Reliving the Moments

Stella was watching home movies of Christmas and kept saying, "In!"  I gently tried to explain that people can't get in iPhones, she wailed, "Please!" and then broke down in sobs. Because she's almost two.  Irrationality prevails.  I get it.  And Christmas was fantastic.  I'll just relive it here...two months later.

We celebrated with the Nicolais a week before Christmas.  Jolly Old St. Nick came while we were eating lunch at the Cheesecake Factory.  Amazing guy, right? 

While Anton enjoyed his bottle and snuggled in for a car nap, Stella frosted cookies for Santa.
Loose interpretation of the word "frosted."

She ran past the presents to check the cookies.  Santa only took a nibble so Stella finished them off.  That's my girl.  Priorities people, priorities. 

I tired everything to get picture of them together by the tree.  

EVERYTHING.   Humor, bribes, threats, pose suggestions.  

Here's where I suggested Stella give Anton a hug.

Here's where I offered them cookies to be still.

Here's Anton while Stella ran her energy off.

Better luck next year.  Or maybe in ten years. 

We spend the 25th with the Gardners.  Epic fail capturing the moments with pictures but believe me, it was a heavenly visit.  Even if the babies (and some adults) had a nasty stomach virus.  Some highlights, since the blog is my journal until this arrives.

• the MOST perfect presents (no one gives gifts like my in laws) ((and yes, I'm leading with gifts. that's how good.))
• a patient dog for Stella to love on and feed and follow and boss around
• Anton LOVED playing with cousin Chloe.
• Cafe Rio mint lemonade.  Life changing. 
• visiting with siblings we don't see enough of, cousins we don't see enough of, and friends (you-guessed-it) that we don't see enough of.
• Stella built her first snowman.

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving isn't ALL about the food.  But pretty close. 

This year we broke tradition (Thanksgiving at my parents' house) and went out my uncle's new house palace.  Dinner was FANTASTIC.  Ohhhhh, the food.  Jason said this was the best meal he's ever had...or something like that.  Here's a quick run down so I can read this and reminisce in March.  

- french onion soup (my favorite) or italian wedding soup (tough choice)

- fried turkeys (glad I finally got to try one but I may prefer traditional)

- mashed potatoes

- sweet potatoes (not in the usual sugary sauce but still sweet.  loved them!)

- sausage stuffing (i just started to salivate)

- creamed spinach

- artichoke casserole

- peas with onion and prosciutto (you didn't know peas could be this good)

- homemade rolls

- corn casserole (paula deen knows what she's doing.  this dish change you life.)

I regret dressing Anton in his Christmas outfit and not in our pink/blue color scheme.  I also regret not doing my hair.

We stayed over a few days which made it feel like a vacation.  We lounged around, went for a walk on the beach and Stella played with their patient Boston Terriers.  It was lovely.

On Their Way...

Our far away grandparents are on their way.  A stop over on their way to the Emerald Isle.  We are so excited!

 

It seems fair for me to give a shout out to Haley Miller.  She's the amazing photographer who took Stella's six month shots, photographed Ali's wedding, and most recently took Gardner family pictures with the two new additions.  So she staged this shot and I snagged one with my point & shoot. 

Summer Lovin'

We rounded out our summer in Lake George with my family.  It was liesurely and somewhat gluttonous, as our vacations often are.   We all did a little falling in love.

Stella with her Sassy Seat (aka Jolly Jumper).  She now turns it at will, frees up her arms as needed and walks forward (until being yanked back).  She also mastered what we call her RiverDance--kicking one leg in and out while bouncing on the other.  If I let her, she'd spend hours dangling from the doorway. 

Stella also fell for Noelle's song and dance routines.  I have a hunch Matt fell for Stella.

Like many great affairs, we didn't see this coming.  Jason and I fell in love with the race track--the big hats, impressive horses, tiny jockeys, program stats, maybe a little betting.  I was in heaven.  

My uncle's horse, Quiet on the Tee, getting ready in the paddock.  He didn't win but he ran a hell of a race, pulling from behind to tie for second. 

Belmont, anyone?

Thanksgiving

a few samples of how the nicolais prep for thanksgiving...
1. melt about 3 cups of brown sugar in an equally alarming amount of butter and pour over sweet potatoes to negate all nutrients.
2. roast peppers until they're sufficiently blackened. peel off skin and add olive oil, garlic (see #3), and parsley. (jason's job this year)
3. chop 25 gloves of garlic. do not use garlic press because mom swears it is too hard to clean.
4. boil/steam 14 artichokes to stuff with breadcrumbs.

the best part is sharing the deliciousnes with family and friends and enjoying an evening of stories, music, and togetherness.

The final installment...after all we were there for a wedding

The celebratory events were supposed to take place at Cap Juluca. Unfortunately hurricane Omar did some permanent damage and the parties were relocated to an enormous villa near-by. This worked out for our contingency as the rest of our family was moved from Cap Juluca rooms to the villa right down the road from us! And the parties were held there.
@ the welcome BBQ

Not your run of the mill place cards. Seriously cute!

Ocean side ceremony. More legit than I had imagined (keep in mind this was my first destination wedding). Krysta and Adam were so happy1
We left our mark on the beach before we took off. While we may not have gone the extra mile and wrapped our initials in a heart, the sentiment was there.

