Damien's 35th Birthday

Damien got his birthday wish which was to go to Tahoe for a few days.  It has really been a glorious few days, too.  I mentioned that I have been peppering him with gifts over the past month but the big birthday gift was going to wait for his BIG day!  Well, today was here!  The kids were bursting at the seams with the surprise they had kept from their Daddy for a full month!  Claire couldn't sleep the night before and Michael woke up with butterflies in his tummy.  The big surprise?  A choreographed dance that would knock Damien's socks off!

About a year ago, we all watched THIS awesome viral video of a guy proposing to his future wife in Central Park.  He and a bunch of his super cool friends choreographed a dance to a song called Shake It.  At the end of the song, he proposed and it gave everyone in our family the chills.  Soon after we watched it, Michael and Claire came to me with an idea. "How about we make a dance to this song and then do it for Dad on his birthday!" they both said.  I thought the idea was brilliant and so we planned an plotted to surprise him with our best dance on his birthday!

Earlier in the month, we started daily 'top secret' dance classes in the kitchen.  We all decided that we needed to come up with a dance for the whole song.  So, verse by verse- we chunked out dance moves that eventually led to a fully choreographed routine!  Michael and Claire were so proud of themselves and Matthew and Emily even learned parts as they watched from the sidelines.

In Tahoe on Damien's birthday, we all went to a ski park for the kids to have some fun.  When we got home- the kids were exhausted. After putting them down for their naps, I started on a birthday a yummy Chicken Curry dinner for my hubby!  The night was really nice.  Dinner was great and it was fun to be with Damien's brother and his family.  The cousins really love each other a lot.  After dinner, we cleared some space so we could eventually have room to do our dance!  I had made 'We Love Dad' tshirts for me and the kids before we had traveled to Tahoe so unbeknownst to Damien- we were all wearing them under our zip up sweatshirts.

The moment we revealed the dance to Damien was just as special as we could have imagined it to be.  I danced between Michael and Claire and was so proud of them and impressed they stayed so poised and hit every move!  It was awesome.  Damien was beyond happy watching this 'gift' play out in front of him and he didn't stop smiling the entire time.  It was so awesome.  The kids were just so proud of themselves!  The moment was priceless.

Of course, we gave Damien some other treats (including a SF Giants World Series book where all the kids wrote their favorite memory of watching them win the World Series in the front cover), sang him Happy Birthday, and then enjoyed Damien's favorite cake (yellow cake with chocolate mousse filling and chocolate fudge frosting).  I am so proud to be married to Damien.  I love what he stands for and love the way he lives his life.  I love the kind of father he is to our children, and I love the way he wants the very best for me in all that I do.    We are so lucky to have him in our lives.  Happy Birthday 35th Birthday, Damien!

(Click HERE to watch our video!)

**Damien decided to grow out his beard over the holiday break.  I think it looks great.  He is always clean shaven for work so it is fun for him to do something different, sometimes!  The day after his birthday, he shaved it off.  I missed it but the kids were happy.  Apparently- he was too scratchy for them!

Lake Tahoe

When I asked Damien what he wanted to do for this birthday this year . . . he replied, "I'd like to spend it in Tahoe!"  Lucky for us, Mark and Jocelyn (who have a place in a neighboring town called Truckee) offered to have us as their guests for the weekend!  The kids were so excited to go to the snow.  I had made sure everyone was going to have warm waterproof clothes for the weekend and knew that if I forgot anything- Mark and Jocelyn had tons of snow clothes at their cabin.

Unfortunately, the morning we left Healdsburg for Tahoe- Emily had a fever.  She was horrible the night before which really put a kink in my plan.  I was tired.  She was tired and miserable.  Hey, I have an idea!  Let's pack up the car and take a four hour car ride to Tahoe!  After loading her up with Tylenol and Motrin- we headed out!  The car drive was surprisingly pleasant.  None of the non-stop screaming I had dreaded.  We stopped at the ever-healthy McDonald's for some lunch and life was good.  The drive should take about three and half hours and we made it four hours (lunch stop included) without so much as a tiny problem.

