We Made It!

After just a brief 23-hour jaunt in the car!

Seriously, what were we thinking? I'm pretty sure we weren't thinking it was going to take us 23 hours to take an 18 hour trip. But hey, Que Sera Sera.

I'd just like to once again thank the geniuses who invented the portable DVD player, even if we do have to use packing tape to make ours work for longer than two seconds. And believe it or not, leaving at night meant the kids slept a good 14 hours, so that was a plus.

Last night after we FINALLY got in, we visited awhile with Grandpa Ron and Steven's sister Jenny (yes that's right, her name is Jenny Grundberg too...and she's my exact age...and she's blonde). Then Jenny made the kids one of their favorites--Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup.


Today we've been out and about a bit and BRRRRRRR!!!! It's cold! I love it, but realize I greatly underestimated the insulating power of my new coat. I'm definitely going to need a supplementary hat and scarf. I am totally Stevie's completely pysched about the left-over, dirty snow on the ground, and somewhat unsuccesfully attempted a snow angel (really he was just rolling around on the frozen ice).
(It's suppose to snow for realsies on Tuesday!!! WOO-HOO!!!!)

Our Christmas Holiday

On Christmas Eve, some folks in our ward had a party at the church, and it was really fun. One of the guys DEEP-FRIED A TURKEY, PEOPLE! We had a hilarious White-Elephant Gift exchange, in which the Grundbergs miraculously scored by getting a brand new Apples-to-Apples game. Sweeeeet. The kids also had a little gift exchange and all in all, it was uber fun. Afterwards, we stopped by Adam and Jessica's for a little family time, and then went home to face the seemingly unsurmountable task of getting our so-excited-they're-hyperventilating children in bed.

Santa's Little Helpers next had to put together the big Christmas present (a trampoline!! Thank you, Walmart!), and let me tell you, they DEFINITELY underestimated the time and difficulty of this project. And to add insult to injury, the little trike (Santa's gift to David) took at least 45 minutes to assemble. Come on, people! You're overestimating my intelligence.

The children slept mercifully late on Christmas morning (10am! What????) But boy, did they love it. They rode their Wiggle Car and Trike in circle around the house for about 10 minutes before we could get on with the unwrapping.

Stevie was crazy excited about each present. David was much too interested in whatever toy he just unwrapped to be bothered to unwrap ANOTHER present.
But the pièce de résistance was definitely the trampoline. The kids literally squealed in delight and climbed on the thing at break-neck speed. (and don't worry, that helmet isn't a substitute for the enclosure. Santa Elves were just too lazy to put it up the night before).

Then it was on to the kitchen for Steven and me to get started on Christmas dinner. And once again, no ingredients were accidentaly added or subtracted, nothing burned, and everything was relatively delicious. Joey (who'd driven down from Arlington), Dad, Adam and Jessica all came over and we enjoyed a wonderful Christmas dinner.

Grandpa outdid himself this year with the most amazing gift to each family. A Wii!! We were absolutely floored, and spent a good chunk of the evening boxing crazily one with another. (though I personally preferred tennis). I tried to post a video of Stevie's all-intensive fully body boxing, but Blogger isn't complying. So go HERE to see it.

After the fun and hub-bub of family was gone, we took a page out of Sarah's book and pulled out the Christmas candy, snuggled together on the couch and watched "Joy to the World." It's definitely my new favorite way to end Christmas day.

Grundberg Christmas Letter 2008

Well, I’ve been sitting here staring at this blank page for the past 15 minutes trying to figure out how in the world to summarize our crazy year. Considering the circumstances, I thought the best way to go might be a…

GRUNDBERG FAMILY TIMELINE

JANUARY
• Jenny starts a family blog.
• Steven continues teaching HS Spanish at Sam Houston High School.

FEBRUARY
• Stevie Jr. masters potty training!!
• We decide to move into Jenny’s father’s old house in order to make repairs and prepare it for sale.

MARCH
• Jenny throws her Dad a surprise 60th birthday party, and boy, was he surprised!
• Stevie Jr. starts T-Ball and David learns the word, “No.”
• Steven coordinates the Ward Easter Egg Hunt and Jenny directs the Church Choir Easter Program.

APRIL
• Steven and Jenny perform Brahms’ “Eines Deutsches Requiem” with the Arlington Master Chorale.
• Stevie Jr. starts learning to read, and David learns how to clog the plumbing by flushing an entire roll of paper down the toilet.

MAY
• Steven receives a wonderful job offer from American National Insurance Company to be a computer programmer in Galveston, TX
• Steven turns 35!

JUNE
• The Grundbergs move to League City, TX. It’s a big transition, but a wonderful opportunity and blessing for our family.

JULY
• We spend our first 4th of July in Galveston.

AUGUST
• David turns 2! He also begins talking more intelligibly and mimics everything Stevie Jr. does.
• Steven and Jenny audition for and are accepted into the Bay Area Chorus
• Jenny turns 31, and has a wonderful, wonderful birthday thanks to her family.

SEPTEMBER
• After evacuating for Hurricane Ike, a tree falls on our house and starts a fire. The house unfortunately burns down to the ground and all our possessions were destroyed. (Luckily, we were insured)! What an experience! Thank goodness we’d evacuated and were all safe! We received amazing support from friends and family, who gave us clothing, furniture, money and most of all love. We are forever grateful to you all for your help and prayers.
• On a lighter note, Stevie Jr. turns 4, and also reads his very first line in the Primary Program at church (perfectly, I might add)!

