Saying Goodbye is so Hard to do

I guess all good things must come to an end.  We had the pleasure of having Roger's aunt and uncle from Germany (whom we affectionately call the Germans) stay with us from November and through Christmas.  I have to say I was a little bit nervous because they speak no English and I speak no German, and that can be really frustrating when my translator Roger isn't around.  But I have to say we got along great; using lots of charades, pantomime and google translate.  So for two months we went on several little adventures, we stayed up late each night just talking (me mostly listening), had the pleasure of Monika's amazing German cooking and just an overall awesome time. 

So here we are on their last day here.  I had to take a picture of Monika in the back seat because this is how we traveled.  Only if we were all riding I usually got stuck in the trunk but that's a different story.

 We stopped at In 'n Out for their last American supper.  It was awesome of course, then off to the airport.  My parents went too to see them off.

 Olivia's getting sad as she realizes that they are really leaving.

 Olivia standing under the giant wish bone.  I wonder what she is wishing for. . . .

 Monika and Olivia doing some kind of booty bump before she leaves

 Me and Monika - I'm gonna miss her!

 Me, Olivia and Alfons - I'm gonna miss him so much too!

 I think the this was all just a little too emotional so Juliana decided to "check out" and take a nap.

 You can imagine what Roger is wishing for here. . . .

 One last hug. . . .

 And one last hug for Juliana. . .

 This was a shot that Livi took.  I think she was getting sentimental and decided to take a picture of everyone before they left so she could remember them.

 And then it was time to say good bye to the El Paso crew as well.  All good things must come to an end:(



The Magic Time Machine

And for the German's last meal in Texas we wanted something fun and silly that they would remember, so naturally we chose The Magic Time Machine.  Here we are sitting in the "Little Mexico" section of town.

 O Oh!  Why is Opi so scared????

 Because the Joker is taking our orders!!!!! Yikes!!!!!

 Salad Bar

These are all the crazy places that you can eat. . . .
There's the bus

You can't see it, but Liv is actually inside a giant spooky pumpkin

The Peanuts section

The giant lunch box

Pinocchio was so cute

So then they asked us to all gather around for a group picture.  At the end of the meal they show you the picture to see if you want to buy it.  So they hand me two pictures.  I see this one first and I think, "pretty good".  I get the second one to compare and see which came out better and I am shocked!

Actually shocked and confused. . . .



Christmas Morning

Welcome to Christmas 2011.  Let's just say that Santa was VERY generous this year.  This is the Doll House Mansion that Santa (along with his elves) built with his very hands.  And yes, it is the doll house that I always wanted as a child. . . . . (Just in case you were wondering, the tools were for Ty who actually spent Christmas with us this year!)

 And here is our lovely tree

 Guess who was the first one out of bed. . . . . you guessed it!  Do you think she liked their gift?

 And here we are trying to wake up Juliana who wasn't quite ready to wake up yet.

 I think Uncle Alfons was also having a hard time waking up just like Juliana.

 Not really sure what is wrong with my face.  Let's chalk it up to I was also tired:(

 Who's ready for Christmas Gifts???

 Livi trying out Ty's tools

 Just trying to keep Juliana awake!

O Oh!  Settle down Aunt Melissa!

Still trying to keep Juliana awake here. I learned a valuable lesson this day.  The lesson being - Let Juliana be.  I get overly consumed with making sure she is having a good time.  Making sure she stays awake.  And here's a newsflash, she gets overwhelmed, and when she does she falls asleep.  It is truly her coping method.  So instead of wearing myself out by getting overly excited about things to try and keep her awake (which probably overwhelms her even more) I need to just let her enjoy things in her way.  I will never stop trying to get her to celebrate in the way we do but I will try to acknowledge her choice to "opt out" every now and then and let her "enjoy" things in her own way.

Liv having a blast!

And yes, Juliana is out.  (Let it go mommy.)

She is loving that Barbie in her sleep!

Taking advantage of every waking moment. . . . . . . .

Monika with her new necklace

Alfons and his new shirts

Then I tagged out and let Daddy be the gift cheer leader - Here's another theory, maybe I make her sleepy.

Okay Brooksie, you may be overdoing the excitement just a little bit. . . .

And this was the gift we had all been waiting for.  See a few weeks prior, Monika left her rings in my car by mistake.  Olivia found them the next day and we hid them.  She never mentioned that they were missing.  For weeks we kept these rings and Monika never mentioned they were missing.  Finally around December 23 she realized they were missing and got really worried.  One was just a pearl ring, but the other was a ring that was made for her by her grandfather who was a goldsmith.  She started tearing up the house and eventually she remembered and started tearing up my car, but they were gone.  Gone until Christmas morning that is  . . . .

Gotcha Monika!!!!

Juliana sending some emails on her new computer

Then checking out their new doll house

The Eats

About to go into a turkey coma

Monika with her bee-otch.

Trying to get the playdough ice cream shoppe set up