The kids woke up around 5:30 and I kept thinking they'd try and wake me up. Instead, they turned on the tv and waited for us to get up. I finally came out of our room around 6:45 and then had the kids go wake up their apa. When Jack came out, I made him make coffee ; ) and let the kids tear into their presents. Dahin, as you can see below, was super happy with her presents.
The kids got magic kits and books in their stockings. Santa always leaves candy canes in their stockings in addition to hanging a few on the tree. I think the candy canes are Oliver's favorite part. Below, you can tell he fully appreciates the peppermint scent of the candy cane.
This is what Dahin's been wanting for a while. The Littlest Pet Shop virtual pet includes a code that you can use to go online and track your pet and take care of it. Unfortunately, we keep getting told that her code has already been used, so I've had to email the company and ask them to help us resolve the problem. I'm hoping they give us a new code so she can actually use the toy to its full extent.
Oliver got a Thomas the Tank Engine tent and Ronan got a Spiderman one. I think they appreciate having their own space. Ronan took all his presents and put them inside his tent.
Chinese food on Christmas Day started as a tradition with my family in Tennessee after we saw Christmas Story. Now, my parents head to the local Chinese buffet on Christmas to enjoy a stress (and dishes) free Christmas dinner. We do that, as well. For me, it's too much of a pain to make all this food for kids who will barely touch ham and mashed potatoes. We know they'll eat Chinese food really well, so it suits us. I tend to do a roast or something on Christmas Eve (and, admittedly, because I didn't have time this year on Christmas Eve, I made one later in the day on Christmas), but just relax Christmas Day. Because we have the best place in world to eat Chinese food just 20 minutes away, we head to Chinatown in San Francisco. The restaurant we went to has become our newest favorite spot. It's right on the corner of Columbus and Market, right where Chinatown and Little Italy meet. The food is yummy, the people are nice, and the price is so right. Bubbie and Grandfather sent us some money for Christmas, so we used it to go see the Tale of Despereaux and then go out to feast on Chinese food here. Thanks Grandfather and Bubbie!
The kids play with Dahin's tamagachi that she got from Santa as we wait for our food.
Chinatown is fun, but out of all the places in San Francisco it smells the worst and is so dirty. When you enter Chinatown, you're assaulted with the smell of cigarette smoke and it just seems so much more grimey than the rest of San Francisco. It's also one of the more crowded spots, with it's relatively narrow sidewalks and tons of people, most of whom are speaking Cantonese. The best part of it is the food. It's not like anything else in the States. The food in Chinese restaurants in the South and Midwest is so salty and tasteless--you really don't realize that until eating Chinese food here. When I went back to Bloomington one summer I had some Chinese food in what used to be my favorite place to eat, China Buffet, the food was so bad I could hardly eat it. I know I've been totally spoiled.
Jack sports the scarf that I made him for Christmas. He needed it this day because it was SO cold. The wind was pretty strong and, with the icy Pacific breeze and overcast skies, we all needed to bundle up. Jack was also nursing a cold that, I think, was actually the flu since it dragged on for days. We had fun, though, and the kids loved hanging out with their Apa and Mommy together. We tag-team parent, so it's not often that we get days like this to hang out together.
Between buildings covered with clothes lines full of laundry hanging out to dry I found this mural. There are so many cool murals in San Francisco, and this is just one of many in Chinatown.
My favorite building in San Francisco is below. When you pass it, you know you are leaving little Italy and heading to the financial district. The big triangle building in the background is a pretty well-known SF landmark.
We went to Union Square to see the giant Christmas tree they light every year on Thanksgiving. We also found that they now have an ice skating rink there for the holiday season. The kids loved watching people skate around on the square. Our first year here, we were a little depressed because it just didn't feel like Christmas. There was no snow and the temps were in the 60s. So, we went to San Francisco and found a much more festive environment. It's become our habit then, since moving here in 2002, to head to San Francisco, eat some Chinese food, get some coffee and hot cocoa and look at the decorations.
The kids and I in front of the Macy's Christmas tree.
We made a bee-line to the only Starbucks we could find open near the Square and Ronan, as you can see below, totally approved of the hot cocoa break.
Apa and the kids by the ice skating rink on the Square.
Because I missed the chance to make my roast on Christmas Eve this year, I was determined to make it when we got back. Everyone was tired and grumpy, including me, so it would have probably been better if we had skipped it. But, I forged ahead. The taste of my mom's yeast rolls made us all feel a little better. I think I must have gained about 5 pounds from eating all the chocolate and fatty foods and drinking wine over the past week.
Before going to bed, Ronan had fun playing with his new Spiderman toy. He thought it was hilarious to shoot his darts at Apa's head. He really didn't make the mark, but Apa helped him pretend by sticking the darts on his forehead.