And then, it happened.  Major snow storm.  Major.  We had purchased snow chains before we left on our trip hoping that we wouldn't have to use them but it wasn't looking good.  I don't know how much detail to go into about the remaining twenty miles of our trip that turned into three hours of pure chaos.  In a nut shell, the traffic inched through the snow, the snow kept falling with increasing volume, the kids grew tired of the journey, we ended up paying someone $30 to put the chains on the car, we barely made it up the hill (with chains) to the cabin, but after almost seven hours in the car- we made it.  Happy Birthday Weekend Damien!

The kids ran from the car, though the blizzard, and into the warm toasty cabin where their cousins greeted them with shrieks and laughter!  Jocelyn had prepared dinner and had everything ready for us which was awesome!  Emily ran in circles celebrating her escape from her confining car seat!  Life was good in this moment.  Thank goodness we made it here safe and sound!

Emily's fever subsided by the morning and all was good.  The beauty of the freshly fallen show, which had blanketed everything in sight, was amazing.  With a warm cup of coffee in hand, I watched the kids stare in amazement at the winter wonderland.  It was only a few minutes before the 'Can we play in the snow?' chants started.  We were able to hold them off for a few hours before we started layering them in clothes to go outside. 

Playing outside was SO much fun.  Michael and Claire went up and down the giant hill in their front yard (which was created by the snow plow driver) so many times!  They loved sledding and just having fun!  Matthew and Emily loved sledding with Daddy while I tried to capture their joy with my camera!  Everyone had the best time!  The kids all stayed warm and we lasted hours out there!  The older kids made a snow fort and used these really cool snow ball makers to plan attacks on their unsuspecting parents!  We had a blast.

On Damien's birthday, Damien and I were going to go skiing/snowboarding together in the morning.  Unfortunately, it didn't work out.  Damien and his brother stayed up really late watching Inception and Matthew had a horrible night of sleeping.  Our failed attempt at getting out was revitalized when we decided to go to a fun kids' ski park.  I had never been to this part of the ski park but it was so much fun!  The kids were able to go sledding, tubing, and climb a huge snow mountain.  They had the greatest time!  The coolest part of it was that there were things for both the little kids and the big kids to do!

Matthew and Emily loved going tubing.  They had these sweet little small tubes that they just fit perfectly into.  I think they also liked that they got to do it alone!  Michael and Claire opted for the bigger tubing hill with their cousins which worked out great, too!  There was a tubing ride where it would drag the kids around in their tube in circles for about five minutes at a time.  Matthew and Emily went on this back to back times and I swear- I thought Emily was going to fall asleep on it!

The cabin, Truckee, and the tranquil scenery was just what we needed to recharge our batteries and enjoy good ole' fashioned family time.  We hoped that the ride back would be better but it really didn't work out like that.  The traffic was once again miserable but it helped that we were going to be able to stop at one of our favorite restaurants, Max's, on way home.  Matthew had started fevering earlier that day.  His erratic sleeping the night before now made more sense.  Anyway, when we pulled into the restaurant- his fever was at 102.  Poor guy.  He was a trooper though.  Unfortunately, he threw up at the table which really put a good spin on the end of the trip!  I felt bad for the girl who had to clear our plates.  I offered to walk his barfy plate back to the kitchen but she insisted that she used to work in a bar and was used to throw up.  Okie dokie!

We will miss the snow and this amazing trip.  We can't wait to go back when the kids are a bit older and get them on some skis!  Happy Birthday Damien!  I hope this trip is just what you wanted!

Damien's Early Birthday

Damien laughs at me because somehow each year, I turn my birthday into a birthday week.  I see no problem with it!  The more celebrating, the better!  Well, this year he is having quite the birthday week!  We celebrated in mid December with a surprise birthday weekend in Sacramento, then he had a small little celebration while we were in Washington with gifts, and now we got to celebrate again in Healdsburg with his family!  Go Damien! 

It was a really nice few days in Healdsburg.  After the mad rush of Christmas, we spent the 25th and 26th in San Jose decompressing and then went north to Healdsburg to spend a few days relaxing with his family.  Most of the family was able to make it to his birthday which was really nice.  We combined parties with Sierrah since her birthday falls in the first week of January so there was more celebrating to be had! 

There was no agenda in Healdsburg other than to relax and be with the family.  The cousins went absolutely crazy with each other.  I seriously think they re-enacted the Nutcracker twenty times in Damien's parent's front room!  Papa even made a DVD of their performance and each of them got to take one home!  Lani's little girls are just so sweet.  Claire, Matthew, and Emily spent a lot of time with them while Michael opted to hang with the older cousins (Seamus and Alex) in the cottage where there was major video gaming going on!

