And That's a Wrap for 2010

I imagine most of you are regular blog readers and already saw most of these posts, but I just can't let 2010 slip by without some kind of wrap-up! :)  Once again, we've been tremendously blessed this year.  As I pondered the year, the highlights seemed to fall pretty naturally into 4 categories: milestones, family visitors, vacations and the everyday joys of parenting Ella and Delia.  I'll save myself the work of crafting and you the work of reading a long letter by simply listing some links.

Milestones and New Beginnings
Delia's first haircut
Ella turns 5
Ella's preschool graduation
Delia turns 3
The VMs are a mini-van family!
Jen crosses zip lining off the Bucket List
Delia starts preschool
Ella starts kindergarten
Dave runs his first half marathon

Family Visitors
Heather's Spring Visit
Auntie Carol and Jodi
Mom and Dad and Kyle
Karen and Aidan
Kyle for Christmas
Heather and Anna for Christmas Week

Vacations
Gilroy Gardens
Mt. Hermon
Camping in Pinecrest
Dave serves in Kentucky and stops in Chicago
Central Coast
Thanksgiving week in San Francisco

Our Growing Girls
About Delia
More about Delia
About Ella
More about Ella
Sisters
The Two in the blooms

Happy New Year!

Since I'm in a listing mood: May your 2011 be filled with love, laughter, adventure, health, joy and evidence of God's work in your lives!

Flat Stanley

A few weeks ago we got in the mail a large envelope from the school our nephew Calvin attends in Illinois.  His 3rd grade class is studying the story of Flat Stanley, a guy who gets flattened by a falling bulletin board and can now take grand adventures by simply sealing himself in an envelope.  We were asked to take the Flat Stanley that Calvin had made on an adventure and write the 3rd grade class back.  The timing couldn't have been more perfect, as we had a whole week of fabulous outings lined up with Heather and Anna.  I'll write an actual journal for Calvin, but here are some of the fun Flat Stanley pictures we got this week:

 Flat Stanley loved getting his toes in the sand and seeing the Pacific Ocean!

He watched surfers

and seals on the wharf.

Flat Stanley befriended Ella, who even helped take some of the pictures.

In Yosemite, Flat Stanley was just as impressed with the scenery as we were.

 His favorite was Yosemite Falls.  Bridalveil Falls was a little too misty for his marker-colored attire.

Flat Stanley was THE MAN on our girly getaway to Napa.  He liked learning about the grapes and the wine, but he's not 21, so he didn't taste anything.

 He's excited to brag to Calvin's dad, Chris, about the monster cheese shop we visited.

 When we took our un-flat visitors back to the airport, we stopped in San Fransisco for the day.  Flat Stanley thought the cable cars were pretty cool.

He also got a kick out of seeing Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge.

I'm getting Flat Stanley (who's a little water damaged and rumpled) ready for his journey back to the Midwest via the mail.  I think he had a pretty excellent adventure in California!  Thanks to Calvin for letting us in on the Flat Stanley Fun! :)

34 Things We Love About Dave

(Celebrating Dave's birthday in the city yesterday.  This is the giant Macys tree in Union Square.)

1.  He plays the Fancy Nancy Game with us. (Ella)
2.  He effortlessly drives in both San Francisco's traffic and Yosemite's mountain switchbacks.
3.  He plays in the snow with me. (Delia)
4.  He takes me on adventures. (Ella)
5.  He sets goals and is self-disciplined enough to work to achieve them.
6.  He tackles and tickles me. (Delia)
7.  He's a good cuddler. (Ella)
8.  He can answer any question about the Bible.
9.  He walks me to preschool. (Delia)
10.  He makes the best scrambled eggs. (Ella)
11.  He won't ever say no to someone who needs help.
12.  He gives me a silly ride. (Delia)
13.  He reads chapter books with me. (Ella)
14.  He does crazy things for fun, like run 5 miles or read War and Peace.
15.  He fixes our toys. (Delia)
16.  He lets me help pick out his clothes. (Ella)
17.  Whenever I'm cold, he shares his heat and warms me up!
18.  He sings "Jesus Loves Me" with me. (Delia)
19.  He always has a handkerchief for my drippy nose. (Ella)
20.  He takes care of all the bills and mows the lawn and does the grilling.
21.  He dances with me. (Delia)
22.  He's a good pastor and talks about God. (Ella)
23.  He lets me fill up his ipod with my Glee songs.
24.  He gives me a bath and helps me brush my teeth. (Delia)
25.  He loves me. (Ella)
26.  He works very hard so his family can have everything we want and need.
27.  He always kisses me goodbye. (Delia)
28.  He takes me to the donut shop in my jammies on Saturday morning. (Ella)
29.  He loves and respects his parents.  His family has his heart.
30.  He says, "I love you Delia." (Delia)
31.  He makes cool origami animals. (Ella)
32.  He almost never says anything bad about anyone.
33.  He colors and plays Little People with me. (Delia)
34.  He lets us eat lunch in the living room like a picnic when Mommy's not home. (Ella)

Happy Birthday, Dave!  We love you!

Pizza and Rock Band

This is the last of my posts about Anna and Heather's week with us.  It's more or less a camera dump-- random pictures of some fun things we did that don't fit anywhere else.

