I can not believe that it has been two months since the boys have been out of school, how time flys! Here in South Africa, the schools run from the end of January until the end of November. I have always been in the minority when it comes to my feelings about the end of school breaks-I dread them! I never want them to end, I love when my kids are home! Some days are tough, but most are awesome-to have the sound of little feet around me is so uplifting(OK-sometimes loud!) This time will be among the hardest, I think it will really take its toll on me. These kiddos are my life and it will be a very lonely and silent house without them-how will I ever deal with college! Not only is Claire now in school five days, but I think being in a foreign country has brought us all very close. Taylor, I am afraid, may have a hard time this go round-he is typically my very social one, but being away from his friends has made him become very attached to me! Hunter is Hunter, and would stay at home with me year round- he always says he is never going to leave me.
I think another reason that the end of school breaks are so hard for me is because it is a confirmation of them growing up! If I could only bottle this time with them, and have it forever. I think my happiest moments are when everyone is at home, and they are playing in the backyard, and life could not be any more simple!
Well, I will send them on their way this coming Wednesday, I will do my best not to cry, at least not in front of them, and I will attempt to have a personal life-Please help me, What is that?
Call me crazy, but this is the job that I dreamed of-being a Mom! I will have to start thinking of ways to keep myself preoccupied for the hours that they are away-I want to do some volunteering, I want to take up tennis, scrapbook, sew and of course I could always help at school!
Oh, how I will miss my babies!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Our Dad, Our Hero...Our Son, Our Pride!
Pat-third from right!
Pat laughed when I told him what my title would be for this entry, we all have to kiss a little ass at times! The fitness bug has hit our family (most of the family, that is) Pat, I am proud to say, completed a bike race that was 85 km-straight up hill! He went with a group from work, I am sure he would have loved to have Doc with him, they have been biking together for the last few months! Way to go Daddy-40 and going strong! And my sweet son, Taylor, completed his race in 24.2o minutes while running on the beach! That child amazes me with his ability to pace himself, and do so well in these adult beach races. He beat a fellow American Gm guy, sorry Troy, had to boast! Let's hope the bug sweeps the family up! It's hard not to want to get involved with the local sports, the running and riding is very popular here. There are local races almost every weekend, and then once a year there is the Iron Man!
Who would have thought there could be so many similarities! Looking back, while still in the states, my vision for this new world was so very different than what I have come to find! Port Elizabeth reminds me very much of Shreveport/Bossier, it is a small town and everyone knows most everyone! It has a very beachy feel to it, and much like the south, the people here are extremely friendly and very helpful! There are times when I almost forget that I am in South Africa. Sometimes the reality of this whole journey is so hard to grasp, who would have thought that I would be living here, and maybe/kind of/sort of "liking"it! There is a whole world here for us to discover and explore,, what a gift we have been given!
By the way, the camera has been found! Thank goodness, I have gotten a little obsessed with this blog thing. I know it bores most, but this is my way of preserving my memories!
Saturday, January 10, 2009
All in a Days Work....
Sometimes days(months/years) are so crazy for us! We have had some crazy ones lately...It started off with Claire loosing our nice digital camera, that's right Gone! Our luck she has thrown it away, and god knows you can't ask her were it is, because she sure could not answer you! Side note-Thanks Mimi and Poppa for the boys digital cameras from Christmas, we are borrowing for awhile! She also proceeded to spill an entire cup of hot coffee into the unopened printer box-new printer still inside! Luckily, the printer does work....Life with a three year old!
We have been on little to no sleep the last day due to a Florida Gator Fan and his brother determined to wake in the middle of the night to catch the game! Unfortunately and very sadly, we did not get the game on TV here! We (Taylor and Hunter, mom slept) checked the computer for scores every so often-between the hours of 3am and 7am! To have a house full of sports fans, can it get any better?
We have also made a family decision, initiated by Taylor, that our new puppy,Tebow, needed to be returned to the pet store! What a disaster two puppies are, I think Lilly is back in heaven now that the dog is gone! At least there was not very much love lost, the puppy was a handful!
