Meet the Morelli Family: 2008

31 December 2008

Christmas 2008 - Part 3

The next part of our Christmas Day took Damon and I up the my family ranch in Calistoga to hang out with my dad's side of the family. I love this tradition and our new $10.00 gift exchange. Here is my Aunt Michelle's tree:

And all of our presents...

Of course we had to pull names out of a black cowboy hat, that is such our family!

Casey started off the laughs by opening a handmade white scarf...his modeling made it even more hillarious!

My dad picked a present that was in a round tin and he said that it looked like a fudge tin...and, he was right. I made fudge as one of our gifts :)

Doesn't Chelsea look adorable in the cowboy hat?

Uncle Dickie was talking about wanting to see the return of the John Deer lunch box from last year, and he picked the right present to get it back!

The biggest laugh of the day was when Uncle Hughie also picked a scarf...matching father son modeling session!

I always like to start the stealing of presents....I took a plate from my Aunt Michelle which my mom ended up stealing from me. So I took the custom cheese board from Diana...then Damon took a handy tool from Uncle Erik, who then took the cheeseboard from me. Love it!

The funniest part of the day was my dad's present from Diana...a tetnus (sp?) shot. He hadn't had one in 20 years and my mom is worried about all him hurting himself while on all his adventures. My dad wasn't so thrilled about the situation, depiste the cheesy smile.

Diana is graduating in May from her nursing program, she is going to do so great in life.

And the fun begins....

Christmas 2008 - Part 2

On to Christmas morning...Damon went hunting and came home a few minutes after 8:00. We were supposed to be at Leana and Tyler's at 8:00. So, I brush my teeth, put on a sweathshirt and headed out the door VERY excited to see Ryanne on Christmas morning. We had 6 presents for her and she got to pick up 3 of the 6 presents to open in the morning. That is a very hard decision for a 2 1/2 year old to make.

Ryanne was driving Leana and I crazy...she was so danity with the unwrapping of the presents!

So, mom had to help her out. I love this picture of the mother-daughter duo.

Grandma also delivered some presents via Uncle Damon and Ryanne was so excited for this fire truck. It made lots of noise and she just adored it. Lots of stimulation early in the morning!

She also got a choo-choo train whistle, which Damon tried to show her how to use. (Sorry this picture is blurry, I was having camera issues.)

I love that some of the old school toys are back in season, or course, Damon has to try each one out.

Ryanne is obsessed with these little bunnies, I think that half of her presents were bunnies or bunny related items.

You can just see the imagination running wild in her head.

More tomorrow...have a happy and safe new year's eve!

30 December 2008

MM Photography Post

Be sure to check the photography blog as well and let me know what you think.

http://mamphotography.squarespace.com/

The Hildebrandt's Wedding Announcement

Alicia and Geoff were able to get their wedding announcement in The Press Democrat before the end of 2008. My dad was so proud of her completing his one request! Enjoy the article.

http://www.print2webcorp.com/news/SantaRosa/celebrations/20081221/p1_a2.htm

29 December 2008

Christmas 2008 - Part 1

It seems like Christmas was weeks ago, not just a few days ago. Damon and I started our Christmas celebration with a few hours at work on Wednesday, followed by a visit at my Aunt Susan's and then headed up to Windsor for a nice quiet Christmas dinner. My mom cooked her first turkey and she did a fabulous job! It was just my parents, grandparents, Damon and I. My mom and dad gave my grandma a beautiful piece of jewelry and my grandpa a very cool license plate. They were both very excited.

My mom didn't put up a big tree is year, she doesn't have a lot of visitors to warrant the time. But, she did put out the mini-tree that I made her as little girl. So, of course, I had to take a photo of it.

She did put up stockings (including one for Geoff, Damon and Shasta) and her Santa mantle display, which I love.

I, of course, caught the cold flu from everyone around me who was sick during the holidays. I am so proud of myself for making it through the full work day. I have a very busy week and being sick was just not a part of the plan! More of our Christmas tomorrow and throughout the week.

27 December 2008

Annual Christmas Cookie Party

On the 20th of December, Morgan, Meredith and I hosted the annual cookie decorating party at my house. This is a tradition that Meredith and her mom started in high school and we are glad to carry it on 10 years later. It was also a great excuse to get my house all decorated for the holidays! Of course, we had a lot of boxes that needed to be filled...

And lots of sprinkles and toppings to use...

I decided to steal my mom's stair decorations and I love them!

I ordered some cupcakes from Sift Cupcakery...which is a fancy cupcake bakery in Cotati. As if we needed more sugar!

Casen and Trenton came over to decorate one cookie each and they were beyond excited! We all cannot wait until little kids start coming to party in the future.