Christmas Day...

I am still teased by my siblings (and parents for that matter) about being the child who woke everyone one up super early for Christmas every year. Now they have turned me into a grouchy old no morning person. Happy?

They should be glad to know that we slept in to 6:58 at the Karafa house this year.

Good thing to, because I am pretty sure we just missed Santa. Or so Jordan thinks...

Two very excited Christmas boys...

He's Lotso... can you tell?

The big hits of the day...

Merry Christmas to All!!

Christmas Eve...

This year for Christmas Eve we actually stayed home. We are usually celebrating with one of the Grandparents but this was a nice little change for us.

The boys and I spent the morning decorating gingerbread cookies for us & Santa. It sure made the house smell AMAZING!

Jordan was very meticulous in his decorating. Not a stray sprinkle in sight... almost.

Dillon had more fun eating our creations then actually making them.

I prepared a Christmas feast of Ham, corn, funeral potatoes and Blair's favorite dessert (in lieu of b-day cake). Noticeably missing were the rolls that were an EPIC failure!!

After dinner we had our little Christmas program. Jordan serenaded the family with the songs he learned at school and Dillon sang Jingle Bells, which is the only song currently in his arsenal. I tried to read the boys a story from The Friend about the true meaning of Christmas, but they just wanted to know why I was crying.

The Hunt family tradition of opening new jammies for Christmas continued...

And our very own Karafa tradition of opening a new ornament for the tree carried on as well...

We got into our jammies and settled in for a family viewing of "The Christmas Story". It was a wonderful day!

On the 20th day...

"On the 20th day of Christmas my true loves and me, went to Disneyland with Grandpa on his birthday"

Arriving at the Mickey & Friends parking gets our kids excited. Walking through downtown to the front gates amps it up even more. The excitement waiting in line is palpable. There is nothing like walking under the tunnels onto Main Street though. I love to watch the boys face light up. LOVE IT! This time there was so many new (holiday) things for them to take in.

We followed our usual path down Main Street and straight to The Jungle Cruise. Next up is Pirate's and on to the Haunted Mansion. Jordan agreed to try the Mansion again as it has been overlayed with one of his favorite movies.

The boys loved the changes and declared the Mansion as a must-ride again. Splash Mountain was closed so we headed to Pooh Bear. This was a sight seen all week. Jordan is little obsessed with his cousin. Okay, a lot obsessed.

I tried to get a cute picture of Dillon but all he wanted to do was imitate Pooh Bear. "Num, num, num".

Here's the birthday boy with a couple of his buddies.

Next up was California Adventure. The rest of the gang headed to Sorain over California while Dilly and I people watched. And by people watched I mean Dill pretended they were Zurg and fingershot all the passerby's.

After watching the Muppets 3D we happened upon a nice cast member who invited us into a private family party. We almost said no thanks but decided to go inside. What an amazing treat. All our favorite characters to meet and greet. Cute picture backgrounds and free snacks! A rare sighting of all the family (on this blog anyway).

After a long day the troopers decided to stay for a few parades. My nephew shared some treats with the boys that kept them thoroughly entertained during the wait.

As usual the parade's were fabulous and worth waiting around for. Love that Disney Magic!

19 days down...

"On the 19th day of Christmas my true loves and me, headed west to watch the fishes of the sea"

We decided to celebrate the holidays a little differently this year. We along with the rest of the Karafa family decided to vacation in Southern California for a few days. Our first day took us to the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific. We took our boys a few years ago but neither remembered. Even the sharks get in on the holiday.

I never remember the difference between seals & sea lions, do you? Jordan had fun rolling a ball along the exhibit and watching the seal/sea lion chase after it.

He also decided to brave the icy waters of the touching pools and for the first time he touched a starfish. Oh he was mighty proud of himself!

Dillon made it his main job to find Nemo, Dory and all their friends in each exhibit. He as usual (in my opinion) was just too cute.

Did you know they also have homo sapians in the tanks? Yessiree!

Outside the Aquarium there is a dock with a beautiful view. We walked down to look at a few of the boats and I captured these two cuties along with it. Love my boys!

Two weeks away...

This is Jordan being a statue in a neighbors yard.

"On the 11th day of Christmas my true loves and me, took a walk around the block and looked at lights"

When it comes to Christmas time my  boys are pretty easy to please. All I have to do is take them around the neighborhood to ooh and aww at all the decorations and they are happy as clams. The walk also helps us get a little energy out so we can come home and crash. Mom tricks are great.

Unfortunately my tricks don't always work. Dillon refused to walk so we had to take him in the stroller.

Last year the boys became obsessed....OBSESSED with blow-ups in people's yards. I blame my Dad for making it a big to-do when he plugged his in. The hubs is such a pushover for his boys and bought them one of their very own this year.

We really are Disney through & through.

Only 14 days to go...

Fifteen and counting...

"On the 10th day of Christmas my true loves and me, played a game as a family".