It was an extra special treat to be able to hang out with Heavenly who was over for a Christmas visit from London.  We have missed her so much and it was fun to see the kids gravitate towards her like they always do!  We spent the few days in Healdsburg enjoying fresh 'goodies' from bakeries in town and also loved that Emily slept well while we were there.  It is amazing what a good night of sleep can do for the soul!

For Damien and Sierrah's party, Marlene had ordered a lot of fresh crab.  It was so delicious!  The fresh crab dipped in drawn butter was absolutely heavenly (can you tell we loved it?).  Damien and I kept 'accidentally' dropping our bread in the melted butter a few times and you practically had to roll us away from the table when we were done.  Not a great meal if you are on a diet!  It was a great party and I appreciate Mark and Marlene's efforts to make the night a whole lot of fun.  Happy Early Birthday, Damien!  Off to Tahoe in the morning for your official 'Birthday Weekend'!

Merry Christmas 2010

We tried to set a time limit on how early the kids could wake up and get out of bed on Christmas morning.  I vaguely remember a pre-dawn Christmas in the last few years which eventually ended up ruining the rest of all of our day due to pure exhaustion!  In order to avoid a repeat performance, the time limit we set was 7:00 a.m.  Damien and I thought about making it later but knew that it would be purely selfish so we could get some much needed sleep. 

Sure enough on Christmas morning, I could hear the hardwood floors crack as Claire tip toed out to the front room and then back to her room.  The clock read 6:45 a.m.  Violater!  At 7:00 a.m. sharp, three sleepy eyed kids burst into our room asking for permission to enter the Christmas toy wonderland.  Emily was sleeping at the time but was jolted awake as Claire said to her, "Emily, wake up!  Let's see if Santa came!"

I went ahead of the kids with the camera to video the ooh and ahhhs as they saw that Santa had indeed come!  Michael and Claire knew just what to do and darted over to what looked like presents for them.  Matthew was wide eyed and full of amazement but didn't quite know what to do with himself.  Emily saw candy canes and was gone!  It all happened so fast!  So many kids, so many hoots and hollers! 

Michael was so excited to see the Xbox 360 Kinect.  He absolutely ignored every other gift set out there- like Santa knew he would!  Claire was equally excited to see the Kinect but loved her other gifts, especially her stocking.  She loves to take each and every little tiny thing out of her stocking and enjoy it.  It is so sweet!  Matthew knew immediately which pile was his.  Sitting there was his Lego Airplane, Green Hex Bug, and his brand new Batman Video game.  He simply couldn't believe it!  It was so magical for him!  Emily loved watching all of her siblings open their gifts and only went to her pile after watching Michael, Claire, and Matthew for a few minutes!  Once she noticed her own pile, she was so excited!  She hugged her new baby doll and loved her new potty chair!  What a morning!

After the mad morning gift rush, we all sat down for a yummy breakfast that I had prepared in the early morning.  Egg frittata, cinnamon rolls, fresh pineapple, hot chocolate and orange juice rushed into my kids stomachs and tried to counteract the major sugar rush that was already taking place!  I was praying that they would get some protein in their bodies so they wouldn't get sick from all of the early morning life savers, candy canes, and chocolate goodness!  Over breakfast, it was overwhelming to look around at all of the love at the table.  My beautiful children, my amazing husband . . . I am so incredibly blessed. 

Christmas afternoon, we went over to Mark and Jocelyn's house for Christmas dinner.  They did such a great job hosting!  The whole family was there, the turkey dinner was delicious, desserts were amazing, their house was so beautifully decorated, and it was just a wonderful and warm evening.  Jocelyn planned a really fun game where our big group was divided into sub-groups and we were all given a verse to The 12 Days of Christmas.  It was hilarious!  We not only had to sing it but we had to act it out as we sang the song.  In particular- the kids loved it!

We had our annual Cousin Christmas gift exchange and our adult gift exchange, too!  Fun was had by all!  It truly was a wonderful night.

Merry Christmas to all of our family and friends.  You have all been there for us over the years and we wouldn't be where we are without your love, support, help, and laughter.  Merry Christmas!

Santa . . . They're Waiting!

