Christmas 2012

We had a great Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!  It was different not being with family and warm out but we made the best of it and kept to the traditions of food and such that we usually do back home.  I spent the whole week baking and preparing for the holidays.  I made fudge, wreaths (Paige's favorite like rice krispie treats but with corn flakes),funfetti cookies, spritz cookies, chex mix, and my first ever apple pie (that's Tim's mom's specialty).  Actually, the chex mix and fudge recipes are hers too!

Ready for Church

Hawaiian roll sandwiches

Christmas Eve was so nice and relaxing and fun.  We ate our traditional Christmas Eve sandwiches on Hawaiian rolls, then we went to the candle light service at church at 7pm and then came home and opened one family gift.  The kids really enjoyed it and were excited to open it.  It had new flannel jammie pants for all of us and pj shirts for the boys and slippers for the girls.  It had 5 GTMO cocoa mugs, hot chocolate and popcorn, and our favorite Christmas movie ELF.  So then we all went up stairs changed into our new pjs and turned all the lights off but the Christmas tree and Christmas lights and watched the movie, drank hot cocoa and ate popcorn.  We all laughed so hard at the movie it was just plain fun!

11:30ish we tucked the boys into bed with all the Christmas excitement.  At midnight Tim and I went fishing til about 1:30am.  Paige was playing on her ipod and said she would be in charge. Yep fishing!  Why not it's Cuba and nicer sitting out at night then in the hot sun during the day!  It has gotten to about 67 at night so we did need sweatshirts so it sorta felt like winter. And I finally found the big dipper.  I haven't been able to find it since we got here which is so weird to me because in the Pacific Northwest I can pick it out right away!

Left cookies and milk for Santa before bed of course!

Fishing!  No surprise we caught nothing!! We have bad fishing luck, always have lol.

After fishing Santa came and left presents and filled stockings.

Christmas morning Nixon ran around and woke all of us up.  The boys waited patiently for Paige, Tim and I at the top of the stairs so we could all go down together.  They each got a ripstick from Santa.  It's like a skateboard but only has 2 wheels and kind of twists in the middle. Then we ate cinnamon rolls and opened gifts.

The kitties enjoyed their stockings!  They each got one too.

Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast

Ham for Christmas dinner

Today we went to the skate park so the kids could ride their new ripsticks there.

We spent most of Christmas day just hanging out in our pjs enjoying having nowhere we had to be but home playing with our new "toys".

We hope you had a great Christmas too and have a Happy New Years!
We love you and miss you Family and Friends!

Thanksgiving and Pre- Christmas Fun

We had a nice Thanksgiving.  Kyle and Jess and Jake from Tim's office came to our place for dinner.  We had a great spread.  Tim made a gorgeous and yummy turkey!  We also made stuffing, green bean casserole, fruit salad, yams, mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls and cranberry sauce and two pumpkin pies and cookies! Jess made a delicious hash brown casserole and baked mac and cheese.  Needless to say we ate good and our tummies were full!

Tim's awesome Turkey

I even used the decorations my Mom gave me and used for my Birthday last year in the states.  They were perfect Thanksgiving decor for the table!

We get some amazing sunsets

Me and my boys

I accidentally hit the button and took this picture happened to be right when they were all looking at something.  I thought it turned out kinda cool.

They put up some fun decorations here.  Like this Seasons Greetings Guantanamo Bay Cuba sign and they build that tree behind it.  It is 3 or 4 stories tall or more and is up on a hill with a bunch other lighted things you can walk around and look at.  It looks small in this picture but is huge in person.

Simon's class sang at the tree lighting ceremony at the NEX (our store)

Paige won an art competition.  She drew a Christmas Unicorn so they had her come up and get her prize.

Nixon got to sit on Santa's lap (Paige and Simon didn't want too, they are growing up too fast)

After our last soccer game of the season all hot and sweaty we went and picked out our tree!  Normally we are bundled up in jackets.

This is the NEX atrium where they light the tree in the middle and then different groups compete decorating the surrounding trees.  Very fun and festive!

Out for the lighted truck parade!

Another chance to sit with Santa!  Simon did it this time!

Nixon with Santa

Our tree which the kitties have had way too much fun with.  That star looks white but it isn't it's multi colored like the lights but in pics looks white.

