Dec 23 - It's a Very Quarantine Christmas

With a little bug floating around our house, we've cancelled our plans to have the McFeely Clan over for pizza dinner.  We took advantage of the newly found family time and did some fun projects. 

Made chocolate candy cane cupcakes:

Washed outside toys with lots of soap (really, it's fun!):

Attacked the overgrown front yard: 

And watched a LOT of movies. 

Dec 22 - warming up to Christmas

Lots of cousins watching Christmas Eve on Sesame Street in a postprandial dip. 

Happy Father's Day 2013

What says "Happy Father's Day" more than running 26.2 miles?  Not much.  Brian ROCKED the San Francisco Marathon today, with a time just shy of 4 hours.  Fantastic! The girls and I hustled out to meet him at the finish line.

With flying feet and big grins, B finished one of the toughest 15 marathon courses with a fantastic time.

The girls were ecstatic to see the medal him at the end.

And because he is hardcore parkour, we went to the SF zoo afterward with my folks to spend some quality time with the carousel and petting zoo. 

Happy Father's Day y'all! 

St. Paddy's Day: Two Views

Adults:


Kids:

Keepin' it Clean in 2013

Happy New Year!!!

A's cousins visit

My family is not huge, so when not one but two of my cousins come into town with their families in tow it's something special.

Kim and Sean:



We met up at the "Museum"



Then headed to their hotel room for a pizza dinner.



The kids got to play and the adults got to visit. What a treat!

WW: Wiiiiiiiii-eeeeeee!

Christmas 2012

Erin woke at 6:30 - pretty standard.  We forewarned her she would cuddle in bed and watch shows on the iPad while we waited for Robin to wake up.

Robin woke. We scurried out to see what Santa had brought. Erin dove straight for the stocking, completely oblivious to the present in front with her name on it.

Robin saw her scooter and told Erin that she got a bike.  There was much excitement.















Then Erin wandered into the family room,  where the family presents were.  She started screaming, "Robin!!! Robin!!! Come here!!!  There's something really big!!!"




My old doll house.  Complete with very 70's doll house furniture.

A good haul, all around.

Christmas Eve 2012

We hosted dinner this year.  My parents, brothers, sister in law, two nephews, Brian's parents and his grandmother.  A good crowd.

 

 I didn't get ANY pictures that night. But here is the menu!
 Cara Cara and Blood Orange Salad topped with Fried Rosemary and Kalamata olives.

Pork Tenderloin stuffed with dried fruit and chestnuts
         White wine and dijon pan sauce
Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Japanese Sweet Potatoes, and New Potatoes with Sage
Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Pecans and Crisp Shallots.

 Dessert was Tiramisu and Pumpkin Pie. Everyone left stuffed.

Nutcracker, 2012

Ever since I was teeny, it was the family tradition to go to the Nutcracker on the 23rd of December.  Erin started going when she was 3, and this was the first year Robin got to go.

The girls did wonderfully.  Erin sat at rapt attention for the entire ballet. Robin was perfectly still for the first half, and was a bit squirmy for the second.  All in all, a successful and memorable trip.  Many thanks to my folks for continuing the tradition.

I only got one picture, the girls all squirmy and getting their wiggles out by rolling down a ramp after the show.  Hopefully Brian got a better picture.

Mrs. Y's Present

Erin's kindergarten teacher is out on medical leave for a little while.  She's fighting a good fight, and has undergone her 3rd surgery in as many  months.  But she'll be out for the rest of the week, and will return during the new year.

One of the Moms had an idea for a very, very thoughtful class holiday present for her.

Each child was assigned a color.  They used their index finger to paint a few dots in an outline.  The outline is the shape of a peace dove.  Each unique color had a fingerprint dot on the bottom half, with the child's name next to it. (non-family members names smudged for privacy).  Such a thoughtful class gift.  I didn't get to see the final product, but we gave it to her as we caroled at her house a few days later. 

Big Candy Cane

Today Erin comes home with the biggest candy cane I've ever seen.  Well, maybe not the biggest, but the biggest one she's ever had.

I say, "Erin, that's about 15 times more candy cane than you've ever had. It's a lot of candy.  What do you think we should do?"

Erin thinks for a few seconds, then replies, "Mom, I'm going to split it and share it with Robin.  Because she is my best friend!"

OK, I guess you guys can eat the whole thing.  You're already too sweet.

The Tree is Up!

It smells sooooo good. The kids spent all morning decorating, the cats spent all afternoon investigating. I must remember to keep it watered this year as it's a full month before Christmas!

Playing is Exhausting

Robin and Erin have had non-stop cousin fun the last few days.  And man, having this much fun is tiring. 

Thanksgiving 2012

This Thanksgiving, all of Brian's siblings and offspring descended on Grandma and Grandpa's house.  So. Much. Fun.

17 years

That's right.  Brian and I have officially been together for 17 years.  Wow.

We celebrated by getting a sitter (Awesome Anna!) and took BART to Lake Merritt in Oaktown for some walking. Brian took more pictures than me, so hopefully he can post more.  We walked around the botanical gardens, checked out a bonsai garden (some of the specimins are older than me!!!), did some paddle boating, then walked back around the lake for a quick cocktail, hightailed it back to BART and had a lovely time.  Can't think of a better way of celebrating our first 17 years than a long stroll, hand-in-hand, in perfect fall weather.

He's silly! 

He's handsome!!

He learns about the Oakland Scottish Rite Center and all the intricacies of the Freemasons at the bar.  

Happy 17 years, Mr. B.  I promise the next 17 will be even more fun!

Halloween 2012

With an overcast day, and a few sprinkles here and there, Halloween 2012 could have been a wet one. But the rains held at bay until after the trick-or-treating. Both girls did a Halloween parade at their schools. We went to a Kindy friend's house for a dinner with a bunch of Erin's classmates, then roamed around the neighborhood with the other hordes of little ghosts, princesses, and pirates. Lots of fun, lots of candy, and a few pictures:

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Pumpkin Carving

We all carved pumpkins while watching the game the other night.  The girls LOVED scooping.  B and I did the actual carving, and the girls decorated further with markers and stickers.   We could only do 2 of 4 pumpkins because one was too little and one had too tough of an exterior.  But the results were still lovely.

4th of July

We had a fun and busy 4th this year.  We started early with the local parade.  Of course, the girls wore dirndls.  Why wouldn't you? 

Then we had a house full of family for pulled pork, salads, and water sliding fun.  

National Marshmallow Day

We decided we needed a new holiday, so yesterday was National Marshmallow Day* at Casa de McMiller.  Armed with a pack of mini-marshmallows, a pack of star shaped marshmallows, and an armload of toothpicks, we set to work.

Robin mostly made ate a handful, made some triangles and sticks, then ate another handful.

Erin was totally focused.  She spent a good 20 minutes constructing.  She built mostly churches.  We worked on how to made a 2-D triangle into a pyramid to stabilize her spire.  And when the construction was finished:

What should be our next holiday?


*There is a National Toasted Marshmallow day on August 30, but who needs to wait for that?