Christmas, vacation and the adventures of flat stanley

Well, it's officially here ready or not I guess. Christmas is a great time of year at our house. The kids still believe in Santa and that makes it magical. It's hard not to enjoy Christmas when the kids are so looking forward to it. This year Christmas is bitter sweet. We really miss the friends and family that we are used to sharing this special day with, but we are going to be celebrating it with some new ones that will make it special in it's own way. The kids? Well, they seem to see it the same way. Missing family this time of year is pretty hard for them and they are all old enough to know who's around, who's not and feel sad about it.



That's not to say they are not still enjoying this time, they very much are. We have a countdown calendar in the front yard that they take turns changing every night and it lights up with our Christmas lights. Inside we have a chalkboard one that Jacqueline has been working on since she's writing now. The thing everyone finds funny is that the big calendar in the kitchen is counting down to our vacation!! SWEET 9 more days!!

The house looks beautiful and we can't wait to see the faces of the girls on Christmas morning! We had our third annual Roig Family Christmas party last weekend. It was nice to have the people here who have become our friends since we moved here, those who have made it feel more like home and those who understand what it's like to be new to the area. We had a wonderful time and the girls got to meet some new kids and hand out little gifts we bought. The best one was the son of a guy who works with Adam, He is about 5 and we got him this little inexpensive spider man watch.... he flipped! Not so much of who it was but of what it was.. the fact that the time changed all by itself was too much for him... he almost walked into walls watching the watch! When it was time to leave we had to roll up his sleeve so he could still see the watch. It reminds you of the innocent and happy moments Christmas can bring to a small child.

The girls did not get to open gifts, which was hard for Jacqueline, but we try to teach them that giving is more important than anything else. Giving you do out of the heart and because you want to help others, or make them smile or makes them feel loved, not because you gain something. In the end she was happy that the little girl she gave her gift to LOVED her new Darby doll.

Besides, our kids...well they don't want for much! Yes, I can say that our kids are spoiled.... but, they are respectful and happy and loving and joyful!

One of the guys that Adam works for was at our party. He's a little older than Adam, in fact his kids are in their early 20's I think, though he doesn't see much of them with them out living their lives and all. Anyway, he has just taken to the girls. He made a trip to Ireland and England in Oct and brought the girls over some jewelry and candy from both of those places... (even I got some) awwwwe right? Well it is, but you have to envision David to truly understand how funny the scenes of the girls running up and hugging him, or Jacqueline falling asleep in his lap...or him singing with the girls is.... David, is a biker lol... He loves and lives to ride his Harley. He's a fluffy grizzly bear looking guy with a longer beard and loud voice and is around 6 feet tall or so... it's pretty comical to see him hangin' with the girls. The other guys at their job can not believe that David comes over and hangs out with us or that the drums and sings with the girls... well, for our party David bought a Karaoke machine so everyone could well.... pretend to sing! The girls had soooooooooooooo much fun with it....he left here! Yes, left a brand new, pretty nice karaoke machine here for the girls to play with, on the condition that they wake Adam up at least once singing really loud! He told Adam that he would barrow it from them when he wanted to use it. He left along with it the 4 discs he bought to go with it and told Makenzie where she could buy the "girls sing it" cd for it...



Then last night, a friend of ours who again, has no children came and picked me up so I could help her pick out gifts for the girls. Two weeks ago she picked up the girls for a slumber party and they reportedly made cookies and dinner and played games and watched movies and had cocoa and .... you get the idea. Fay and Brad just adore the girls and I think have just about convinced them they want kids...anyway, she picked me up and we were talking about the things the girls need... and I laughed. So, Fay is...well our only true southern friend. She was born and raised in the mountains of Carolina, has a heart of gold that is endless and very, very southern values. If you have it to give, you do so. Fay also is not very easily persuaded, well more like the words "no, it's okay you don't have to do that" do not make sense to her... sooooo off we go shopping, f or girl things, with a woman who doesn't have kids... soooooooooooooooooo everything was cute, and so little and we just have to get this! Okay, so we went over the things the girls were asking for that Santa did not bring them....Since Santa was on a budget this year due to his upcoming vacation, there was actually stuff on the list Santa did not buy. For Jacqueline it was this dog, all she's been talking about for like a month. It swims and walks and does some stuff. However, Santa already picked up her gift, so she was not getting this dog...so yes, Fay did and some coloring books and some glasses for Disney World. She picked up some cool things for Makenzie along with a new purse and glasses and some barbie clothes and ..... a pool for the barbie play house Lex is getting for Christmas. She had a blast and I was happy that she was getting so much out of giving to the girls. Oddly, it was hard for me to let her do it. Being on the receiving end of such wonderful gifts from so many of our friends has been very humbling. I guess it shows us how great the girls are, that so many people love them so much and want to do so much for them. It's often hard for us to get long stretches of time in with them cause so many people are wanting to pick them up for this, or take them to that or have them over... it's like the whole world has adopted them! And yes, they like all kids, enjoy getting gifts.

