Winter sun and sand

Patrick has been wanting to take the dumplings to the beach to dig in the sand a little bit.  So we finally found some time to do that the other day.  We managed to get down there about an hour before sunset, which you know is a dreamy time for the photographer in me.  It was very windy and bit on the chilly side. So they didn't get in the water at all.

 There were just a few others also out enjoying the beauty at sunset. So I snapped a photo of them too.  

After digging a bit, Caleb and Patrick tossed around the football.

While I love the boldness and brightness of sunsets over the river to the west, there is something special about the dreamy, pastel sunsets over the ocean to the east.  Most of the images I shot were to the north, as that was where the sky was prettiest....that is until the sun finally set, and then out of nowhere the sky to the south was full of soft, delicate pastel clouds, which I captured in the last photo.

The dumplings had such a great time digging in the sand and making castles. The boys also had a lot of fun playing catch.  And me?  I just loved watching them all enjoying themselves so much.  We really need to say good night to the sun more often while digging our toes in the sand, right?

Our New Year's Day with the animals

This year on New Year's Day, Patrick thought it would be fun to take the dumplings to Animal Kingdom over at Disney.  It's hard to believe we've only been one other time with just Caleb five and half years ago.  Yep, we mostly hit up the Magic Kingdom and Epcot.  Anyway, we arrived around lunch time and conveniently forgot our stroller.  Caleb and Madeline took a lot of photos with their phones (and Patrick's), and I spent my time chasing after them.

I knew that we would be going on the safari.  So I schlepped my 80-200mm f/2.8 lens around with me...all day.  It made for a pretty heavy bag on my back all day, but it was worth it to bring it.  The safari ride is extremely bumpy.  So in order to avoid camera shake, I really cranked up my ISO so I could also dial up my shutter speed.  I took a lot more photos of the animals but am only sharing a handful.

We all really enjoyed making our way through the Maharjah Jungle Trek.

After the trek we headed over to Dinoland for some Fossil Fun games and a mini roller coaster (Primeval Whirl) for Madeline and me.

We had such a great time and were so glad we managed to find some time to enjoy this part of Disney that we really don't see.

Well, I still have to work on my Year in Review post.  Caleb had two days of tennis tournament play this weekend, which meant very little time at home for us.  He has really enjoyed playing up in the 12s. And although he didn't win this weekend, he loved the challenge of playing 12s in a higher level tournament and did well!  It was a great learning experience on so many levels.  We are so proud of him.

A week from today this precious boy of ours will be turning ten.  Ten!!!  The two digit club.  WHAT?!  It's crazy!  Well, this weekend, of course, he wants to play in a tennis tournament.  And thankfully this one is held just a stone's throw from my sister's place.   But what to do about a birthday party...so, we decided we're going to take Charlie our RV (also known as the players lounge or party bus) and have a little cookout/party during the tournament on Saturday.  When we shared with Caleb our idea of how we could help him to have a birthday "party" the weekend before his birthday while still allowing him to play in the tournament, he just lit up.  So that's the plan.  My sweet mother-in-law, Bammy, will be coming down from Connecticut to help him celebrate.  So we are looking forward to having her here.  And you better believe I'll be baking up lots of cupcakes to take with us.  Fun times await for this special birthday boy!

Our Christmas festivities...mostly

I hope you all had a wonderful, relaxing and joy-filled Christmas.  I know we did!

In an effort to play catch up and do a better job sharing on the blog, I figured I should get crackin' on all the Christmas festivity photos that were begging to be edited.  I'll start with Christmas Eve.  We attended our church's 2pm service.  So after lunch, we headed out.

 I know you might be thinking the above photo is more appropriate for an Easter service.  Well, we don't always go with "traditional" around here.  So it works for us.  But the good news is, the girls can certainly wear their dresses again, for Easter. lol

After church, we came home and started working on dinner.  We have started a tradition of eating lobster on Christmas Eve.  To this we added some Alaskan king crab legs (Caleb tried them a few weeks ago and LOVED them), and I also made some potato latkes.  It was so delicious.

We have been working our way through Ann Voskamp's book Unwrapping the Greatest Gift: A Family Celebration of Christmas, which we love. So we read another passage.  And then the dumplings each opened up a "group" gift for them to enjoy together. And then Caleb and Madeline each opened up a special Willow Tree figure.

 Then it was time for lights out and a quick snap of the tree with all the presents underneath.  This is not a Pinterest-worthy presents-under-the-tree photo.  Nope.  The wrapping paper isn't all coordinated.  Not every present has a bow, or a tag for that matter.  But under the tree is love and thoughtfulness wrapped up in a variety of gifts from lots of different people.

Much to our surprise Christmas morning, Caleb didn't wake up till 6:45am.  (Havi had been up for a bit with Patrick.)  So we had him go wake up Madeline.  We poured our coffee, and I took the cinnamon rolls I was proofing overnight out of the fridge.  We read the last passage in Ann Voskamp's book and then proceeded to open gifts.  We gave each of them just three gifts, with one big group gift for all of them.  The rest of the gifts they received from extended family.

In taking pictures, I opted to focus solely on capturing  the dumpling's expressions.  I cared little about composition or technique that morning.

 They started off with their stockings.

 A New York Yankee pillow pet

 Peppa Pig figures for Havi, which she loves

 Olaf

 Roller skates for Havi

 A pink tennis backpack for Madeline

 A microscope for Caleb

 The new WiiU for all of them

 A much needed phone for Caleb.  His intense tennis training schedule necessitated it.

 And then Caleb and Madeline's last gifts could not be wrapped.  So we placed them in the kid's playroom and threw some sheets over them in case they went wandering away from the tree and toward the kitchen, which Madeline did.  Thankfully, though, the surprise was not ruined. Havi was so cute covering her eyes also.

 A vanity for Madeline and a bike (that now fits) for Caleb

While I captured a lot of presents being opened, there was one in particular that I missed because I, myself, was wrapped up in its unveiling.  My mother-in-law painted a beautiful picture of Madeline wearing her dance recital costume from this year.  As soon as we safely removed it from its packing, Patrick quickly whisked it away to Madeline's room to keep it safe from all the hustle and bustle.   Well, that meant not getting a photo of it.  Boo.  I will have to do that.

So after presents were opened, we ate breakfast- those cinnamon rolls I alluded to earlier.  Then the dumplings played while Patrick and I began working on dinner- lasagna!  He made the meat sauce while I made the ricotta cheese and lasagna sheets.  Once I got all the sheets cut, we headed out for a bike ride.  We just go around the neighborhood, but the path we take makes for about a 40-45 minute ride.  That's enough to put Havi to sleep on the back of Patrick's bike. lol  Anyway, once we got back, Patrick and I got to work layering the lasagna sheets with the sauce and cheese.  We made a great team.  And the lasagana....woah! It was so delicious.  Homemade everything just makes all the difference.  Seriously.   

The only thing I would do differently next year is make the cheese and lasagna sheets ahead of time.  I didn't think it would take too much time, but it definitely kept me in the kitchen instead of photographing the kids playing with their new toys, like I usually do.  So that part bummed me out.  Lesson learned.

Well, the cooking, baking, and Christmas celebrating has continued through this weekend because my sister and her peeps came into town yesterday.  Andy had a gig with his band Elevators Friday night.  So their typical visit on Christmas Day was delayed.  Anyway, we have already done some serious eating, and we're only half way through the weekend! lol  If you've followed this post all the way to the end, then I'll be sure to send you some of Jesus's birthday cake. ;)