Wedding Bells Were Ringing...part 1

my cousin announced a destination wedding in the caribean, so we were obligated to spend 4 days in st.martin/anguilla. of course by obligated i mean ecstatic.
we got over the cost, use of personal days, distance from nyc, customs checks & international travel-- anguilla is english and st. marten is 1/2 dutch-1/2 french.
instead we focused on spending time with family, delicious food, exploring a tropical island, and working on our tans.

jason and i flew into st. martin a day early to spend a day at the dawn beach resort. BK on the dutch side supports obama!

we started planning the excursion and our eyes popped at the $600/night rooms rates at cap juluca, where the wedding was being held. noelle quickly decided a beach villa was the way to go and found an incredible property--beach access, separate houses, and a pool. sadly noelle and matt didn't make it but we enjoyed her work!
by the time we arrived at anguilla we had slowed down and adjusted to island time (nothing rushed, nothing is even close to being on time).
jason spends a lot of time with flip in hand--A LOT! here he is catching a video of our beach.
i'm changing my original "i don't like beaches" to "i like caribean beaches." the sand is smooth. the water is clear. a place i could actually relax! angelique, jason, and i spent saturday morning snorkeling in shoal bay. the reef and fish were breath-taking, and we saw a sea turtle!


actual wedding festivities coming soon to a blog near you...

Best Trip Ever-photo essay

It happens every time. We get back from Utah and I think "that was the best trip ever." This time I mean it--really. Three full days (thanks to Yom Kippur and Columbus Day) was just enough time. Here (inspired by the Smylies) are the his and hers highlights. His-Finally being present for a Team Snake softball game. Please understand this is not laid back, old man softball. It is serious...very serious. You should see the cuts Mr. Fowler procured sliding into third (don't worry, Mrs. Fowler is a cute nurse) and a team mate was derobed of the beloved Snake jersey after a commitment issues. Serious.
Hers-Getting to watch in 30 degree weather as my 30 year old husband make solid contact every time at bat, snagged balls fielding @2nd base/right field (where were you, honey?), and was "signed" as an honorary team member. Also seeing Ashley and Jill and Cynthia for 20 freezing minutes.
Mutual-We miss them in New York. Due to circumstances, we now miss them in Utah. So we drove to Idaho to meet our dear friends for lunch. Thanks Mom G for going an entire day without your car! Both parties traveled far for the yearly visit. Maybe next time we'll meet up in Hawaii.
His-Leo liked Jason. Without a benchmark for Leo's level of caring, I can only say for sure (see picture) that he frequently reached for Jason and even requested that Jason put his shoe on.
Don't Ashley and Nate look great? We satisfied our cravins for Mexican fare. Yes I do like Mexican food.
Hers- Getting a kick out of how much Leo loves the bottle...I hope it isn't an indicator of things to come.

Mutual- Finally going to Bukos and getting items at exceptionally low prices is almost better than getting them for free. Jason was giddier than I was...and just look at this chair! So what we had to leave it in the basement. So what we don't have a home to put it in. It was 80% off.
Mutual-A birthday celebration at Tucanos. Happy Birthday Dad! Someone told our waitress ("'kay?")that we had two birthdays to celebrate.

His- Breaking out the 80s BYU ski hat. He was so tickled by that hat, the expired foot warmers, cutting holes in garbage bags to use a emergency ponchos, and game time hot chocolate that I'm not convinced he was upset about the rain/snow forecast.
Hers- That the game only lasted 3 hours and we spent the whole time with Derreck/Karen (and a tiny bit of time with Scott).

His- BYU won! (guess that could be a "mutual")

We left the snow behind for beautiful NYC Fall weather. We can't wait to visit again!

where is the perfect place for a plaque?

i love going to utah. we hang out with jason's family, take deep breaths of fresh mountain air, and grill--one of life's simple pleasures. you see the joy on jason's face, right?





and in his "old stomping ground", i learn a lot about jason. for instance, on a trip to the little girl's room after a recent family golf tournament, i noticed several plaques on the wall. i'm talking around a corner, directly adjacent to the men's room door, and completely out of sight for anyone not answering nature's call. this placement forces one to question their value and i was doing just that, when jason came around the corner and says giddily, "hey, did you know i'm on one of these?" NO! i didn't know my hubby was memorialized forever at cascade golf course. turns out they honor every golfer who lands a hole in one. there, tucked in between david mcgill and kelly harris, for everyone using the bathroom to see, is jason's hole in one on #7 in 2001.

i am so proud!

COUSINS!

Ady and Jono's WEDDING WEEKEND


This weekend, Jason and I ventured out to Newport beach for my cousin Ady's wedding. Getting together with my mom's side of the family is a big deal. Not that the Nicolai side isn't wonderful, but the Reeves (for the most part) live out West so we don't "hang out" nearly enough. Weddings are one of the few chances for us all to get together... Ady looked gorgeous. Jono did too put you can't quite see him in this cake shot.



The Big 9. My mother and two of her siblings have families of three girls. Her oldest brother is responsible for the only male cousin, Trevor. He's always been the older, wiser, and let's just face it, cooler cousin (his wife helps with the cooler part too). Growing up there were 9 girls, within a ten year range, making trouble. My sisters and I, the "NY" cousins, are easy to pick out because we aren't blond.


My perfect date.

Angelique, Claire and LaRisse...The oldest from each "set".