but for them, it's about who got it for them more than what it is.. My best friend in the world Sarah sent the girls some gifts... we have no idea what they are, but when we got the box and the girls realized who they were from...they lost it. Jumping around and laughing and couldn't wait to put them under the tree. They were so excited that Sarah and Nathan had not forgotten who they were since we moved away. I never heard, I wonder what it is or I can't wait to open it..it was "they're from Sarah and Nathan!!!!" So, we can't wait until Christmas so the kids can unwrap their toys that so many from all over the country have sent them to remind them they are thought about and loved!



My brother and his family will be down the day after Christmas and spend some time with us before we leave for our vacation. We are excited to get to spend some time with them before my brother leaves. Anytime we get to spend with the boys is fun and we look forward to it. We picked out some pretty cool gifts this year and Adam was thrilled to be able to buy boy toys lol.



We of course are getting ready for our trip. We are going to be going to Kennedy space center for a day with the girls before driving the hour over to Disney World. The girls are looking forward to this stop on our trip just as much as Disney. We are going to get to see some pretty neat things and Adam has always wanted to go, so it should be a pretty neat day for us there.



Then we are off to Disney for 10 magical day's with the girls. My aunt and her husband are driving down to meet us there and the kids are super excited that she will be there. Makenzie was heart broken that her fav ride at he park, Splash mountain will be closed while we are there... I mean truly heart broken, we told her while we were at the store and she stopped in mid step, mouth dropped open and she looked like someone just punched her... I had to keep walking so I wouldn't laugh. But, they girls have some great plans and Jacqueline has mapped out what rides we are riding first! It's going to be so great for them. There will be lots of pictures and we will keep everyone as updated as possible. We rented a condo while we are there since it was cheaper than getting a hotel for the 7 of us, but we don't know if there is Internet access yet or not. SO if you don't hear anything, we will be back on the 15th of Jan with our vacation pics and stories!



Makenzie is having her bday while we are there and we have special dinner reservations. Adams dad bought Makenzie a special made by Disney cake that will be delivered to our table after that dinner. It's vanilla, with vanilla custard and fresh strawberry filling and chocolate ganache topping. It will say Happy 9th birthday Makenzie and have flowers then pastel mickey shaped sprinkles.... I know! It should be great. Thanks to everyone who has sent her bday gifts so she can open them on her bday. I know that spending your bday in the park is a way cool thing to do, but she's nine and getting gifts for her big day is still a pretty big deal to her.

She has no idea I have them, so it will be a big surprise when we give them to her at dinner.



Okay... so who is Stanley? Well... he's a class project. It's a story about a boy who gets pancaked by a bulletin board and his parents mail him to visit family since he's...well flat now. It's the first "novel" the class is going to read and it will be while we are gone. Flat Stanley is to be mailed to various places in the country and the person receiving flat Stanley will send back to the school some info and souvenirs from his trip to where ever it was he went..well since we are going to be gone... we get to take flat Stanley with is to Disney world.



He is in fact a piece of paper.. mom colored him and dad gave him Mickey ears and he's coming on our trip. I hope he doesn't eat a lot. At any rate... some photos will be taken with Flat Stanley and he is going to keep a journal about the neat things he did with he Roig family while he was on vacation with them. So, you may see photos of us and flat Stanley running around Space center and Disney...were not crazy... we are just doing the class project so Makenzie can get A in geography! Over the next three days the girls will be doing 2 weeks worth of school work so we don't have to do it on vacation. We got a special "educational opportunity" clearance from the school so the girls absences will be marked excused, since we are taking them to the Space center and Epcot which has been deemed educational due to it's well...education about other countries, their cultures , foods and architecture. Oh, and Animal kingdom since it's a conservation site and has one of the most expansive collection of in captivity bred animals.. yay for education and fun all wrapped into one happy magical vacation!



So, Happy holidays, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year from us to you!

love

The Roigs

They said it...

Well, I have to pass this on, if for no other reason then to read it years from now and remember how awesome she was!

Makenzie makes her own lunches.. picks out her snack, makes a sandwich, what ever she wants to eat that day. One day I was in the kitchen fixing breakfast while she was in there making her lunch. I watched her make her sandwich... she place a dollop of mayo right in the center of her bread, two thin slices of meat on the bread and closed her sandwich.. I said, Makenzie, we have cheese and stuff in there and you can put more miracle whip on your sandwich than that...and more that two little slices of meat! I swear it was like feeding a prisoner..any hoo, she responded to me with this...