To top off our days... we always have diapers to be changed, fights to be broken up, smiles to be seen, laughs to be heard, meals to be made, tears to be wiped, boo boos to be cleaned, reading to be enforced, and love to be shared....all in a days work!
These are days we will remember with smiles!
Going to bed after setting alarm for 3am!
True fan, for the love of the game!
Gator fever is contagious!
Yes, I am the mean mom that makes them read 1 hour a day!
We have been on little to no sleep the last day due to a Florida Gator Fan and his brother determined to wake in the middle of the night to catch the game! Unfortunately and very sadly, we did not get the game on TV here! We (Taylor and Hunter, mom slept) checked the computer for scores every so often-between the hours of 3am and 7am! To have a house full of sports fans, can it get any better?
We have also made a family decision, initiated by Taylor, that our new puppy,Tebow, needed to be returned to the pet store! What a disaster two puppies are, I think Lilly is back in heaven now that the dog is gone! At least there was not very much love lost, the puppy was a handful!
To top off our days... we always have diapers to be changed, fights to be broken up, smiles to be seen, laughs to be heard, meals to be made, tears to be wiped, boo boos to be cleaned, reading to be enforced, and love to be shared....all in a days work!
These are days we will remember with smiles!
Going to bed after setting alarm for 3am!
True fan, for the love of the game!
Gator fever is contagious!
Yes, I am the mean mom that makes them read 1 hour a day!
Finally, a little piece and quiet-well sort of-"Where's Claire?"
Claire Bear, the one that is always making life
more intersting!!!!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Call Us Crazy!!!!!
Well, what is most needed in your life when you have three kids, one 4 month old puppy and live in a foreign country..... another puppy! That's right the boys went to get their haircut, and came home looking good, but with a new puppy! They obviously did not go to Bliss- they are not in the market of beauty and selling dogs! The dog is an 8 week old Staffi(Stafford Terrier), it kind of looks like a staff infection(not the cutest)! Taylor has affectionately named him Tebow after our all time favorite football player, Tim Tebow! By the way, we will be up at 2am to watch the Gators kick butt! All games on ESPN play live and we are 8 hours ahead, so our football is on during the middle of the night.
Say a prayer, we will be lucky to survive the chaos that surrounds us!
Thank goodness for my 10 year old, without him the puppy would soon disappear! He feeds and does everything for the dogs, especially loves them. He said to me the other night, while holding the puppy, "Mom,I do not ever need medicine, just our dogs!" **There is nothing better than seeing a boy with his dog, and what a way to teach responsibility!
This last week has been a lazy one, not much going on and the weather has been dreary! News Years Eve was fun, we went out to dinner with friends, and then to an American family's to ring in the new year! We also did some sight seeing- Pat and I, along with the kids, went to Utienhege for the day. We heard there were alot of antique stores; we only found one, and what a find! The furniture is amazingly cheap, OMG-Caboose(fav in Shreveport) could not hold a candle to this place! They had everything from tables, desks, chairs, dining room pieces and everything in between. We left without anything,except some very bored kids! After our trip to Utienhege we headed back home and met some friends at a restaurant, Sacramento, overlooking the ocean!
I am so glad it is a new year, and time to start a new! My upcoming plans are to get organized-finish getting this place feeling like home! Work on my bedroom, add some pizazz, it is always the last to get spiffed up! I also have been reading some books, all by local authors! I am looking forward to what this new year brings us, so far the highlight has been a new puppy!(Help)
By the way, being in South Africa is a little easier due to technology! We have had Skype, you can talk to anyone in the the world face to face via the Internet, and now we have Vonage. Our Vonage phone has a LA number, but works off of our computer. So people can call us, and not have to worry about international rates, plus if you are in LA the calls are free! It's the little things(OK, big)in life!
Say a prayer, we will be lucky to survive the chaos that surrounds us!
