A kitchen for Christmas

Our new kitchen is finally "complete". There are a few minor details to finish and a few possible near term upgrades like under cabinet lighting, but we are using it. We cooked our first meal together in the kitchen last night and what a difference. We were able to move around each other and neither of us banged out shins on the open dishwasher. The oven didn't heat up the entire house and the microwave was able to warm a plate in under 20 minutes. Although the entire project took only three weeks, it felt longer especially since we did not have the kitchen available over the holidays. We are thrilled to finally stop having to eat takeout every night. You can see all the pictures from this project by clicking this link.

Jack

Just because Jack needed a few more pictures on here.

Christmas 2009

This year was the first year since we've in our whole lives that we voluntarily chose not to travel during the holiday season.  In addition to the cost and the kitchen remodel, we decided it was important to start our own holiday traditions at home.  The location of our home is always subject to change, so at least our Christmas can be the same.
We started the season with the purchase of a tree from the Red Cross.  They were giving away free trees to Iraq veterans, but we chose to pay for what ended up being a very nice tree.  While in Alabama, we always went to a tree farm, so it was a little disappointing not to be able to do that again this year.

Regardless of where we got the tree, Carter had a blast decorating it.  We did it over the course of a couple nights so he could participate as much as possible. He really understood the concept and it was clear that decorations were his favorite part of the holiday.

Christmas morning was a lot of fun.  Both boy slept in until at least 0700 so that made it even better.  Carter was so excited to see all the presents, but he was more interested in making piles than opening them.  Once he realised there were some toys inside, he was more than happy to rip through the paper. He was even nice enough to help jack open all of his.  We used the Skype video chat so each family could see us open the presents we had received from them.

While the stress of a major kitchen remodel took away some of the enjoyment, our first Christmas by ourselves was a lot of fun.  All the pictures are available by clicking this link.