Out of Order...Christmas in LV!

Karl recently posted the "Happy New Year picture" because I didn't think I would get a chance to blog today but it is 10:00pm and I feel motivated! I have been wanting to post some pictures from Jack and Raina's wedding but I got sucked into a book and haven't been on the computer for 2 days! I just finished it so now I'm back!! For those who don't know, Karl's younger brother, Jack got married the day after Christmas! It was a perfect day surrounded by family. Jack and Raina are expecting a little boy in early February. We are happy to welcome Raina to the family and look forward to meeting our nephew/cousin! Christmas was excellent. We drove to Vegas on the 24th and made it just in time for church. All of Karl's family came to Vegas over Christmas because of the wedding. We were lucky to spend time with everyone. The drive home was a bit hairy...really bad traffic! It was worth it though! Other news is we signed the papers on our house!! We should have the key in about 5 days! I'll post some pictures soon. We are very excited about the house although it needs a lot of work. Before we move in we plan to paint, add a sliding door in the master bedroom, replace some kitchen appliances, install ceiling fans, replace the kitchen sink and island counter top, and CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN!!! And that is just the inside! It is all a little overwhelming but once it is done the house will be awesome! I was laying in bed with Matt this morning and we were talking about the new house. I was telling him we would be going to live in a new house soon and Matt wanted to know who was going to live there. I told him Mommy, Daddy, Micah, Matt and Emma would be there. Matt then asked if out Realtor would also be living there with us! HA HA makes sense..he is usually with us when we look at and talk about "new houses!"
The other pictures posted are from tonight. I love the picture of the two boys! It is rare to see them so close to each other and not hitting one another! Which reminds me...Micah chipped a tooth on Christmas Eve day. :( I'm not really sure how it happened. One minute I was doing laundry and the boys were looking at books and the next minute I heard a horrible cry from Micah. Poor kid's front tooth is chipped on the inside corner. Karl suggested we call him "Chip." At least he will lose the tooth in 6 or 7 years! I think I will take him to a dentist just to make sure it is all ok! On that note...
Happy New Year and have a good weekend...soon!!
We are off to the zoo tomorrow...Jeanette, we will say hi to the giraffes for you!

Happy New Year!!

Jingle Bells

Merry Christmas!!

Yummy Fruits and Veggies

We joined a food co-op a few weeks ago and wanted to share a picture the the beautiful food we have been getting! We pick up our box of produce on Saturday afternoons. We don't know what we will be getting until a few days before. This has been fun because it is a surprise and has forced me to be creative with cooking. It has also introduced us to some veggies we wouldn't normally buy. It was great to show and explain to Matt how carrots really look when they are harvested! All the produce is locally grown and organic. It is amazing the difference in taste and color to have produce that was just harvested the day before you get it! I'm off to start making some potato- leek soup! Have a great week and check back after Christmas for pictures!!
Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful and joyous Christmas surrounded by people you love most!

Still Snowing!!

It is still snowing!! Karl got home early and we went out to make a snowman and play!

Let it Snow!!

As I write this it is snowing! The boys and I just came in from playing in the snow and I thought I should post a few pictures! Micah had a great time and would have stayed out longer but his gloves kept falling off! Matt had a fun for about 20 minutes then was ready to get warm inside! I was supposed to work today but the freeway through Acton and Aqua Dulce gets really bad in the snow. I decided to play it safe and stay home with the boys. It was a good decision because my friend in Acton called and told me they just finished building a 6 foot snowman in their backyard! Fun! Have a good rest of the week and stay warm!!





Just wanted to add an update...I took these photos around 10:00am, it is now 2:30pm and hasn't stopped snowing! We have about 3 in!! Midwest people...stop laughing. This is big news in So CA!!

Santa!

Sorry for the long lapse since the last post. Everyone in our house came down with the plague over the weekend. Karl and I got hit with a nasty little flu virus and the boys turned into little snot factories with fevers. YUCK! We are all on the mend though!
The first picture was from Thanksgiving weekend. My grandma, from Colorado, flew in for the week. We took a little day trip to a Hungarian sausage factory and stopped at Charlie Browns for sweet potato fries and date shakes! My grandma loves to try new foods and I'm not about to decline sweet potato fries or a date shake ( I can do without the sausage!)
Yesterday, Monday (12/8) I drugged the boys with Tylenol and took them to Mommy and Me class because a very special guy visited...Santa! It may sound cruel that I took them out being sick but every kid in the Antelope Valley is sick and they had a GREAT time! Before Santa flew in we decorated cup cakes. The kids all got jingle bells to hold and they walked into the room to find Santa asleep in his chair! We had to ring the bells and sing "Jingle Bells" to wake him up. Santa brought Matt some tools and Micah a book. Matt did a great job of talking to Santa and telling him what he wants for Christmas. I think Matt thought he was going to get the camera (that is what he wants) right then . It is a hard concept to explain to a 2 1/2 year old! Although, he can talk all about advent and Jesus' birthday! I don't think he really understands but he is very excited to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus o n Christmas! The picture below is of Mat t and his teacher, who Matt says is "so silly!"