Hope everyone had a wonderful and restful Christmas!
The kids got magic kits and books in their stockings. Santa always leaves candy canes in their stockings in addition to hanging a few on the tree. I think the candy canes are Oliver's favorite part. Below, you can tell he fully appreciates the peppermint scent of the candy cane.
This is what Dahin's been wanting for a while. The Littlest Pet Shop virtual pet includes a code that you can use to go online and track your pet and take care of it. Unfortunately, we keep getting told that her code has already been used, so I've had to email the company and ask them to help us resolve the problem. I'm hoping they give us a new code so she can actually use the toy to its full extent.
Oliver got a Thomas the Tank Engine tent and Ronan got a Spiderman one. I think they appreciate having their own space. Ronan took all his presents and put them inside his tent.
Chinese food on Christmas Day started as a tradition with my family in Tennessee after we saw Christmas Story. Now, my parents head to the local Chinese buffet on Christmas to enjoy a stress (and dishes) free Christmas dinner. We do that, as well. For me, it's too much of a pain to make all this food for kids who will barely touch ham and mashed potatoes. We know they'll eat Chinese food really well, so it suits us. I tend to do a roast or something on Christmas Eve (and, admittedly, because I didn't have time this year on Christmas Eve, I made one later in the day on Christmas), but just relax Christmas Day. Because we have the best place in world to eat Chinese food just 20 minutes away, we head to Chinatown in San Francisco. The restaurant we went to has become our newest favorite spot. It's right on the corner of Columbus and Market, right where Chinatown and Little Italy meet. The food is yummy, the people are nice, and the price is so right. Bubbie and Grandfather sent us some money for Christmas, so we used it to go see the Tale of Despereaux and then go out to feast on Chinese food here. Thanks Grandfather and Bubbie!
The kids play with Dahin's tamagachi that she got from Santa as we wait for our food.
Chinatown is fun, but out of all the places in San Francisco it smells the worst and is so dirty. When you enter Chinatown, you're assaulted with the smell of cigarette smoke and it just seems so much more grimey than the rest of San Francisco. It's also one of the more crowded spots, with it's relatively narrow sidewalks and tons of people, most of whom are speaking Cantonese. The best part of it is the food. It's not like anything else in the States. The food in Chinese restaurants in the South and Midwest is so salty and tasteless--you really don't realize that until eating Chinese food here. When I went back to Bloomington one summer I had some Chinese food in what used to be my favorite place to eat, China Buffet, the food was so bad I could hardly eat it. I know I've been totally spoiled.
Jack sports the scarf that I made him for Christmas. He needed it this day because it was SO cold. The wind was pretty strong and, with the icy Pacific breeze and overcast skies, we all needed to bundle up. Jack was also nursing a cold that, I think, was actually the flu since it dragged on for days. We had fun, though, and the kids loved hanging out with their Apa and Mommy together. We tag-team parent, so it's not often that we get days like this to hang out together.
Between buildings covered with clothes lines full of laundry hanging out to dry I found this mural. There are so many cool murals in San Francisco, and this is just one of many in Chinatown.
My favorite building in San Francisco is below. When you pass it, you know you are leaving little Italy and heading to the financial district. The big triangle building in the background is a pretty well-known SF landmark.
We went to Union Square to see the giant Christmas tree they light every year on Thanksgiving. We also found that they now have an ice skating rink there for the holiday season. The kids loved watching people skate around on the square. Our first year here, we were a little depressed because it just didn't feel like Christmas. There was no snow and the temps were in the 60s. So, we went to San Francisco and found a much more festive environment. It's become our habit then, since moving here in 2002, to head to San Francisco, eat some Chinese food, get some coffee and hot cocoa and look at the decorations.
The kids and I in front of the Macy's Christmas tree.
We made a bee-line to the only Starbucks we could find open near the Square and Ronan, as you can see below, totally approved of the hot cocoa break.
Apa and the kids by the ice skating rink on the Square.
Because I missed the chance to make my roast on Christmas Eve this year, I was determined to make it when we got back. Everyone was tired and grumpy, including me, so it would have probably been better if we had skipped it. But, I forged ahead. The taste of my mom's yeast rolls made us all feel a little better. I think I must have gained about 5 pounds from eating all the chocolate and fatty foods and drinking wine over the past week.
Before going to bed, Ronan had fun playing with his new Spiderman toy. He thought it was hilarious to shoot his darts at Apa's head. He really didn't make the mark, but Apa helped him pretend by sticking the darts on his forehead.
Hope everyone had a wonderful and restful Christmas!
1 comment:
Hi Hilary! Lovely pictures of your family here! I was happy to have such a lovely greeting card from your family. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Post a Comment