Tonight's countdown activity was "Jordan's Choice". He wanted to play Wii Fit but changed his mind pretty quickly once I told him he would have to clean up the tv room first. Nothing like a little housework to change one's mind. He decided on ZINGO instead.

He won both rounds.

I guess that's good since it was Jordan's Choice after all.

Dillon got the hang of the game in the second round and was one tile away from winning. He shouted ZINGO with just as much enthusiasm as his brother. I guess that is a good thing too.

There's nothing like a good old game for family fun.

Only 15 days to go...

8 days down, 17 to go...

"On the 8th day of Christmas my true loves and me hung a garland and watched Prep and Landing".

We also finished painting our ornaments. I made the boys take their clothes off and Dillon went one further and took his diaper off. So we painted in undies and birthday suits. I took pictures (you bet I did) but Daddy thinks it better to not post them (wise Daddy).

I would tell you which ones were mine and which were Jordan's but it would be too embarrassing. If you could see the pictures of a naked Dill with paint all over his teeth and lips you could probably guess his by the colors.

We followed up our painting by hanging my cedar garland. I made some little Boy Scout pretty happy by buying his garland. It's worth it though. Almost makes up for my guilt of mot liking Boy Scouts. Well not the boys just the organization. I guess I have only 3 years to get over it...YIKES!

We took a rainbow bath (from the paint) and the boys hopped into my bed to watch the movie. Pretty cute but I wish these movies were a little longer. Daddy arrived home from Scouts (seeing a theme here) with a Sonic surprise and sugared the boys up. Dillon is sitting here (at 10:20 pm) bright eyed and bushy tailed as I type. And Jordy has been sent back to bed twice. Awesome. So when they are tired and grumpy and I have to drag them to Grandmas in the morning Daddy will already be gone. I am seeing another pattern here.

Only 17 days to go...

One-Eight...*Updated with Recipe*

"On the 7th day of Christmas my true loves and me, made ornaments for our tree".

Today the boys and I made some non-edible cinnamon ornaments. Man oh man, my house smelled delicious today. Since it was such a blustery day outside this was the perfect time killer.

Cinnamon Ornaments


1 C Cinnamon
1 TB Cloves
1 TB Nutmeg
1 C Applesauce
2 TB Elmer's Glue


Mix ingredients together. Dough should be moist but not sticky. Sprinkle cinnamon on counter & roll to 1/3 inch thickness and cut into shapes. Use a straw for the holes. Bake for 2 hours at 200 degrees, flipping halfway through. Now you can paint them, tie on a ribbon and hang them up! If you don't want to bake them it will take a few days to dry.

Dillon manned the cinnamon-

Jordan had the applesauce under control-

I handled the Elmer's glue. My children are great, but they cannot be trusted with glue. I have to admit that I was tempted to put the glue all over my hands and peel my "skin" off to show them. Maybe I can't be trusted either...

Good thing we found a great set of cookie cutters on our trip to Dollar Tree the other night. They came in very handy today!

(do not mind the horrendously disgusting pantry in the background. WOW!)

The rain outside was too hard to resist for my little yahoo's. They are such boys! I was freezing just standing next to the open door. (maybe I will take the Snuggie Blair has been threatening to put under the tree.)

Only 18 more days...

Missed a few...19 days...

Well the 4th, 5th & 6th days of Christmas have come and passed. My lovies and I have continued our countdown, I just haven't been the greatest at taking a camera along.

On the 4th day the midgets and I headed to Dollar Tree for some shopping. They were allowed to pick any presents they wanted to gift to their brother. Jordan got the idea and had a ball. Dillon was too busy shopping for himself.

The 5th day we spent with Daddy (our favorite days) and he took us to Cracker Barrel for dinner. Cracker Barrel is Jordan's all-time favorite place to go. It's peach pancakes every time!

Now for the 6th Day...

"On the 6th day of Christmas my true loves and me, made a village out of gingerbread".

Last year was our first foray into gingerbread making. It's definitly going to be a tradition we continue.

Our favorite part is eating the candy. Like you couldn't guess that!

Only 19 days to go...

22 Days & Counting...

"On the third day of Christmas my true loves and me snuggled in my bed and watched a moo-oo-oovie"

ABC Family is my new favorite channel. They have had so many great Holiday movies on the past week (and many more to come). My DVR is getting a workout for sure. I taped the Pixar Shorts last night and the boys can't get enough.

After a peppermint bubbled bath and a few tears (from clipped nails) we got in warm jammies and snuggled up in my bed to watch the movie. Having my boys snuggled up with me sure is sweet, and even more so when they smell so yummy. Yummy smelling boys doesn't happen often. You have to take these moments and run with them.

Only 22 more days to go...

23 days...

On the 2nd day of Christmas my true loves & me drafted letters to good old Santa Claaaaaaaaus!

For Dillon-

• Woody Buzz Jessie
• UP DVD
• Woody Buzz jammies

For Jordan-

• Agent P jammies
• RC
• Super Mario Wii
• DVD

Only 23 more days!