Christmas with the Chuas 2011

It is that time of the year to bring out the ornaments and decorate the whole house once again with little balls and socks.

I was not able to purchase new ornaments this year aside from the angel on top of our tree.

Last year, we had red, greens and golds. I bought some ornaments on sale last year for this year's color theme.

Aqua/ Turquoise, Fuchsia, Olive greens, Oranges...etc for the tree this year...

* Our Tree 2011

* Angels we have heard on high....

First off, my favorite decors are the one made by little hands.... Kimi.

* Moose made out of cardboard

* Little Twirlies as decor

...the store-bought

* This decor is the palette we based the color of our tree decor from

* Red bulb sparkles as decor

* Turquoise bulb in shiny gloss

* Plain with Stripes 

* My personal favorite... clear globe with little snows inside

Snowman head decor

....and from last year

* Stocking in the mirror

* Back to reds and greens and golds on this part of the house

* Christmas tree made of clay by Mom and Kimi

Shadbolt Class

Santa decor from 2009- Kimi's Birthday

Reindeer was a gift from Hubby's Christmas Party last night

* Nutcracker from last year

Miniature tree from Hubby... re-use

Miniature tree skirt from the nearby dollar store :)

* Wreath from the past with Christmas balls incorporated on the sides

... and the reason for the season

* The Birth of Christ

Little People Toy Set from my Brother

We got this one 2007, the year Kimi was born and we get this out every year for Christmas.

* * * * *

MERRY CHRISTMAS

<<<=I

In n Out Foods...

I love shrimps! It reminds me of my mom when I eat butterfly shrimps (this is what my dad prepares for my mom in our house) and that is what my friend, Honey, prepared for us for our dinner in her house on our 2nd day.

* Ready to steam

* Oooh la la! Yumminess with all the garlicky scent and steamed just right

Now I know why Ver kept on saying just how close Honey's shrimp is as good, if not better, than what is served in Chinese Lauriat.

For our dine out food, it is the oh so famous In n Out Burgers. I started to get curious with this burger when I read that a Philippine actress (Judy Ann Santos) craved for this burger and her hubby asked someone from U.S. to fly this all the way to Manila just so the satisfy her wifey's craving. Sweet eh!? 

* Yumminess in between our hands

It was really fresh and the patties was not too thick and not too thin. I guess I now understand why they are raving about this burger. I am not much of a burger fan but I actually love they way it tastes. It was cooked on the spot after ordered. My only regret? I wasn't able to to try the milkshakes :(

Indoor Sunday

It was a rainy Sunday in California and we decided to postpone our meeting with Mickey Mouse to a weekday.

Indoors for all of us and to Target mall we go for our late night shopping.

Happy to be pushed in this big pushcart with a kid seat at the back...

* A little bit of pictorial...

* Zach's turn

* Three is not such a crowd. Happy to be stuck inside the cart

* Pretending to be in their own living room

* One more shot...

It was time to go home and call it a day.

Kimi was on her "I miss shoti mode" and decided to cuddle up to Zach

* A little bit of resistance from Zach (ha ha!)

... and a lazy night cap of milk shared between friends...

* Date night in the couch

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Ontario Mills Outlet

Who doesn't love outlet stores? When the weather gets rainy, we go indoors for a good buy.

* Ontario Mills Facade

* Such a big outlet. Several markers to help the customers around

* Handy directory

I didn't realize until I was already there that you actually need a car to go places. The public transportation is not as good an alternative as here in Vancouver. 

Lucky to have a friend who actually went on a limb to lend us a car during our whole stay so that everything we want to go is possible. Thanks Honey and Ver!!!

...and to an updated GPS from our Canadian relative. Thank you Uncle Alfonso :)

* * * * *

ONTARIO MILLS OUTLET

Ontario, CA

Art from Home to Home

Glenda and I wasn't able to go to Michael's Tuesday Art Event featuring China. They made Sand Art for that class.

I decided to buy 3 Sand Art kit for the kids who missed the class :)

We did ours at home and so did Kalen and Justin. 

This is a fool proof art that kids would enjoy. Parent's Supervision is a must since it involves small sugar-like particles.I actually caught Kimi on the verge of tasting some of these. Uh oh! 

* Kimi doing her BIG EYES smile...

I usually tease her that when she smiles, her eyes turns into slit

Kimi! No eyes, Big Eyes, hence, this face... HA HA!

I sooo love this girl...

I think Kimi thought that this is sort of like the sprinkles we used when we do baking projects....

Meet our Stray....baby

This little guy's love for food is so intense he is willing to wait below his grandfather's chair for some....

...some food to fill his little, round tummy.

Aaaaw... Here Kitty kitty.... 

Small Gloves...

Kimi: I wish there are small gloves so I can help you wash the dishes...

Aaaaw! So sweet...

I hope you are gonna be singing this tune when you are older ;)

Nevertheless, you made me smile when you said this...

Im.not.tired...Zzzzzzz

Fresh from a week of sniffles and coughs

of fever, high and low...

teething... you name it, he just went through it...

* And still he needs lots of sleep...

He just woke up from a nap and managed to sit up,

decided that there is nothing interesting to do at home...

so, decided to go for another nap-

while seating down!

Kimi's friends in HIGH places...

Source: http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/friend
have friends in high places

to know important people who can help you get what you want

In this case though, it is literally friends that take you HIGH he he! Far from Mommy's reach...

Looks like a family of 4 :)

Kimi looks like she is enjoying herself way too much..mommy selos!

Sweet Moment

Auntie Twinny Storytime Corner

Uncle Stone's Ferris Wheel Ride

A Go at Uncle Stone's Ferris Wheel

Seagulls line-up Welcome

This sight greeted me on my way home... This is the neighbor's

...and this is our home

It's a Kid's World

We only have one room for the kids to share. It was done way before Kenzo was born so it is a bit on the feminine decor.

* The Fun starts here

The Kimi Sign hangs on the door to their room. This was lovingly made by yours truly hehe! The frame was a gift from Kimi's baptismal in Manila, Philippines. It was actually a frame with 12 places to put a picture in every month. I decided to make something out of it. I used gift wrap from the loonie store and put it on top of the cardboard frame to cover it entirely, then got printed tape from Daiso ($2 store) to cover up the white frame. I bought the lettering from a craft store in Manila and Voila! The Wall decals are from one of the loonie store as well.

* The Bedroom

I love Ikea a lot and it shows with this room. I would have loved a pink themed room for my little princess but I decided to do a primary color themed just to be able to accommodate a boy when the time comes. The crib and the storage bins for the toys as well as the 'V' shelves hanging are all from Ikea. We got the Changing drawer from Sears. I opted for a freestyle border which |I got from different sources. I would have painted the rooms differently but then it was a new house and the paint was still good and neutral so we made use of that.

* Overflowing of toys and Picture Wall Momentos

The toys just keeps on getting more and more...Not that I am complaining :) We got a chain type hanging from the corner to hang the stuff toys in and make room in the floor.

* Book and Toy ledge

* Mini Library

* Photo Cork Board

This little boards actually covers up a little blunder from our initial carpenter attempt :) It turned out for the better anyway.

... Previous Show us your life features the

LIVING ROOM- A Sneak peek of our Living Room

MASTER's BEDROOM- Our Own Nirvana

DINING ROOM- Two in One Room: Dining and Kitchen

Kimi loves her banana

I just found five bananas hidden behind our pillows... Kimi seems to think that there is a shortage of her banana so she decided to make a stash :-O

Goofing around with the bananas...

I love you my pretty monkey :)