After a fabulous evening at Damien's Aunt and Uncle's house for Christmas Eve dinner, we returned to our home with four kids who were so excited to get the house ready for Santa!  As I mentioned before- Emily was truly oblivious but she totally picked up on the energy that her siblings were exuding!  We had changed the kids into jammies before we drove home so when we got home- they were ready to go!

All the way home, Matthew, Claire, and Michael debated over who was going to put out the milk, cookies, and the carrots.  Matthew was alerted that reindeer need carrots on Christmas Eve when he visited Santa a month ago.  For the last month, the ENTIRE month, I have heard daily from Matthew that reindeer need carrots on Christmas Eve!  Thank goodness the night was here and I could watch him put out the carrots and be done with that!  Claire opted to pick out the cookies and Michael was on milk duty.

It was so sweet to watch them set the fireplace up while so filled with wonder.  Michael was concerned about the fireplace screen.  He thought that maybe Santa couldn't get out of the chimney unless we moved it.  Michael and Claire re-wrote their Christmas lists and put them out for Santa to see.  We were worried that Santa might not be able to fulfill their requests because surprisingly- there were new items on the list that we had never seen before!  Later that night, Damien and I made a mental note that maybe re-writing Wish Lists to Santa on Christmas Eve was NOT a good idea.  Hmmm.

All the kids nestled into bed and Damien and I sat and enjoyed the peacefulness around the house.  All the lights in the house were off except those on the tree.  We just enjoyed the beauty of the the Christmas tree and talked about all of the wonderful things that had happened to us over the last year.  The consensus?  We are blessed.

A Kirkland Pre-Christmas

We really had a wonderful time up here in Kirkland.  I love my family so much and feel so comfortable and at ease when I am at my parent's house.  I love the help I have with my kids, the occasional trip to get coffee with my Mom, impromptu walks with my sisters and Mom in the brisk weather, putting my feet up at night and laughing in front of the fire while telling/re-telling stories of our childhood, and always waking up to a full pot of coffee (thanks, Dad)!  I just mentioned coffee twice so I guess that means I need to slow down on the coffee or get more sleep.  Looking at the sleep forecast ahead of me- bring on the coffee.

The weather this trip was gorgeous!  I just love waking up, coming upstairs and seeing Lake Washington out of my parents' picture window.  And to top it off, look at the snow on the Olympic Mountains?  So beautiful!

We really packed a lot of little fun events into this trip.  We met up with my Grandmas, we went to Snowflake Lane in downtown Bellevue, made Christmas cookies (ate them, too), we went Christmas shopping a few times, the three youngest cousins took numerous baths (thanks Jill and Nat), we attended a BIG family Christmas party, went went on walks, went out to lunch at Acropolis (a major favorite of mine) and Damien and I actually got to go shopping and then out on a dinner date!  All of this was in between amazing quality family time that satiates me to the fullest!

We had a gift exchange between my family and my immediate family and everyone was so spoiled!  My Mom and Dad got all of the kids complete outfits (shoes, pants, shirts, and for the girls . . . hair accessories) and other gifts while my sisters spoiled us as well!  A special thank you to my sister Jill who got all four of my kids 4 foot Nerf swords.  Not only did I get to introduce these four swords to the other ten swords in my house- but I got to bring them home on the plane to boot!  Jill always gets them something that pushes the boundaries.  We won't even talk about the time she got Michael and Claire three foot tall candy canes!  Can't wait to brainstorm what to get Kyle next year:)

I love all of you and wish you a very Merry Christmas.  Can't wait to spend it in Kirkland next year! 

(This picture is classic.  Laura got Damien a 5x7 picture frame and wanted to take a picture with him and develop it so she could put it in there.  When we had our Christmas exchange- Damien opened up this picture!  LOVE IT!  Good Job Laura!)

My Grandmas

One of the best gifts of the season this year was getting to spend quality time with my Grandmas.  Both are such amazing and strong women and are such amazing role models for me to look up to!  Not only do I thoroughly enjoy seeing them, but I love seeing my kids get to spend time with them, too.  This trip, we had a lot of time to just hang out with family and I took full advantage of that!

