The Last Three Months...

I realize that since I'm including Halloween pictures in the same post as Christmas, I may be a bit tardy in my postings.  I'm sure the sheer length of this blog will more than make up for it though.

Without further ado...He-Man and She-ra along with Mr. Colonial Soldier and Stampy cat proudly bring you...

the last 3 months!

First and foremost, the fireplace was finally completed.  By finally, it's worth noting that this sucker took a year to pick out, order, and install.  It was our Christmas gift to ourselves last year.

This is also the point that I realize I took no pictures of Thanksgiving.  We ate and it was wonderful.

In mid-December I took my second overseas work trip, this time to Munich.  While I didn't have a lot of time to sight see, I did visit the Christmas Market in Marinplatz, a pedestrian area in the center of the city.  This is the famous Glockenspiel that was in the midst of its daily noon chime.  It was indeed as beautiful as it looks.

This is the courtyard inside the building above.  People are enjoying the stands of Christmas decorations, gifts, food, and Gluhwein.

The entire city was decked out beautifully for the holidays.  It was a wonderful time to be there.  It would have been nice to have been able to see more but it was a good trip nonetheless (aside from the cold I brought home with me).

We continued with our annual tradition of spending Christmas eve with the Cruz side of the family.

Gloria cooked up some good chicken and, of course, rice and beans.

Luis and his niece Kendra enjoyed some quality time with their phones.

The grandkids!  Mason, Siena, Kendra, Andre, and Tristyn in front.

My sister-in-law Sara.

Mandi and Joel.

There was LOTS of dancing!  It was a blast!  Even the boy got into the mix.

Not sure exactly what was happening here but they are definitely in sync!

Jose (aka Junior) and his family.

Joel and his pooch.

The grandkids again.  They all truly get along so well and love spending time together.

More dancing!  This time its the ladies shakin' it.

Even Gloria and Jose still enjoy getting out there.

This year Gloria and Jose dressed up as Santa and Mrs. Claus to hand out gifts to the kids.  The kids loved it!  It was pretty special.

Siena with the Clauses.

Mason with Santa and the Missus.

Family shot - the boys Claus.

And our family with the festive couple.

When Kendra and Andre asked Mason what he wanted for Christmas, his answer was "cold cash."  Well, that's exactly what he got.  A cooler filled with ice...

and cash!

Christmas morning started early as all Christmas mornings do when there are excited kids about.

Santa apparently came through this year giving Mason his much desired Anki Drive...

...and Siena her American Girl Julie doll.

The kids also got many other awesome gifts.  This game is already a hit in our house during our Friday night game nights.

And Siena has enough Babysitter Club books to last her at least a couple of months.

Mason's been totally into the Percy Jackson books this fall and was psyched to get the movies.

Mom and Dad came over around 10 (a more reasonable hour I must say) for a delicious brunch.

Papa Ron was definitely in the spirit of the occasion.

After brunch and more presents from the Grandparents, we drove up to check out the progress on Mom and Dad's new house.

This lady is very excited about her new kitchen, as well she should be as it is gorgeous!

I'm liking what I'm seeing out on the back patio.

This guy definitely looks satisfied!

Did I mention Siena was the one taking pictures at the new house?

That includes a selfie!

Friday, aka Boxing Day, we went to Mary Lou and Bruce's new house to celebrate Christmas with the Torland side of the family.  They had just finished putting in a fun play area for the kids in their backyard.

My mom found the new baby right away!  Coralyn is my cousin Amanda's gorgeous baby girl.

Siena and I both got a turn too!

Siena enjoyed holding the little sleeping girl.

The kids enjoyed a few more gifts from the great Aunts and Uncles.

Mason and Yaya checking out what he got.

These three look to be remembering what it was like having a baby this small...

Playing with little Calvin's goop.  My mom seems to be smelling it.  Oh yeah, Shelley and her husband Adam were in town from Chicago and it was great to get to see them!

The weekend of business and merriment continued the next day as my parents came over to contribute to the rest of their gift to Mason and Siena...painting their rooms!  My mom even cleaned Mason's curtains.

Technically Siena's room was finished last weekend but here's the finished product.

She went with a cute light blue and it is so nice having her room finally cleaned out and straightened up.

Mason also lightened up his room with a light gray.

His room too is neat and tidy!

Siena had her first ever basketball game yesterday.  She played awesome and scored the first points of the game for her team.  I hope she keeps up with it...the girl has some skills!  And she looks cute in bball shorts and  high tops.

Post game high 5's!

After the game we did another check in at Mom and Dad's new house.  They're about a week from being able to start moving things in.  Mason is showing everyone how the fireplace works (yeah, he was the first to figure it out).  It's worth noting that their entire house was built in less time than it took us to get our fireplace done.

The boy with the white kitchen cabinets in the background.

In other big Cruz family news, Siena got braces!  Just on the top front for now to help make space for her permanent back teeth to come in.

The finished product.  Yes, those are teal and pink bands.

Happy 2015!!