Thank goodness for my 10 year old, without him the puppy would soon disappear! He feeds and does everything for the dogs, especially loves them. He said to me the other night, while holding the puppy, "Mom,I do not ever need medicine, just our dogs!" **There is nothing better than seeing a boy with his dog, and what a way to teach responsibility!
This last week has been a lazy one, not much going on and the weather has been dreary! News Years Eve was fun, we went out to dinner with friends, and then to an American family's to ring in the new year! We also did some sight seeing- Pat and I, along with the kids, went to Utienhege for the day. We heard there were alot of antique stores; we only found one, and what a find! The furniture is amazingly cheap, OMG-Caboose(fav in Shreveport) could not hold a candle to this place! They had everything from tables, desks, chairs, dining room pieces and everything in between. We left without anything,except some very bored kids! After our trip to Utienhege we headed back home and met some friends at a restaurant, Sacramento, overlooking the ocean!
I am so glad it is a new year, and time to start a new! My upcoming plans are to get organized-finish getting this place feeling like home! Work on my bedroom, add some pizazz, it is always the last to get spiffed up! I also have been reading some books, all by local authors! I am looking forward to what this new year brings us, so far the highlight has been a new puppy!(Help)
By the way, being in South Africa is a little easier due to technology! We have had Skype, you can talk to anyone in the the world face to face via the Internet, and now we have Vonage. Our Vonage phone has a LA number, but works off of our computer. So people can call us, and not have to worry about international rates, plus if you are in LA the calls are free! It's the little things(OK, big)in life!
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Farewell to 2008!
New Years………
What does New Years mean to me, for the first time in my life maybe something. When you get older, our years seem so much more detailed, hectic and lived. 2008 has been a year for me-a year to forget and a year to remember! Do you know the wonderful poem “Footprints in The Sand”, this will be a year that I will look back and at times there will only be one set of footprints……
Our year started out on a bad note, my fears for Claire were confirmed. After searching for answers from Claire’s previous doctors, I finally decided to change doctors! In January of 2008 I met with Alita, a nurse practitioner, and she instantly confirmed all of my worst fears! She thought maybe she may have CP, and suggested getting an MRI and to see a neurologist. As a side note, Claire was always behind in her developmental milestones, and did not walk until 18 mo. January and February were very hard and sad for us, after getting the MRI done and seeing the neurologist, we were given some bleak news that Claire may never get better, or talk. I left the neurologist office with a pit in my stomach, but I also left with a goal-to prove them wrong! Claire was instantly put into physical, occupational and speech therapy! In my heart of hearts I can look at Claire and see a typical little toddler who does typical little toddler things with limitations. We instantly saw progress physically, although speech is very slow! We went back to the neurologist three months later, and he could do nothing but smile! He said that she looked like a different child, but that we were not out of the woods yet-her speech had to improve. All along we were never given a diagnosis, so we also went to see a geneticist, who said that Claire was” developmentally delayed” and may catch up! So we are still on our journey with her, she has come a long way-she can keep up with the best of them-we still have a ways to go, but I think with prayers and lots of work we may get there one day! Her biggest hurtle is her speech, she is severely delayed, but makes improvements daily! She is still our princess, and runs us ragged on most good days! By the way, Alita passed away two weeks after we met with her, I believe she was Claire’s angel, who was sent to put us on our right path!
This year has also seen some wonderful things…. My boys. Some of my favorite moments are sitting and watching them play sports, the things they love best! Taylor finished an awesome basketball season, relished in playing golf this summer, and played a full football season, his absolute favorite. Hunter also played basketball and wowed us in baseball, and also finished with a great football season. Taylor has grown up to be a good brother and a good friend, I could not be prouder! Hunter is an extreme perfectionist who loves school and sports, but has a wonderful loving and sensitive side! I have been extremely blessed with the children that God has given me!
This year I have relished in the fact that I have some wonderful girl friends. There have been times that I could not have made it, had it not been for them,- the casual conversations, the bonding on the sidelines and the medical advice that has been extremely needed this year! One time that sticks out most is our trip to New Orleans! My buddy, Candy’s daughter got married and we all went to the wedding and stayed in NO for the weekend! We drank too much , danced more and laughed with the best of friends. My fondest memories of my friends, is eating at Nicky’s and spending some of the best times just hanging out with our McKain buddies!