The bowling alley had a decorate a pin competition for kids.  Paige did the penguin, Simon's Santa's sack of toys and Nixon Santa.

Out for the lighted boat parade.  I couldn't get a good picture.  There were 12 boats.  Impressive for such a small place.

Nixon's Christmas program

Simon's Christmas program.  He got to read part of a story.

One more time with Santa at the school wide Christmas party thrown by PTO.

Yay Simon sat with him again! (yes each Santa is different lol)

Nixon's first sports award.  They do medals here in stead of a trophy

End of soccer.  Next Simon will do basketball.

Paige and her first soccer season.

They had the country band Starletta from Nashville come play a concert for us after the lighted truck parade and lighting of the tree on the hill. They built a stage at our movie theater.

Our neighbors and us shared all our lights to cover the whole house.  They have all kinds of cool stuff like the turning carousel and Tigger and polar bear. It's hard to see but the things all along the walkways change colors and so do the blue lights up on the house.  There are even snowflakes hanging from the palm tree.  There are candy cane up to our door and a dear and snowman but it didn't show up in the pic.

At the NEX they have a phone to call Santa and he tells the kids he will be to Cuba soon!

 Well that brings us up to today Christmas Eve.  We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas.  We miss our family and friends very much.  I will post more pictures soon of tonight and tomorrow's events.               MERRY CHRITSTMAS

Wanna see my Gas Station?

Wanna see our Gas Station?  Yep here it is......

We did have a little Gas station with 4 pumps open 24hours that they closed down a couple months ago.  Then they made us go to the pumps where the government vehicles fill up and it was cash only and only 1 pump and only open certain days from 2-6.  It was always a 45min plus wait no matter when you got there.  You either had to get there a half hour before they opened so you would be near the front of the line but still wait or you would end up 15-20 cars back and still wait.  Then starting this week this is our gas station.  Pulling up to a truck and having it pumped right into our car in the movie theater parking lot.  Still cash only but open a few more hours!  When they closed the gas station the gas went up $1 over night.  It costs $4.09 and let me tell you my car takes over $100 to fill up now!  I am not complaining about our gas station situation I just think it's funny and had to share.  When sitting in line I think this is what it probably feels like when they have had to ration gas.  It's GTMO just time it right so you have the time to wait at the gas station what else is there to do LOL.

Last weekend Paige got her first sports injury!  She twisted her ankle in the first quarter spent the rest of the game on the bench with ice.  Took it easy on it for a couple days and she is good again!

Paige made the honor roll for first quarter!  They had a ceremony for all the kids that did.

Found our third geo cache!

They have the right of way!!

This is just a glimpse of what Hurricane Sandy did to Tim's old building.  It is all moldy in there now.

This is his new office over in the hanger.

Not sure how long could be the whole time we are here. The old building is condemned.

We don't have Staples store but we do have Paper Clips! I heard it was the office supply warehouse but not sure why is says Hazmat Pharmacy, I have never asked.

For my birthday we ate at the Cuban Club, I think the only restaurant on base we haven't tried besides the Jerk House. Not that we have many to choose from LOL.  My food was great I loved it!  Yes Paige is officially taller than me!

They have what's called GTMO specials here.  Cars that don't leave the island and people paint them however they want.  I love this one. It's in case zombies attack!

I wish we could paint our car for the fun of it!  There is also the Mystery machine from scooby doo here and it's spot on!

The boys watching their sister's game before their games!

So proud of her for joining soccer!

That's our goalie!  Like a Coastie "Always Ready"

 Hope you are all doing great.  The base is already decorating for Christmas and we are ready to celebrate Thanksgiving next week.  Going to be weird not to be in Yakima for it. We have invited Tim's office so wish us luck cooking a turkey it's usually Grandpa's Job! Our kids are so used to certain things that Grandparents cook like Grandma Pat's Yams, Grandma's stuffing I hope we can do them justice!  And no black Friday shopping for me with Mom and Jaime!!!  However with the time difference I could call them and wake them up at 3:30am LOL!  Don't worry guys I won't! :-) or will I bwah ha ha ha (evil laugh).  Just kidding I won't.  I will still be asleep myself I am sure.