the santoro life

We were lucky to celebrate two Christmases this year. My parents came out on the 19th for a five day visit. They took the kids all over town, to the museums and parks, we spent a decent amount of time at La Jolla Tap and opened lots of presents before they left. In the past month my parents have traveled to Branson, India and San Diego to see all three of us. Thanks for coming out mom and dad. Love you xoxox A sunset at Windansea The girls! Superhero and his saltines We've been homebound for neary four months and it was time for another trip! We road tripped up to San Francisco on the 23rd to see Noah's grandma and family. We stopped in Santa Barbara on the way up for a night, and Morro Bay on the way back - pretty much the same trip we did three years ago. Kids were awesome in the car (thanks to the iPad) and it was a really fun trip. Grandma is now 98 and still going strong. We stayed with her for two nights and I think she was about done with us by the tim...

Only two weeks til Christmas - eek! We got our tree on Thursday after work/school and decorated it this weekend. Emmett's school performance was Friday night at Little Steps. He'd been talking up Rudolph and Happy Birthday (to Jesus) for a few weeks but didn't really come through with the singing on stage. He got so excited to see us in the audience and screamed "Hi Mom!! Hi Dad!!". The rest of the weekend was packed with a sleepover for besties Soph and Florence, a holiday festival at the school, a bday party, and hanging lights with Colleen and Larry. Picking out the perfect tree at good ole Home Depot. Emmett LOVED the chainsaws. Of course. One tree. Three kids. One Superdad.  Hi Mom! Hi Dad!! After his class's performance he joined us in the audience.  Christmas Chaos.  Florence came over Saturday to play and stayed the night. Busted out my grandma's tea set for a little party.  We made oatmeal cookies.  And watch...

I got to sit through The Grinch for a second time this weekend! I actually didn't mind, it is so cute. Jen and I took Finn and Emmy to the show, and then out for lunch in Hillcrest. It was a gorgeous day and we had a blast. Noah and I got out for a few hours of Christmas shopping on Saturday night, we got to visit Colleen and Larry for a bit on Sunday and then rounded out the weekend at the holiday festival at the rec center. Buds since birth. And me and Jen are going on 10+ years, too :) These two are buds since birth, too! Finn and Coco - reunited and oh so happy.

Well, Thanksgiving came and went and this week it's December! We stayed here this year and had a nice long 4-day weekend. Finn and Soph were off school all week and went to a fun camp at the La Jolla YMCA the first part of the week. We spent Thanksgiving with the Lawrence's, hit the beach on Friday, spent all our time and $$ at the lice salon on Saturday (yes, thanks Finnster) and went to see Trolls yesterday. Finally got some cold, rainy weather and it was nice to be lazy and chill for a few days. Bunny hanging on the rocks at Windansea on Thanksgiving morning. Swingset fun Jen and Josh cooked a giant bird and we ate and drank pretty much all day on Thursday. The kids had a blast together as usual and Finn and Emmy had a sleepover. I love Finn's face - not a fan of turkey.  Buds since birth - wishbone time! Finn was the lucky winner. Or not so lucky considering we learned he had lice the next morning. Yep, nightmare come true but part of elementary ...

It seems like we are certainly in an easier phase with the kids being a little older, but every minute of every day is also scheduled! I'm looking forward to a 4-day Thanksgiving weekend with almost no plans.  Soph got a new swimsuit which made us all remember the original WonderWoman - Nay Nay from 30 years ago! Last weekend I flew to Branson for Jane's baby shower. It was amazing to see her, Walter, my parents and that not-so-little bump! Her friends threw a great shower and they got hopefully almost everything they need for Molly and Sloane! I can not wait to meet these little nuggets and watch my sister be the amazing mom I know she'll be.  Baby shower time Getting ready to open the loot! On Friday Noah and I took E to his annual cardiology appointment. He got a chest x-ray, an EKG and everything looks the same as the previous appointments, so once a year visits continue which is awesome news! He seriously had a blast at this 3 hour appointmen...