Part I: We decided to re-do our kitchen area and add a pantry, pull out some cabinets, and do a brand new dining room table area. It's AWESOME and AMAZING and we LOVE it, but not sure what we were thinking doing it all the 3 weeks before Christmas/my parents arrival. In any case, it's done, gorgeous and completely opens up the kitchen and makes everything about the kitchen/eating area much more functional. So happy to have this done - the best part? I now have a BROOM and DUSTPAN at my immediate disposal... so awesome! (see picture below).
Part II: My parents arrived on Wednesday last week with the intention of spending 2 weeks at our house and then moving into their little beach cottage in Carpinteria to spend 6 weeks there as they did last year. Unfortunately, when they were in Ventura (about 20 minutes from our house), they got a call that my Grandmother (dad's mom) had passed away. This was expected and in some ways welcomed as she was 100 years old, had lived a beautiful life and has really gone downhill this last year, so while it wasn't a tragedy, it is a sad event in our family as she has been so important to all of us. After much consideration, their plans will be revamped a bit and they will be heading back to MN a few weeks earlier than planned to get ready for the Memorial service, which will be on Presidents Day weekend in Minnesota. THE GOOD NEWS... they arrived safely and were able to spend Christmas with us - Ben just LOVES having his "grammy & poptop" here. Has been very fun. Christmas eve with Steve's bro and his family and then Christmas day zucchini pancake breakfast and my dad, Steve, Ben and I went for a gorgeous hike. The day ended with a delicious roast beef dinner (in honor of Grandma Nelson) with the Spiers. Perfect-o! (pics below)
PART III: Ben was clearly good all year as he raked it in and has been doing a lot of baking/cooking in the kitchen with my mom. Fun times to come for them as Steve and I head out to St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands for a week of R&R (and my brothers wedding) the first week of January. Kid-free vacation... priceless!
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