Lone Pine

The Stutelberg family decided to get out of town for the weekend! We left midmorning on Saturday for Lone Pine, CA. Lone Pine is located about 2 hours North of the Antelope Valley at the base of the Eastern Sierra Mountains. Lone Pine is the portal to Mt. Whitney. My dad hiked up Mt. Whitney about 10 years ago and said it was an amazing (literally breathless) experience! Someday Karl and I would love to hike it. We just need some babysitters for a day or so...hint hint!
The boys slept on the drive to Lone Pine so we didn't immediately stop in town. We drove up Portal Rd a few miles and pulled off the road and had a picnic lunch and hiked around. The rock formations at this spot were really cool. The pictures of Matt squatting and leaning on a rock and Micah by the rocks were taken here. They were in "forts." We had a good time scouting out lots of "forts!" We then drove up Portal Rd to the Whitney Portal. It had been about 70 degrees out when we had our picnic and just another 10 miles up the road it was 45 degrees at the start of the Whitney trail!We stayed the night in an old hotel in town that was built back in the 1930s to house actors and movie crews that were in the area filming old Westerns. Matt was VERY excited to stay in a hotel! Both boys were bouncing off the walls! We had dinner across the street at a pizza place which was also a special treat for the boys and added to the excitement! Once we got the kids in bed (no small feat) it took them over an hour to fall asleep! Karl and I were trying not to laugh because it was kind of cute/funny how excited they were!In the morning we ate breakfast at the greasiest (yummy yummy) cafe in the world. We then drove back up Portal Rd to Lone Pine Campground. We hiked a bit, Matt rode his tricycle, Micah pushed his toy, and hung out by the stream. When the boys started getting tired we loaded back in the car and drove home! It was a great weekend! Hopefully all of you had a nice weekend!

GOODNIGHT!!

Matt's First Race

Matt ran his first road race with Karl. The annual Turkey Trot was this weekend. There was a 1/2 K race for kids and Matt ran with Karl! He did great! He refused to wear the number (another two year old thing) but ran the whole way! All the kids got medals at the end. Our family friends, the Schneiders, ran as well. Karl paced Clay for a fast time and my dad, Bill, Dawn, and myself ran a nice easy run!

Happy Birthday Micah!!

We had a very busy weekend! Lots of family came to town for Micah's birthday on Sunday. Erin came last Tuesday evening. She had the week off for "fall holiday" and chose to spend it with us! We are so glad she came. The boys and I LOVE having her here. I keep trying to talk up the Antelope Valley with the hope she may be blinded by the the cuteness of her nephews and move here! No such luck! While she was here we went to a really cool pumpkin patch that has a train ride and animals. Jeanette had Friday off so she came on Thursday evening. We babysat Luke on Friday so we dressed up the 3 kids and took them to Karl's work then out for frozen yogurt. Matt was a bee, Micah a spider, and Luke a bear! I had originally planned to have Matt and Micah be monkeys but Matt refused to wear the outfit (a two year old thing) and a friend gave me the spider outfit and it was just too cute. So, we had two insects!
Halloween night we carved pumpkins then went to our church for "trunk or treating." People from the church and school park and decorate their cars and hand out candy. We took Matt last year and it is perfect! Karl's brother, Jack and his girlfriend Raina came on Friday night and joined us.
Sunday was Micah's birthday party. The theme was zoo animals. I made Micah's monkey cake and a banana cake for him to smash into. Thanks Uncle Jack for the assistance! The party was lots of fun. We wanted to keep it fairly small so only family came. My aunt, cousin and two of her kids came. We haven't seem them in over 2 years so it was really nice of them to make the drive.
Micah performed great as you can see from the pictures! Matt "helped" him blow out his candle. I can't believe my little baby is a YEAR old. Where did the year go? I still think of Micah as my little new born and he isn't even a baby anymore but a toddler. The kids had fun with the pinata and playing in the backyard. Everyone had to leave in the afternoon after the party. It was hard to see everyone leave after such a fun long weekend! I want to send a big THANK YOU to everyone. We are very lucky to have such wonderful family that cares and loves our boys so much!