We had some wonderful family moments as well, we enjoyed beach trips with both families and lots of fun with cousins! Nothing reminds you more of home than a home cooked meal-Thanks Mom!
And then the news…… We were transferring to South Africa! What a blow, how could my wonderful little world be turned upside down? Pat was offered a chance of a lifetime to work overseas, although it killed me, I new that this was a wonderful opportunity for my family! While preparing for the move, there were many tears of sadness from everyone! Hunter and I were hit hardest! You never know what you have until it is about to be taken away. We had built an incredible life in Bossier! We were in a great school, we had met some great families, my kids friends were awesome, and I had some of the best girlfriends!!! Not to mention, all of my family lived here!
As football season was wrapping up, the days were feeling a little bit cooler, our furniture had been sent….the inevitable was happening…our move was approaching. We had some wonderful parties, given by wonderful friends! Even the kids coaches did goodbyes, Taylor’s was the hardest. He has been with the same group of kids for almost six years! Coach Kevin gave a wonderful speech that left us all in tears, I even think he almost lost it! We lived with my parents for the last few weeks, and I am so thankful I had that time with them. Thanks dad for the coffee in the morning I will never forget it!
The last week I spent in a fog of tears, but we finally made it to our flight, thirteen suitcases later and all of 28 hours!
We are here, and beginning to adjust to our new environment! We spent Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas away from the ones we love! We survived each because of our kiddos! We have vowed to make the best of this incredible opportunity that we have been given, and be thankful for the job that we still have!!!!!!
South Africa has lots to offer; we have been on a safari, seen monkeys on the side of the road, walked with elephants, been invited to a Braii, played at the beach, been to a Cricket and a Polo match and have met some friends along the way! I wish I could have this opportunity in my backyard in Bossier, but then it might not be such an adventure!
I have learned more this year than I ever have: I have learned the only way to survive is to take one day at a time, to be patient, to never take anything for granted, and most of all to make sure that the ones around you know how much you love them
So I leave 2008 with some wonderful memories and some horrible memories, but I think I have become wiser through all of them and I hope to always have a piece of Louisiana in my back pocket to help me through what’s in front of me!
New Years, what do I wish for in 2009? I wish for my kids to be happy and healthy, I wish that the economy survives and we have a job, I wish for our parents and family to be healthy and happy-and to come and visit, and of course I wish to loose weight!!!!!!!
Happy New Year!
Megan
What does New Years mean to me, for the first time in my life maybe something. When you get older, our years seem so much more detailed, hectic and lived. 2008 has been a year for me-a year to forget and a year to remember! Do you know the wonderful poem “Footprints in The Sand”, this will be a year that I will look back and at times there will only be one set of footprints……
Our year started out on a bad note, my fears for Claire were confirmed. After searching for answers from Claire’s previous doctors, I finally decided to change doctors! In January of 2008 I met with Alita, a nurse practitioner, and she instantly confirmed all of my worst fears! She thought maybe she may have CP, and suggested getting an MRI and to see a neurologist. As a side note, Claire was always behind in her developmental milestones, and did not walk until 18 mo. January and February were very hard and sad for us, after getting the MRI done and seeing the neurologist, we were given some bleak news that Claire may never get better, or talk. I left the neurologist office with a pit in my stomach, but I also left with a goal-to prove them wrong! Claire was instantly put into physical, occupational and speech therapy! In my heart of hearts I can look at Claire and see a typical little toddler who does typical little toddler things with limitations. We instantly saw progress physically, although speech is very slow! We went back to the neurologist three months later, and he could do nothing but smile! He said that she looked like a different child, but that we were not out of the woods yet-her speech had to improve. All along we were never given a diagnosis, so we also went to see a geneticist, who said that Claire was” developmentally delayed” and may catch up! So we are still on our journey with her, she has come a long way-she can keep up with the best of them-we still have a ways to go, but I think with prayers and lots of work we may get there one day! Her biggest hurtle is her speech, she is severely delayed, but makes improvements daily! She is still our princess, and runs us ragged on most good days! By the way, Alita passed away two weeks after we met with her, I believe she was Claire’s angel, who was sent to put us on our right path!
