Holiday Catch Up

We have been doing so many fun things, that not only have I not been blogging, but they are so fun I can not be bothered to bring my real camera! So all these pictures on this picture filled blog are from either my phone or Johns. Good thing our phones have nice cameras, otherwise we would have missed out!

First off, John had surgery on his wrist to correct some tendinitis. It was a quick, in and out surgery, and the actual cut is only about 2 inches, but he had to wear this beauty for about 5 days, and has been off work ever since. So that has been a major upside!
We went to the Christmas Parade in San Luis Obispo. The kids really wanted to see Santa, who of course was on the last float of the parade.

Andy was so patient.
Julie was a little less patient, but still did very well!
Me and my sweet boy being patient together. They made it to see Santa. It was so fun, they danced, clapped, and yelled at Santa!
The next weekend, we went to Winter Wonderland with Memere. There was a mini carousal, which Memere was wonderful enough to go on with the kids, since I don't do so well with the whole round and round thing. I love this picture!
And there was snow!!!!! The kids were so excited and threw snowballs and fell on their bottoms. Julie didn't deter from her normal bossy ways....notice the hands on her hips....
Andy was all about the snow balls.
But the snow is deceiving. The next day we went to Avila Valley Barn to feed the animals. It was about 70 degrees. Notice the shorts and sleeveless dress!

And the next day was even more amazingly warm, close to 80 degrees at the beach....so that is where we went! And we had so much fun! Of course, I always think, "they will just play in the sand, they won't want to go in the water, we won't wear bathing suits...."


And I am ALWAYS wrong!!!!!

And now, this week, we are being drowned in rain. So I leave you with our kids creative way to occupy themselves when they can't go outside.....a kitchen train. It is a circus kitchen train...Andy told me the chair behind him was for the elephants.
There, all the fun we have been having getting in the Christmas Spirit! The next few days are going to be even MORE fun!!!

Quick Quotes

We have been having so much fun doing all the wonderful holiday activities like seeing Santa, sewing, playing in the snow at Winter Wonderland, watching Buffy, eating sushi and drinking beer with Christina and Brian.....wait, that isn't holiday....well, the holidays are all about loved ones right?! Basically, we have been having way to much fun for me to sit down and blog, so while I get pictures and such together, I will leave a few quotes.

On Sunday we took the kids to the beach because it was 75 degrees and beautiful. On the way there, Andy was shoeless and had his feet up on the back of John's chair. We had the windows down while we were driving and Andy cries out, "Daddy! My toes are all windy!!!!"

Monday night Julie and I were wrestling and she backed up to charge at me. As she ran towards me she yelled, "I am gonna get you like a hippopotamus!"

Baby Shower Fun!

Yesterday we threw my beautiful sister-in-law, Audrey, a baby shower. I decorated the house and worked on the desserts. My mom, Aunt Arlene, and cousin Mariah all worked so hard on the food and it was delicious.

On to the pictures! Here is my mom, Audrey and I. She has the cutest little bump.
Cupcakes!
The spread. Mom made 4 different quiches and each one was amazing. Arlene and Mariah did the salad, fruit, pastries, and amazing mozzarella/tomato/basil salad.
My sweet cousin and her creation.
Our good friends Samantha, Hannah and Sue. Love these ladies!
Mom and Everett. He was such a good boy, being passed around and loved on by every grandma in the room.
Sisters.
These are some of our coworkers. These are generous, supportive, amazing women. We are so lucky to work with each and every one of them.
Present time!
Everyone was so attentive!
The crowd.
My kids were having so much fun, I barely saw them. Our friend Christopher brought his Duplos to share with the kids and they were so happy. Andy did come down periodically to get a bite to eat and give a little love. With his BFF Everett.
With Cousin Mariah.
Julie and her tower. She loves playing with Symantha (with the pirate boots). She has not stopped talking about her! About a minute after this picture, the tower went down the stairs. Whoops!
Here we are, the shower throwers with the guest of honor.
We can not wait to meet the beautiful baby girl. She will be here before we know it and, after yesterday, her mommy and daddy are a little more prepared.

Santa Claus is coming...

Or better yet, Santa Clause is in town! We went to see him yesterday. The kids were really excited to sit on Santa's lap. Julie knew exactly what she wanted. She let me brush her hair and she made sure that she didn't get dirty.

We got to San Luis and we were the first ones in line. They waited patiently behind the line....
for a moment. Then they started to get excited.....
and a little silly.
Andy kept running up trying to open the door!
But finally the door opened. Andy ran to see Santa. When he rounded the corner and saw Santa in his big chair, Andy FROZE. He didn't cry. Didn't move. Just froze. But as soon as Santa said Hello, Andy ran over and climbed up on his lap.

Julie had no hesitation and could not get onto Santa's lap fast enough! And as soon as he asked what she wanted, she said, "A purple kite!!!" And chimed in and said, "blue kite!!" Apparently kite flying will be a new Hunter Family activity.

By the end of the visit, there was reservation, and Julie was happy to be silly with Santa.

Crafty

Yesterday, for the first time ever, my mom and I enjoyed the Holiday Craft Boutique from the other side....as Crafters!

It was really fun to do all the sewing, planning and setting up.

The forecast called for rain, but there was none! Although, I think that it did deter a lot of people from coming to check out the home made goods.

The best part of the boutique was socializing with all of our amazing friends and family that stopped by to see us. Every time we turned around, there was a friendly face saying hello and commenting on our work. The encouragement and love was everywhere and it felt awesome.

Here is our booth, all set up!Mom did the adorable hats, little boy ties and blocks. I did the burpies, lunch bags and totes.
More stuff.
And here we are! This is the only picture I got of the two of us, and its a little blurry, but I think it is pretty cute. Check out the matching aprons! Yeah, I am cheesy like that. Thanks Mom, for the fun day and all the encouragement.
The craft boutique was a lot of fun. Tiring, and maybe not the most profitable, but fun. And I can see getting addicted to them!

And just for fun, here are some shots of my handy work.

Julie's Bedtime Woes

Julie was not being a good listener at bed time, so we sent her into her room to calm down until she was ready to make better choices. She was so tired so she laid down and started yelling. John and I were tearing up from laughing so hard, we had to document a few:

"it's not exciting in here!!"

"somebody better come rub my back to cheer me up from crying"

"no one wants to do anything without a grownup"

"guys, I am not going to stop crying without a grown up rubbing my back"

"someones gotta cheer me up! no ones going to cheer me up!"

She is now fast asleep, after her loving father went in to cheer her up.

UPDATE: John just came out and said that when he was done reading her a book, she said, "I need you to read that one more time, I am still a little bit sad."

Party with Sophia!

We hit the road today to celebrate Sophia's first birthday! I can't believe it has been one year since this beauty joined the family!!
She is so dainty and sweet, she wasn't even sure about the whole cake eating thing. She wasn't positive she wanted to get her hands dirty. So her Daddy helped her out a bit!
Summer and Emmanuel had this super fun party at a park that had a 2-story play structure! Seriously, check this thing out!!

That is Andy and Julie up on the top, it was pretty sweet.

There was also a futuristic Merry-go-Round. The kids pretty much just had to hang on for dear life as we spun. It was pretty interesting. Memere discovered later that there were actually handles, but the only way to reach them was in this position.

And a no risk pogo stick!
And even Uncle Justin got in on the adult size top!
Even thought the drive over was a little rough, once we got there, we had such a nice afternoon with Memere, Uncle Jus, Aunt Joanne, Summer, Emmanuel and of course, birthday girl Sophia!
Enough fun to tackle Mommy!