The Christmas Party

We're going to do a little Christmas re-cap around here.
I managed to post a whopping 3 times this month.

Anyone else feel like they just ran a Christmas marathon?
I'll agree it was a cheerful marathon with loads of fun stops along the way
 but I'm ready for a looong nap.



As many of you know we do a lot of Christmas baking.

I used to start at the end of October to prepare for the Christmas party in the beginning of December.
I'd bake for about 5 weeks and then freeze the cookies as I go.

This year I was a little burnt after Peanut's Monster Halloween Birthday Party.

About 3 weeks  before the party I realized I was a tad behind baking schedule....
so I procrastinated another week.

My mom did some baking and I did a few marathon days and all was well.
Who needs sleep anyway.



Santa made an appearance at the Christmas party this year!



Peanut was not excited.

He burst into tears and Papa had to take him into the back and it took 3 of us to calm him down.

Judging by the death grip that Mia has on mommy, she's not too thrilled either.

Along with all the hot food, mom had this great display.



Santa and Ben had a little game of chess.



According to Ben's rules, Santa always loses.

In addition to this grueling game, Ben had a great many questions for Santa in order to prove his authenticity.

Are you the real Santa?
You weren't the Santa I saw yesterday...
I didn't see your sleigh outside....
Where are the reindeer...



Peanut's not buying it either.



But all was proven well in the end.

Ben left a happy boy and Santa survived a killer game of chess and some brutal interrogation.

I was told that Peanut did throw the ball to Santa once at the end of the night but this is the closest I witnessed the two of them.

Peanut is still not so sure.

The Christmas Mugshot

Merry Christmas!

The boys are just overflowing with Christmas spirit.

Yup.

Big fans of Santa, these two.

Daniel's expression is the best.

In the other Santa picture, Peanut is making a run for it.

I'll try to upload that one next.

I will say that this picture is a big improvement over last year's picture.

This is still my favorite Santa picture to date.

Well, it'll be another whole year until we get to traumatize the kids with an annual Santa picture.

Until then!

Discovery Science Center Giveaway!

If you've been to the Discovery Science Center before then you know just how fun it is and if you've never been.... well here is your chance to go!

The giant cube you've seen off the 5 freeway is host to so many awesome exhibits for kids of all ages.

In addition to the EcoChallenge, Dino Quest Adventure, Discover Theater, Science of Hockey, Boeing Rocket Lab and Planetary Research Station there are also rotating exhibits throughout the year.

Right now you can visit Bob the Builder's Workshop and meet all his friends as you lend them a helping hand.

Explore the Indiana Jones and the Adventure of Archaeology exhibit where you see a collection from the films and real-world artifacts from the National Geographic Society.

Dig for buried treasure and go on your own quest too!

Last but definitely not least, and perfect for the holidays, is The Science of Gingerbread where you can tour the Annual Gingerbread Competition entries, learn the science behind smelling and build and race your own candy car in the Gingerbread Derby!

The Discovery Science Center is hosting an exclusive holiday event this Wednesday 

and they are giving me tickets so you can come too!

It's going to be full of fun activities, a picture with santa and lots of exploration.

It'll be such a treat to bring your family to this outing.

For a chance to win these 

4 TICKETS TO THE EXCLUSIVE HOLIDAY EVENT

ON WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12 FROM 6-8PM

Please:

- Leave a comment

- blog, tweet or post on Facebook about this giveaway 

- follow my blog

- like Discovery Science Center on Facebook (found as Discovery Cube)

Please leave a separate entry for each.

Good Luck!!

And there are trees!

By Orange County standards we live pretty far out.

Growing up, I considered any city that didn't have at least one border on the beach "inland".

Of course, when I was growing up the city I now live in didn't even exist.

Now we live in South County aaaallll the way to the East in what I call "the country".

I call it the country because (and I can hardly still believe this) there is nothing but nature on the other side of our neighborhood.

We back up to and are walking distance from O'Neil Regional Park and when you look at a map, 

you'll see that next to us is nothing but green.

And there are trees!

I mean, trees everywhere!

They line our streets and they are gorgeous and the neighborhoods are beautiful.

We can see the mountains from our windows.

We are a few minutes walk from this lake.

We leave the house, walk past the elementary school and find this waiting for us.

It is man-made and there is no swimming in it but it's such a perfect one mile loop.

I'll be sure and take some pictures of the lake with the mountains in the background.

I'd take pictures of the Peanut at the lake but it's hard to hold a camera and keep him from jumping in at the same time.

It's a breathe of fresh air every time we go for a walk around the neighborhood.

Where do you go to recharge?