondola Skyride which was CRAZY expensive and CRAZY cold. At least we got a nice view for the few seconds we could withstand the sub-zero temps. The best part was probably the ride with Gus trying to FREAK OUT the boys! He had them CONVINCED that we were going up to the Grinch’s house.

All I think when I look at this pic is the INTENSE cold that our fingers had to endure outside of pockets. It was so instantly cold that my fingers felt like they were burning the second they felt the chill. NOT my cup of tea…or Gus’s, or Ace’s. Bo was kind of a trooper, for about 30 seconds longer than the rest of us. That put our total number of minutes we actually enjoyed the most expensive view of our lives at no more than 3 mins. And that includes the 30 extra seconds that it took to clean up the hot chocolate that Ace spilled all over himself.

This view is definitely one in a million, though. Tahoe is MAGICAL and it has become such a sentimental place for us. It’s so fun to be back within driving distance!

And back at Auntie Barb’s cabin, we sledded and launched snowballs at the neighbor boys for hours on end! Bo was an absolute BEAST on the sled; he was surprisingly FEARLESS. Barbara has the perfect yard for sledding with a fairly steep slope to create the perfect sledding hill. Ace played it safe in Daddy’s lap.

 

And what better way to end a vacation than with pizza and arcade games?

Christmastime!

It came and went in a flash, and I tried to be as present (no pun intended) as possible and not constantly taking pics. Thus, I only have a few pics.

We had Grandma, Uncle J and Auntie Suzanne over to celebrate, and the boys couldn’t have been happier to be home on Christmas eve with family.

The morning, as usual, started off with a lot of smiles and ripped paper.

Since there’s no chance in this lifetime of getting real animals again (ok, ok, maybe there’s a tiny tiny chance if someone can convince Gus) Santa brought the boys a mess-free Dog and Kitten! And Spider man and Iron Man have officially taken over the boys room.

 

Another amazing Christmas comes to an end which is always bittersweet. Yet the hardest part is saying bye to family that lives thousands of miles away!  Thanks so much for visiting; we will miss you!!!

Kindreds

I got to have dinner this week with two of my best friends from high school and it was just like 1999. These girls are such kindred spirits and we know each other in-and-out. It’s amazing how we’ve all grown up and matured, but we still acted like high school girls all night unable to control our ridiculous fits of laughter.

I LOVE these dynamic, amazingly sarcastic, seriously witty women!
 

And just for old times sake, I left the lights on in my car and killed my battery…same old me. Same old friends who love me despite my “Hannah” moments.

Livermore Lights!

The Polar Bear and the Paleontologist are pretty much embracing the holiday yet again…so much so that they both fell asleep on our way to see Christmas lights.

And we aren’t talking cat-nap. Waking up these two boys was like jolting two Grizzlies out of mid-winter hibernation. Angry Bears.

While we stood in line…baby bear finally broke and started coming back to us with his first silly face.

And as we got closer, the beautiful lights even incited a smile from Grizzly Bo…

This residence of “Deacon Dave” is magical! Free to the public and it is worth a trip out to Livermore for those that live in the bay.

Almost 400,000 lights?!

We will definitely be going back next year! It was an awesome, “holiday spirit” kind of experience and we want to make it a tradition.

Surprise for Grandma!

The boys and I wanted to surprise Grandma Noreen with a little birthday love.

She is never late. Ever.

Well, except for tonight, but we can’t spoil the surprise... Tick Tock, Tick Tock.

After dancing and singing and waiting, the boys were getting quite antsy; I did my best to not let them pop every balloon in sight…

And just when they were close to ripping open her present themselves, Grandma came to the door and was completely surpised!

Noreen works long hours and commutes longer than should be allowed, but she always seems to make time to let us know how much she cares. So we hope that she knows just how much we love her tonight!

Happy Birthday to one of the sweetest, most selfless Grandmas we know! xoxo.

Cheers to December!

This is another post that will be pretty random and uncreative because I’m playing catch-up, and I take to many flippin’ pics. Well, except for the AWESOME pic below which was taken by Amy; our Argenal cousin and great friend! She and baby Prashad took some great pics for our Christmas card on the East Bay campus. It was hilarious trying to coordinate this shot as we were all slipping down the hill.

And before you can even say December, we had the decorations up and the warm fire lit!

Some “Home Alone” and tree decorating? It doesn’t get any better!!! This just may be my favorite night of the year.

And what’s a great Holiday season with out imaginations? We had a few great afternoons after we picked Bo up from winter preschool on this baseball field where we played Sandlot.

And please, don’t bother the Sensei while he meditates…

And I have to post these darling shots of my lil’ Holiday Bobo in his warm sweater. This precious boy is just the sweestest!

As you can see, Acey  LOVED the Santa at Stoneridge mall; he pretty much did not want this fluffy man to look at him. Which was ironic since this Santa looked amazingly realistic with his home-grown beard, fancy suit and shiny boots!

And finally, my Dearest Husband, Coach Argenal of the East Bay Pioneers getting his beauty sleep at 8pm; his first season as a head coach is taking its toll. Thank goodness for Division II winter break! Let’s pray that next year we don’t get the 6am practice slot again…zzzzzzzzzzz. Thank goodness for Real Housewives and DVR.