Charlie's 1st Annual Christmas Cookie Party

Since I love to bake and the boys seem to love to bake with me, we decided to have a few Christmas Cookie Decorating Parties this year! We hope to make it a tradition here! Charlie's party was last week before our Internet went down. Most of his friends get out of school at noon the kiddos and mums came for lunch and cookie decorating.

It was great fun and they loved eating the icing and using it to decorate their cookies! He invited his buddies Sol, Lucas, Lewis, Katie, Lucy and Casper to his party.

Reindeer Food

Just pics of the boys making reindeer food to pass out at their upcoming cookie decorating parties....

Jingle Bells

Christopher learned how to play Jingle Bells from his guitar teacher and he taught Ethan. The boys practiced for me and Charlie felt they needed a Little Drummer Boy too! So fun to hear their progress in their music tuition!

Thanksgiving and Karen's Wedding

Back to our trip to the US for Thanksgiving and my cousin Karen's Wedding.

Charlie and I enjoyed Thanksgiving day at Chris and Kim's Lake House with Mims and Gramps, the girls and Kim' parents. We ate and relaxed all day! Chris and Kim had cooked and cooked and the food was so yummy. We have many things to be thankful for this year and we all went around the table with laughter and tears and shared those things. Just what Thanksgiving should be! Just look at how we wore out the sweet cook!

Sorry Kim, I couldn't resist!

Then Friday, after a little shopping and a visit from my friend Andrea, we went to Karen and Jeremy's Rehearsal Dinner. Oh my goodness, I have never seen a bride so happy as Karen! The joy on her face and in her voice was so contagious, we all (her cousins) had a great time!

My dad had arranged for the cousins, aunts and uncles to toast Karen and Jeremy at their rehearsal dinner in the spirit of my grandfather, Willie FitzGerald. Dad printed out many Irish blessings and toasts that we'd all heard at our weddings. We took turns reading them to the bride and groom and laughing and crying at the memories of Pops and Grandma. One of the best moments came when cousin Cindy gifted Karen with our beloved grandparents cookie jar. You see, when Grandma passed away, all 8 of the grandchildren made a list of wishes for remembrances from their home. Well Cindy and Karen had both written down the cookie jar. Our grandmother always kept Chips Ahoy Chocolate Chip cookies in that jar. And we all went straight to it every time we were at her house. As time went by, the cookies became the soft bake store bought ones and they became stale since we'd all grown up and moved away and our visits were spaced out. But there was something about lifting the lid to that jar no matter how the cookies tasted. So anyway, Karen and Cindy had both written it down and Karen graciously told Cindy, "you take it, you have a family and will put it to use!" Cindy said, we'll share it! Well, time has passed and as a complete surprise to Karen, Cindy gifted that beloved cookie jar to Karen at her rehearsal dinner!

Saturday, Chris and Kim (and my nieces Ashleigh, Caitlin and Hannah) hosted all of the cousins down at their Lake House for a cookout lunch! It was great to catch up and to let the children all run and play!

And although I have no pictures for you to see from the actual wedding, trust me when I tell you that it was wonderful! Karen and Jeremy seemed to have a terrific time and we all enjoyed sharing in their joy! Congrats to you both!

Internet Down!

Whew, we've just "survived" almost a week without Internet. And phone. I know it seems silly to say that out loud but it is how I accomplish everything.

Phone calls abroad, this blog, email, shopping, weather, maps, local info, news....I use it daily and boy did I miss it!

Our landlords are putting in a new driveway and so the cables were crushed. But now all is back in order and yippee, yahoo, I can communicate.

Sad really that I rely on it so much. I'll ponder that another day. For now, I'm answering email and catching up.

More on what we've been up to very soon!

Florie FitzGerald

Friday, December 5th, my brother Todd and sister-in-law Amy welcomed little girl #2 to their family! She is so stinkin cute and big sister Stella is pretty proud. Just look at these cuties!

I just can't stand it that we are an ocean apart! We love you guys and can't wait to meet baby Florie! Congrats!

Time is Flying

I keep thinking there will be time to sit down and write something clever. The reality is, ours days are busier and busier right now and I am falling behind on what I want to tell you! So forgive the "task oriented" entry!

Scott loves a little bit of Americana on his sandwich. You see, Miracle Whip is something only my husband eats (and maybe the rest of you in the USA that eat this stuff) and he has lived without it for the year that we have lived here. Then one day, our happy family was shopping at Lupe's Deli and what did we notice (okay, maybe only Scott noticed it), Miracle Whip! I thought he was going to do a herkie (sp?) right there in the store! And a whopping $6 later, just look how happy he was...

And as you know from my last post, Charlie and I enjoyed a little bit of Americana while we were in Shreveport for Thanksgiving and my cousin Karen's wedding! It was fantastic, terrific and fast! I will post about it later this week.

Then Scott took me to Edinburgh this weekend without our little monkeys and boy did we have a nice time. Okay, we missed them but man it was nice to be on our schedule and to do what we wanted to do and to finish our conversation without being interrupted! We went to a comedy club, shopped a bit, walked and walked through Old Town, went to a museum, a pub or 2 and we ate and ate lots of wonderful meals! And to finish off the weekend, we each enjoyed a massage at the spa! Whew, do I feel refreshed! And Blessed! Thank you Scott for the perfect surprise!