This year has also seen some wonderful things…. My boys. Some of my favorite moments are sitting and watching them play sports, the things they love best! Taylor finished an awesome basketball season, relished in playing golf this summer, and played a full football season, his absolute favorite. Hunter also played basketball and wowed us in baseball, and also finished with a great football season. Taylor has grown up to be a good brother and a good friend, I could not be prouder! Hunter is an extreme perfectionist who loves school and sports, but has a wonderful loving and sensitive side! I have been extremely blessed with the children that God has given me!
This year I have relished in the fact that I have some wonderful girl friends. There have been times that I could not have made it, had it not been for them,- the casual conversations, the bonding on the sidelines and the medical advice that has been extremely needed this year! One time that sticks out most is our trip to New Orleans! My buddy, Candy’s daughter got married and we all went to the wedding and stayed in NO for the weekend! We drank too much , danced more and laughed with the best of friends. My fondest memories of my friends, is eating at Nicky’s and spending some of the best times just hanging out with our McKain buddies!
We had some wonderful family moments as well, we enjoyed beach trips with both families and lots of fun with cousins! Nothing reminds you more of home than a home cooked meal-Thanks Mom!
And then the news…… We were transferring to South Africa! What a blow, how could my wonderful little world be turned upside down? Pat was offered a chance of a lifetime to work overseas, although it killed me, I new that this was a wonderful opportunity for my family! While preparing for the move, there were many tears of sadness from everyone! Hunter and I were hit hardest! You never know what you have until it is about to be taken away. We had built an incredible life in Bossier! We were in a great school, we had met some great families, my kids friends were awesome, and I had some of the best girlfriends!!! Not to mention, all of my family lived here!
As football season was wrapping up, the days were feeling a little bit cooler, our furniture had been sent….the inevitable was happening…our move was approaching. We had some wonderful parties, given by wonderful friends! Even the kids coaches did goodbyes, Taylor’s was the hardest. He has been with the same group of kids for almost six years! Coach Kevin gave a wonderful speech that left us all in tears, I even think he almost lost it! We lived with my parents for the last few weeks, and I am so thankful I had that time with them. Thanks dad for the coffee in the morning I will never forget it!
The last week I spent in a fog of tears, but we finally made it to our flight, thirteen suitcases later and all of 28 hours!
We are here, and beginning to adjust to our new environment! We spent Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas away from the ones we love! We survived each because of our kiddos! We have vowed to make the best of this incredible opportunity that we have been given, and be thankful for the job that we still have!!!!!!
South Africa has lots to offer; we have been on a safari, seen monkeys on the side of the road, walked with elephants, been invited to a Braii, played at the beach, been to a Cricket and a Polo match and have met some friends along the way! I wish I could have this opportunity in my backyard in Bossier, but then it might not be such an adventure!
I have learned more this year than I ever have: I have learned the only way to survive is to take one day at a time, to be patient, to never take anything for granted, and most of all to make sure that the ones around you know how much you love them
So I leave 2008 with some wonderful memories and some horrible memories, but I think I have become wiser through all of them and I hope to always have a piece of Louisiana in my back pocket to help me through what’s in front of me!
New Years, what do I wish for in 2009? I wish for my kids to be happy and healthy, I wish that the economy survives and we have a job, I wish for our parents and family to be healthy and happy-and to come and visit, and of course I wish to loose weight!!!!!!!
Happy New Year!