"No, miracle whip is not mayonnaise, it's just gross. Also, cheese and mayo don't belong on the same sandwich! they just don't go together, I like just a little mayo in the center and not a lot of meat, they're sad sandwiches and that's how I like them..."

OK, fine! Eat them however you want =)
On a side note about a week later, Adam asked her to make him a sandwich when he hurt his back... soooooo she made "her' sandwich... he's never asked her for another one!

She is so awesome, she defiantly has her own opinions and likes things done a certain way... got to love her

Dear Santa

Well, last night the kids made out their Christas wish list's. This took about an hour. Why? Well, we had to do them individually since the girls needed some help. I'm going to post them for you to read.

Dear Santa,
how are Mrs. CLaus and the raindear doing? How was your spring this year? My spring well, we mooved. My dad said that he thinks I've ben a good girl and a good BIG sister. This year for chirstmas I would like a Kaitlyn doll and a dog for her. A Jonas brother drum set. A MP3 case. A jranl (journal) that comes with a passe word and some more skiny jeans pleas.
Love Makenzie Roig
P.S (what is your favorite cookie?)

Dear Santa how is Chet? How are you? I am doing good in school? I'v tride to be good this year? same thingsed I wont on my christmas list are barbee rve? (RV), music player, holoday barbie, ariel barbie three musketeers, the dimin castle (diamond castle) I hope you have a save trip and merry crismxmas
love: Alexandra

ok so chet is this reindeer from some movie that is goofy and hyper and get's into all sorts of trouble...

are you getting the barbie theme out of this letter?

This one has better (ish) spelling since I wrote down what she said =)

Dear Santa,
How is Mrs. Clause? I am sure the elves are busy. Are you excited about Christmas? I am! How do the reindeer fly?
I have tried to be a very good girl. I have tried to always do my best.
For Christmas this year, I would like...
A minnie mouse doll, littlest pet shop toys so I can have a big pet shop village!! a swimming puppy dog that also walks on the ground, stuffed ariel doll and some super sluth toys!!! yeah that would be so nice.
I would be happy to get one of those toys!
love Jacqueline


and.... she actually wrote her own name!!! the whole stupid looooooooooooong name and just the c was backwards and she told me it was.. so proud that she got it all!


Then it happened, Makenzie asked Adam if he was going to write a letter and Adam said, no kido I Have not written a letter to Santa in ... well I am not sure I have ever written one... he probably would not even know who I was.
He left it at tha and went into the kitchen, about 5 min later, Makenzie was in complete tears. She did not know why she was crying (we get that a lot) but she was very sad that Adam would not get any gifts for Christmas...we explained to her that Santa brought gifts to the children of the world, he just simply would not have time if he had to bring them to all the grown ups too... she was not thrilled with this answer! We were not even sure she still believed in santa, but I gues she does and now I have to try to smooth this over..so I guess Santa will have to leave a little something for Adam under the tree...

December

Well, it's hard to believe but yes, it is in fact December! Usually this time of year is reserved for Christmas. There are countdowns and parties and shopping and a wrapping and carols... This year however, there is a bit more going on.

We have our usual Christmas going on. We have a few gifts under the tree and some more stashed around the house. We have our Christmas music on most days and we are planning our annual Christmas Party for the 19th (everyones invited) however, this year is a bit different for a couple of reasons..namely, our upcoming trip to DisneyWorld. We are leaving on the 1st. This has made things a little more...complex! Making sure the girls have a nice Christmas while still saving enough money for our Florida adventure has been challenging. Some have said that the girls might not need a bunch of stuff for Christmas since we are going to Disney World... well no, that is in fact not the case. Our vacation is not a Christmas present. It is in fact a vacation that we have been looking forward to for.... 2 years! We were supposed to go last year, but had to move, so we are going this year. Since March (our usual time to go) is one of the busiest in Fl, we are going in Jan instead. We will be there for Makenzie's bday, an accident, but we are planning a special dinner for her on that day. She won't get her bday party until the end of Jan after we get back.
So, its been a challenge to check off a few of the things on their list and still put up some extra cash. No, they won't be getting everything on their list this year, and because we have such amazing kids..they understand that. We sat then down and explained to them that while we are having Christmas and we will be getting some nice things, it will be a smaller Christmas than they are used to and they might not get everything on their list since we are going to Disney world and it's pretty expensive. Adam finds it amusing that the countdown on our calendar says 28 days not 22 =) we have a separate countdown for Christmas.

While we countdown both, things here are going to be busy. We have Adams Christmas party on the 12th, ours on the 19th, some stuff at the girls school. Adam has a crazy schedule for December and we are expecting some visitors at the end of the month. My brother and our God daughters families... should be lots of fun.