We tried to get my Dad's family together before the holidays so that we could celebrate early with them since we weren't going to be with them on Christmas Day.  But- it's the holidays and everyone's calendars are full of parties and commitments, which I totally understand!  Thankfully, my Grandma was able to join us for brunch at my Mom and Dad's house and we couldn't wait to see her!  Earlier in the morning, we had prepared some yummy food to enjoy with her in the afternoon.  Little did we know that my Grandma would also bring some of her delicious cookies!  She is notorious for good Christmas cookies.  She is a professional at the thumb print cookies (jam in the middle), these amazing meringue circles, mincemeat cookies, russian tea balls, and some I am sure I am forgetting.  We filled up on her cookies before brunch but it was well worth it!  How she does it, I don't know. 

We all gathered around my Mom's dining room table, said prayer, and started eating the fabulous food!  A few minutes into the brunch, Grandma started telling us about the Christmas rituals she used to have during her childhood in Germany.  She told us how on Christmas Eve, her parents would have all the kids go into a little room and stay there for a while.  What they didn't know was that her parents were trimming the tree in the front room.  It is so interesting to hear stories about her life.  In all honesty- I wish I knew more.  She sang for us a German Christmas song and we were all in awe.  After brunch- she gave my kids the most adorable pajamas and we gave her a gift, too! 

A few days later, we had my Nana over for some dinner and cookie decorating.  Nana is such a love.  Such a sweet, loving, and amazing woman.  Over the last twenty years, she has battled Parkinson's Disease.  She continues to inspire me with her amazing fight.  As always, we enjoyed being with Nana at dinner and it was so fun to see her decorate cookies with the kids.  Emily even loved feeding her pistachios!  Nana was such a good sport, even when Emily was trying to feed her pistachios that still had the shell on!

Oh, I am a lucky girl.  I have two amazing Grandmas that have enriched my life and been such sources of inspiration and strength for me.  Lucky me.

Family Christmas Party

Because we will be spending Christmas in San Jose this year, we went up to visit my family for a few days before Christmas!  Luckily, the whole airport process was smooth one (other than Damien getting home, having to unpack from his L.A. trip and repack for Seattle in twenty minutes) and we got to my parent's house without any hassle at all!  Oh, it was good to be home.  The kids went berserk the minute we got there and it was hard to wind them down and get them to bed!

The quiet itinerary for our trip lent to lots of relaxing and family time.  The only true event was the Christmas party at my Mom's cousin's house.  This party is nuts!  My Mom's side of the family all gathers under one roof to celebrate one another and the holiday festivities!  Lots of Italians equals lots of fun!  Deena's (my Mom's cousin) house is amazing.  Set deep in the Sammamish Plateau sits her completely customized home.  I can't even start with the particulars.  It is just lavish and so much fun! 

This year she hired some Dicken's Carolers to come and serenade us and it was so cool!  Right off the heels of my kids Christmas performances, the carolers sang many of the same songs as my kids did so they loved singing along!  Matthew requested Jingle Bell Rock and got his wish!  He couldn't believe it!  I love this party because it is an excuse to get all dressed up and have fun but I love that it is another opportunity for the cousins, aunts and uncles to get together!

All the kids loved swinging in this pea-pod contraption that she had hanging from her wall.  I was so worried one of them was going to break it because I figured it would cost a pretty penny to replace!  I snapped a few pictures of them swinging away and came away with this darling picture of Michael and Claire.  It is one of my most favorite pictures of them.  It reminds me of when they were younger and were always together.  Okay, let me wipe my tears!  Back to the party . . .  The food was outstanding.  Deena cooks everything herself and among the many Italian dishes, she also prepared the most fantastic paella I had ever eaten!  And to think it was her first attempt!  It makes me want to be more daring in the kitchen and try new things, too!

We had a great night.  I am so thankful for an extended family who loves me and my own family so much.  Even though we don't live there- we feel welcomed as if we did.  No one forgets us and we are always welcomed with open arms.  It's so wonderful.  Words just can't explain.  Merry Christmas to my wonderful extended family!

Michael and Claire's Christmas Program

I love this time of year.  It was so special to see Matthew's Christmas Program and I was equally as excited to see what Michael and Claire's school had rehearsed and planned!  I wish I could say that I was really relaxed today but that is just simply not true.  See, Damien had been out of town all week and was scheduled to fly into town at 3:00 p.m.  Normally this would be fine- but we had a taxi scheduled to pick us up at 4:00 p.m. and take us to the airport so we could fly to Seattle!  Ahhhh!  I spent the morning packing for myself and the kids and then quickly bundled up the little ones to get to the kids performance!