Megan
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Polo
Anyone who knows me, knows how I have love to dress my boys. I love the preppy look, and love for them to have on their Polo's. Through tantrums and tears, we have narrowed our "dress up look" narrowed down to only church and only out to dinner. Well, when we heard that we would be going to a polo match- South Africa vs. Australia- we went all out on the way we dressed. We have never been to a polo match, but assumed that it would be quite the thing to do for the prestigious of SA. We planned our trip with two other families one of which, like us, decided to get all prepped up! How much fun, to try and decide what to wear to a polo match! We all tried to find our most preppy Polo's, I had polo jackets around the boys necks, those lasted all of 10 min! We also decided we were going to make sure that we had very "to do" food to take with us. We traveled almost three hours to get there, and paid by the car. We packed coolers, lots of food, tables and chairs, and one family even brought flowers for our table-these south Africans have no idea what it means to tailgate!!!!
The match began, how cool! This was much more exciting than the recent Cricket match that we had just been to, and I would go back again in a heart beat! The scenery was beautiful, the polo club was beautiful, it all looked like something out of a magazine! South Africa kicked butt! The day could not have been anymore perfect, another memory made in South Africa! Oh by the way, we saw about twenty baboons and their babies on the side of the road, literally on the side of the highway! Pat also saw something like a Bobcat, that is not what it is called here, run across the road while he was driving.
The Club House...
Helicopter flying overhead!
Before the match, are we happy or what?
Before the match, are we happy or what?
/> Hunter with his new polo hat......
Claire being silly!
Taylor, the prep that he is...
Saturday, December 27, 2008
The Joys of Christmas!
It is amazing how Christmas makes you feel! I love Christmas and all that it represents. It brings out the child in me, and to watch our children......it does not get any better! I love that it is important to my kiddos that they have something for everybody else under the tree, and they truly take time to remember what is important to them and try to find the best gift.
What an awesome and wonderful time in our lives to have such little believers and memory makers! By the way, Hunter heard Santa's bells this year, what a lucky little boy!
Wow, what a whirl wind we have been in for the last few days! Our Christmas, although very different, turned out great! We started on Christmas Eve with our family's annual basketball game. Taylor and I vs. Pat and Hunter-they won. We say we gave it to them, we have won the last two years, and we felt bad. After the big win, the kids played outside for most of the day, while Pat finished errands and I started cooking. We decided to have a Braii for Christmas and invited some of the Americans over-almost 20 pple! So there was some(ok, lots) of prep work to be done the day before.
After all errands were completed, cooking was at a stand still, kids were bathed and dressed- we headed to the movies! We saw Madagascar II, Africa-how appropriate! After the movie, we went to a great steak restaurant, much like Superior Steak House in LA. Our new friends, The Bells, joined us for Christmas Eve festivities! They have two boys, Aidan 4 and Evan, 3! We ate ,drank and had lots of laughs-almost closed the place down-Both Claire and Hunter fell asleep! FYI, after four adult steak dinners, 5 kids meals, four ice creams, one coffee, and endless bottles of wine our bill arived....$110.00-Can you believe? The benefits of living here, eating out is a fraction of the cost than in the states!
It was a mad rush to get home, we had to get ready for Santa's arrival! The two little ones went back to sleep without a problem, Taylor took longer, he tossed and turned with much excitement! Finally, mom and dad went to bed around two!
Taylor started waking us up at 5:30, oh my! I kept him quiet until 6! And then the games began......... Santa had arrived!
Santa was very good to everyone this year, Taylor got a TV, Hunter got a set of Golf Clubs, and Claire's big item from Santa was a trike! The family got a Wii and a Wii Fit. The kids and Pat got me a hand carved zebra, a cross, hair rollers, a massage gift cert and some Africa books. We got Pat a brown leather safari hat, biking shirt, shoes, and nose clipper(exciting, but needed) Mimi and Poppa were prepared this year and sent our gifts when we moved. Claire got a Barbie jeep, and the boys a digital camera each-I know SPOILED! Among my favorite gifts were my parents gifts to Pat and I....We each got a box of food! I know, how weird, but when you are somewhere far away, sometimes the smallest of things can mean the world- a jar of Jiff, Cajun mixes!