OCTOBER
• Steven returned to work in Galveston while Jenny and the kids stayed in Arlington with Jenny’s brother. Being homeless for over a month was an interesting and humbling experience, and we are so grateful to all those who gave their time and homes and energy to help us out.

NOVEMBER
• We moved into our new house in League City, and had a wonderful time filling it with fabulous new furniture. Our home has never looked better (though we wouldn’t recommend this means of re-decorating).

DECEMBER
• We hang Christmas lights, bake Christmas cookies, and joyfully celebrate our first holiday season in League City, TX, as well as rejoice in the miracle of that Holy Night when our Savior Jesus Christ was born.

Any questions? Give us a call, email or even write us snail mail; we’d love to hear from you! We miss you all and hope that your new year is filled to the brim with peace and joy.

With Much Love,
Steven, Jenny, Stevie Jr. & David

Good Grief, Child!

Today it looks like this...

But yesterday it looked more like this...

I'm not even exaggerating. He ran right into a bench at the YMCA and got a bump so large, I rushed home thinking we were going to have to take him to the ER again. Fortunately, the Dr.'s office told us just to watch him and he should be okay...which he was.

But seriously, David, really? Are you really going to give us two ER scares within a one month period? The same thing happened last Christmas. Between Dec. 15th and Jan 8th or so of last year, David went to the ER three times. Twice for stitches, once to make sure he hadn't chopped off his finger with a cheese grater. I'm sure the hospital was on the brink of calling CPS on that last visit.

It's a good thing kids are made out of rubber and cement.

Candy Thongs, Etc.

Tonight I went to a hilarious all-ladies Christmas party, and it was amazingly fun. One of the highlights was of course the Chinese Gift Exchange (one of my all time favorites,) and it was just hysterical. It's always astonishing to me how rauchy married Mormon moms get when you put them in the same room with some nipple arousal balm and a candy thong (--actual gifts--). And yes, I tried my dangdest to steal that thong, but SOMEBODY (not naming any names) stole it back from me. Oh well. I did get some rockin' sunglasses. Ooo, and Reeses Peanut Butter Cups (that candy will be the death of me. Curse it's delicious peanuty goodness).

It's so incredibly cathartic to just BE with other women to just chat and hang out. In high school and even in college, I don't think I ever valued female relationships very much. Coming from a family of all boys, Girl Rules were much too complex and subtle for me. I would offend left and right and never know why or how.

After Mom died, my need for having women friends increased ten-fold, and in turn the Girl Rules didn't seem so complicated anymore. I guess it's a kind of learn-as-you-go thing. Being able to talk and laugh with women who are sharing my same experiences is such a blessing to me.

Anyway, it was a great party.

The Grundbergs Elf Ourselves

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Hmmmm.

Should I be concerned that this is his favorite toy?

Scary. (I kept the red-eye for special effect).

Christmas Activities

Well, taking the advice of Amber, the boys and I decided it was time to do some baking and make Christmas Cookies.

It was quite the endeavor.

The boys helped with making the cookie dough (boy, were they excited about the handmixer), cutting out the cookies, decorating, and generally trying to make as big a mess as humanly possible. (The flour was also a great favorite. It was mostly used to adorn my kitchen floor).

It was really fun to mix all the food coloring and make little creations together. Stevie was a MAJOR fan of the sprinkles. In fact, most of his cookies were comprised of a bit of icing with 100% sprinkels coverage. (Notice the flour crusties in his hair).
David was much more interested in eating the cookies than decorating them. In fact, he thought it was a good idea to take one bite out of each cookie and then start on a new one. Here is some of his handywork. It took me an hour and a half to clean everything up afterwards. But it was worth it. The boys were crazily excited the entire time. Afterwards, however, all three of us were so sugar-shocked that I'm pretty sure we're all diabetic now.

The boys and I have also enjoyed unwrapping the Christmas book every night and reading it before bed. I hope it will take some of the edge off of the whole presents hysteria on Christmas Day. It's really sweet to have them both in my lap, and to see them so engrossed. This is one Christmas Activity that I think we'll turn into tradition. (Seen here reading "Angel Pig and the Hidden Christmas" by Jan Waldron--a really great book)!

Get Outta Town!

It snowed last night. I was extremely suprised by this turn of events because

1. We live 23 miles south of Houston and
2. It was 73 degrees earlier the same day.

What the heck? Hey, but who am I to complain? Steven went out to get the mail around 8pm and came back in covered in snow flakes. I started to squeal but he told me "SHHHHH, Let's suprise the boys."

And Boy Howdy! did they love it. They ran around like crazy people, slipping and sliding and getting wet. We were so unprepared for the weather that we didn't even have winter coats! I put socks on the boys' hands, but they were soon soaked. David slipped and fell down about every 2 mintues or so, but always happily pick himself up and go play again. Stevie discovered the magic of the snowball. He also laid down in the snow and made a snow angel. They were so cold afterwards! Even though it was so late at night, we made them take a hot bath before bed. What a fun night.

Don't Tell the EPA...

I went out on the back porch the other day and lo, and behold, David and Stevie decided to make a little Winter Wonderland of their own. With packing styrofoam.




Oh well, 'Tis the Season. Don't worry--we shop-vaced it all up after taking pictures.