One night we took Heather and Anna to Uno Pizza for the good Chicago stuff.  We love this restaurant's Windy City decor and how they let the kids make their own pizza. 

 Another night we laughed until we ached when we played Rock Band.  This was a whole group activity with guitar, vocals and dancers/groupies.  The question is, how do I get the girls to stop yelling, "No! Sleep! Till Brooklyn!" now?  :)

So you see, there were incredible outings, but there was great down time at home too: laughs, meals, classic Christmas movies, Trivial Pursuit into the late hours of the night.  Yes, I'm missing my family today.

Cheers!

On our last full day together, Dave gave us the enormous treat of a big-girls-only outing.  We took the day and explored Napa, another California destination Anna has never experienced!  This was a day full of learning about wine, but mostly laughter and fun!  First stop was at our favorite classy roadside sandwich shop where fancy fries and milkshakes are the specialties.  Then we headed over to our reserved tour and tasting at Rutherford Hill Winery. 

Rutherford Hill looks like a big rustic barn.  In a valley known mostly for its Cabernet, Rutherford is famous for its Merlot.
.

We took the cave tour which led us through the candlelit caverns inside the hills where the cedar barrels of wine are aged.  As soon as we stepped inside, the smell of fermenting grapes was so thick!  Our tour guide was fantastic and told us all sorts of interesting things about how the grapes are treated, how the wine is aged, what parts of your mouth you taste the different wines in and how lovely the Napa Valley community is.

She also taught us how to use all five senses to experience the wine.  First we looked at the color and swirled it in our glass, then we sniffed and sipped it and finally we listened to our glasses clink together.  The tasting occurred in stages with the tour.  As we toured and learned different things, we were poured 6 different reds.  The tour was a great experience and we even raved to the manager how much we enjoyed it.  For pointing out a small error we had found on their website, he gave us a free bottle of Merlot to take home!

The overcast and drizzly day hindered our view of the valley's breathtaking vineyards somewhat, but we know how important this season's rain is to the crop.  We liked taking an under-umbrella stroll through the olive groves.

 After Rutherford, we checked out a little wine-making museum and a giant cheese shop at the V. Sattui Winery.  The cheese counter stretched on for a mile and the shelves were jammed with high-end and locally-made food products.  Though crowded, the samples were awesome!

A few other stops, one at an olive oil company and another at Robert Mondavi Winery, completed the day.  Napa may be one of my favorite places in our state.  It's unbelievably beautiful and I learn something new about wine tasting and wine making each time I visit.   Now I can say I've seen it in each of the four seasons and shared it with two of my favorite gals!

Our Holly Jolly Christmas

Though the best gift this year is getting to share Christmas with my family, last night we were blessed by gifts galore under our tree!  What generous family members we have!  Since most of our givers don't get to see us open what they pick out, here are a few shots of the paper flying and gift enjoying!

Delia sipping her "coffee" (hot chocolate).

 An air popper for Anna

 A pink plasma car from Auntie Heather

 Matching monogrammed bags from Heather

Opening the beautiful Kasoya dolls from Grandpa

 A Furr Real kitty from Grandpa and Grandma.  This thing is frighteningly realistic and it's gotten so much love that its batteries may already be dead.

 A digital camera from Grandpa and Grandma.  Ella has already taken about 200 pictures (most of the kitty!).  I'll have to start featuring her photography on the blog!

 A pink microphone with a stand and applause button for our little performer, from Karen, Chris and the boys.  We've heard about a dozen "Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls..." shows already!

 A Bears shirt for Dave

If you sent something that is not in a picture, please know that we loved it!  This was a fantastic Christmas, each of us getting things that are totally perfect!  We ended our 2 hours of present unwrapping with a nice dinner of veggie lasagna and tiramisu.  We hope each of  you were blessed in your Christmas celebrations this year too!

Anna's Day

Anna has never been to Yosemite and she hasn't seen snow since 2006.  It became pretty obvious what the outing for Anna's Day needed to be!  In the middle of this week of cold, clouds and storms, God even blessed us with one glorious day of sunshine!

This was a perfect day at the park. The beauty of the meadows and monoliths was enhanced by the white blanket of snow they wore.  The falls were full and the crowds were minimal.  It's just such a treat to be in the middle of such amazing creation.  I think we were all a little awestruck.

 First glimpse of the valley

 Tunnel View

 Bridalveil Falls

 Lower Yosemite Falls

We got through the valley's best spots pretty quickly, so we were able to do something new to Dave and I too-- visit the famous 5-star Awahnee Lodge.  This place was awesome too, from the historic dinning room, to the cozy fireside rooms.  The whole place was decked out for Christmas and we even caught the performance of a live choir giving a Christmas Pops concert!

One of the best parts of the day was just the opportunity to play in some snow!  This is what the girls loved most.  There was running, screaming, snowball throwing and snow angel making.

The girls even found this hill to throw themselves down!  Their coats were slippery enough to act as make-shift sleds.  It went a little faster than they thought it would and this was hilarious to watch. 

There are many reasons why a winter trip to Yosemite can be risky.  I'm so glad it worked out for us to take this day trip today!  I feel good about the opportunity to amaze and freeze Anna before sending her back to LA.  She said she got her cold fix today and is now ready for another 4 snow-less years!