The church looked so beautiful and was decorated with such sweet creations from the kids.  I searched long and hard to spot my kids and let them know I was there!  Their eyes just lit up when they saw us!  I'm so proud of them!  Their music teacher puts in a lot of time to make sure their performance is as wonderful as it can be!  Michael and Claire did great!  Michael is always so surprisingly animated when he sings/performs and Claire was so composed and was wonderful.  Emily thought it was so cool to see them up on stage performing!  I am so happy with the way our life is going.  Sitting in church, watching them sing, feeling all the love, support, and joy surrounding me was just what I needed.  Merry Christmas to All!

Letters to Santa

This is a magical year.  This year, we still have all four kiddos waiting for Santa and full of belief!  It is a wonderful thing!  The topic of what to ask from Santa has been a big one over here.  The two older kids really want an Xbox Kinect.  I am not a huge fan of video game systems (at least at this point) because Emily usually ends up turning the game off or pushing a button she shouldn't have . . . which sends one of the kids into hysterics.  Aside from my viewpoint, the kids want one.  And what do I know?  Two years ago I didn't think that the kids should get Nintendo DS systems and Santa got them each one!

It's fun to watch their wishes change from year to year.  Claire had an interesting conversation when we went to go and see Santa and get our picture taken with him.  Mind you- I had heard NOTHING about what she was going to ask for before she sat down and asked for, 'A Pet that is not a Goldfish or a New Baby Sister'.  GULP!  Okey dokie!  As Christmas got closer, she did add a few more things to her list.  She wanted a Barbie Nail Designer and a charade game called Hedbanz.  I thought I should research those a bit so I knew what Santa was looking for.  Ready for this?  The Barbie Nail thing?  $200.  And the game Hedbanz just happens to be one of the biggest sellers this year and extremely hard to get a hold of.  I just found her letter to Santa and it reads: 

"Dear Santa,

All I want for Christmas is . . . . .

 Nail Thingy, a pet besides a goldfish,

New Baby Sister, My Family to be Happy,

My Great Grandpa to be alive, a cure for canser,

and last my Dad's birthday to be funny because it is."

 

Before we went to take a picture with Santa, Michael was nervous!  He didn't want to see Santa until he was 100% sure of what he wanted to ask for.  I told him it was okay to tell Santa that you would send him a letter once he figured out what he wanted.  That did the trick.  Then Michael turned to me and asked, 'I know that isn't the real Santa.'  I thought about how to explain how this Santa thing works! 'No, Michael- that isn't the real Santa.  That is one of his helpers.  Do you think he could be in every mall across America at the same time? '  Again he thought.  'Well, I am going to test that.  I am going to apply for a few Santa jobs and if I actually get the job- then I will know that they employ ordinary people!'  I told him to go for it!  He had nothing to lose!  Michael was pretty steadfast in his wishes.  He never wavered and despite my urging to not ask for a Xbox, he said that it wasn't up to me- it was up to Santa.   His letter read:

"Dear Santa,

What I want for Christmas is an Xbox Kinect,

1 packet of peach baby food, a soccer Kinect game,

Bowser's Inside Story DS game, and a pocket TV- but mostly

I want a Xbox Kinect and a pocket TV.

Love, Michael Swendsen"

Matthew knew early on what he was going to ask for.  This is the first Christmas he realized the power he possessed when asking Santa for a few surprises!  When he sat on Santa's lap, he calmly explained that he wanted a Lego Airplane, Green Hex Bug, and a Batman video game.  Nothing less, nothing more.  He has meant business from the very beginning of the season.  He has stared at the Toys R Us newspaper ads and spent a lot of time figuring out what he wants.  I hope Santa gets his letter!

Emily will love anything Santa brings.  Oh, the oblivious Christmas years.  She won't understand a thing but magically- toys will be waiting for her that are hand picked from Santa!  I told Santa she would love a baby doll and a new potty chair.  Emily is certainly turning into a big girl! 

So, Santa . . . if you happen to read this blog- you should have no problem knowing what my kids want!  They have been really good this year.  Life has had a lot of adjustments over the past few years and they have handled them with such grace.  No coal for the Swendsen kids, please!