Our party began at 3, and we were ready. We felt having people over would make the day less sad being away from the ones we love. And of course everyone else is feeling the same way! Pat did the Braii, we braiied two huge beef fillets, meant to feed 10 pple each-we got these at a local butcher for $20. for both! I made my moms broccoli and rice casserole and sweet potato casserole, I had much better luck cooking this go round. Everyone brought stuff, so we had plenty of good food. We had a great day- the people were fun, the food was great and the weather was awesome-All that could have made it better was to have a our family there!
I hope everyone's Christmas was magical and I hope you have a wonderful New Year!
The McCarty's
Enjoy some of our new memories.......................................
Taylor helping with Pumpkin Bread!
On our way to see Santa....
Claire's new wheels, Thanks Mimi & Poppa
What Christmas is all about........
New Camera....
I got one too!
What an awesome and wonderful time in our lives to have such little believers and memory makers! By the way, Hunter heard Santa's bells this year, what a lucky little boy!
Wow, what a whirl wind we have been in for the last few days! Our Christmas, although very different, turned out great! We started on Christmas Eve with our family's annual basketball game. Taylor and I vs. Pat and Hunter-they won. We say we gave it to them, we have won the last two years, and we felt bad. After the big win, the kids played outside for most of the day, while Pat finished errands and I started cooking. We decided to have a Braii for Christmas and invited some of the Americans over-almost 20 pple! So there was some(ok, lots) of prep work to be done the day before.
After all errands were completed, cooking was at a stand still, kids were bathed and dressed- we headed to the movies! We saw Madagascar II, Africa-how appropriate! After the movie, we went to a great steak restaurant, much like Superior Steak House in LA. Our new friends, The Bells, joined us for Christmas Eve festivities! They have two boys, Aidan 4 and Evan, 3! We ate ,drank and had lots of laughs-almost closed the place down-Both Claire and Hunter fell asleep! FYI, after four adult steak dinners, 5 kids meals, four ice creams, one coffee, and endless bottles of wine our bill arived....$110.00-Can you believe? The benefits of living here, eating out is a fraction of the cost than in the states!
It was a mad rush to get home, we had to get ready for Santa's arrival! The two little ones went back to sleep without a problem, Taylor took longer, he tossed and turned with much excitement! Finally, mom and dad went to bed around two!
Taylor started waking us up at 5:30, oh my! I kept him quiet until 6! And then the games began......... Santa had arrived!
Santa was very good to everyone this year, Taylor got a TV, Hunter got a set of Golf Clubs, and Claire's big item from Santa was a trike! The family got a Wii and a Wii Fit. The kids and Pat got me a hand carved zebra, a cross, hair rollers, a massage gift cert and some Africa books. We got Pat a brown leather safari hat, biking shirt, shoes, and nose clipper(exciting, but needed) Mimi and Poppa were prepared this year and sent our gifts when we moved. Claire got a Barbie jeep, and the boys a digital camera each-I know SPOILED! Among my favorite gifts were my parents gifts to Pat and I....We each got a box of food! I know, how weird, but when you are somewhere far away, sometimes the smallest of things can mean the world- a jar of Jiff, Cajun mixes!
Our party began at 3, and we were ready. We felt having people over would make the day less sad being away from the ones we love. And of course everyone else is feeling the same way! Pat did the Braii, we braiied two huge beef fillets, meant to feed 10 pple each-we got these at a local butcher for $20. for both! I made my moms broccoli and rice casserole and sweet potato casserole, I had much better luck cooking this go round. Everyone brought stuff, so we had plenty of good food. We had a great day- the people were fun, the food was great and the weather was awesome-All that could have made it better was to have a our family there!
I hope everyone's Christmas was magical and I hope you have a wonderful New Year!
The McCarty's
Enjoy some of our new memories.......................................
Taylor helping with Pumpkin Bread!
On our way to see Santa....
Christmas morning, no matching pjs, could not find in SA!
Notice Lilly peeping through window.....
Notice Lilly peeping through window.....
Claire's new wheels, Thanks Mimi & Poppa
What Christmas is all about........
New Camera....
I got one too!
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