Mary-Anne's 42nd Birthday

I had a wonderful birthday thanks to all my boys today.  Chris had a lovely bunch of red tulips on the breakfast table for me this morning, took me out for lunch, bought me my favorite cake (lemon poppyseed), gave me some fantastic gifts, took me out for dinner and took care of all the bedtime chores so I could chat on the phone with my birthday well-wishers.  Jack and Harry were big helps with blowing out the candles and eating cake.  What more could I ask for?

Elephant Seals

Jack, Harry and I made our annual trek out to Ano Nuevo State Reserve earlier this month to see the elephant seals.  It's mating time and we got to see a lot of pups.  We saw a little fighting between males, but not as much as in years past because the weather was nice.  The docent said that they are more active when the weather is cold and rainy - maybe next time.  After our big hike we stopped by Duarte's in Pescadero for the cream of artichoke soup and olallieberry pie for dessert.  

Vacaville Jets - I80 Causeway Hockey Classic Tournament 2008

                                                 

We spent the Martin Luther King holiday in Vacaville this year, where Jack's team participated in the inaugural  I80 Tournament.  The Cougars played some great hockey and came in second overall.  Jack did exceptionally well in the skills contest and won best goalie.  Team dinners, swimming at the hotel, and hanging out with the guys were just icing on the tournament cake.

Merry Christmas

                                               Jack and Harry on Christmas Eve.

Harry Explores His Inner Pastry Chef

The oven has been set at 350 degrees for about a week now.  We have baked DOZENS of our favorite cookie to share with friends, coconut cranberry chews with white chocolate.  We've also baked lemon poppyseed shortbread stars, "Hello Dolly's", and tourtiere.  It smells like Christmas at our house!

O Christmas Tree

The tree finally got decorated on Tuesday - one week before Christmas Day.  We had a lot of fun pulling out all the old ornaments and putting up the new ones too.  Jack chose a "David Ortiz" ornament this year and Harry chose a "Shrek" ornament.  

"Christmas in the Park"

Harry's preschool class had a field trip to downtown San Jose for "Christmas in the Park" last week.  He enjoyed it very much.  He loved looking at all the decorated trees and Christmas displays, especially the trains.  He also had a great time riding the lightrail from Tamien station to get there, and stopping for hot chocolate before heading back.  The best part was going someplace fun "with all my friends".