Our Christmas Eve

Steve is such a big faker. I'm not sure who was more excited about presents this year, Me, Steve or Jesse. Steve was like a little kid! We couldn't wait any longer, so we opened our gifts on Christmas Eve! If you know us, you know that this was pretty impressive for us. We usually can't wait until Christmas to open our presents to each other!

Naughty or nice...? Depends on the day, I reckon;)

Jesse *loves* his stocking! Every year, as soon as it gets unpacked, he starts getting excited!

This present was from Nanny D. He really liked it!

Ahhhh...Bummmmm Rubbbbbbbs.

Steve made us our traditional seafood chowder and I made my Mom's biscuits recipe. Yummy!

Blink. Blink.

Steve surprised me with an Iphone in my stocking...a pink one at that!!!

Um, Steve. I think those might be for me.

There you go. That's more like it.

Steve loved the Canada running shirt from his Mama!

After dinner, presents and a movie, we skyped with our friends in Brisbane. Merry Christmas Guys and a big special Merry Christmas to our friends and family in Canada too!!! xo

Merry Christmas to All...

...and to all a good night! Christmas Eve is finally here and it's just as wonderful as I imagined it would be! We've feasted on seafood chowder and biscuits, drank wine and opened presents. We've snuggled and watched "Bad Santa" and sang along to Christmas tunes. We've laughed at Jesse opening gifts and yelled at Jesse for opening ours. It's perfect. I hope your Christmas Eve is every bit as magical! Miss you all and thinking of you lots! xo

Thanks!

A big special thanks to all our wonderful family and friends who have sent us Christmas cards. It's always so exciting to find one in the mailbox at the end of the day! Only one more sleep to Christmas Eve! I just have to wrap Jesse's presents and we're all set to celebrate! Hope everyone else out there is ready too!

Only 2 more sleeps..

..until the most magical eve of the year!

It's Christmas time in the city! LaLaLa!!!

Our very pretty tree. I wish you could scratch and sniff it through your computer! It smells amazing.

So, you can't get eggnog lattes in Melbourne. Not even at Starbucks. However, you can get gingerbread lattes and they are just as good! Steve and I had one on Friday and Saturday. I'll definitely need at least 2 more before Christmas is over!

I've really fallen in love with Melbourne but experiencing it during the holiday season has really stolen my heart. The energy downtown on the weekend was electric. Everyone was hustling and bustling and the decorations were beautiful. I don't think you could have been downtown this past weekend and not felt at least a little festive!

A very big tree! It's interactive and sings to you and tells you stories when you place your hand in certain places.

A very big tree all lit up!

I did some of my Christmas baking on the weekend, under the very watchful eye of my little helper...

See that little face peeking up at the cookies? xo

Steve and I bought and wrapped each other's stocking stuffers and I can hardly wait to open mine! Oh the excitement! We also watched a couple of Christmas movies and I made a wreath. Not sure if you know this about me but, I'm slightly obsessed with wreaths. I love wreaths on front doors and I think a wreath on a person's front door says a lot about them! This one was inspired by this chick's wreath and is hanging on my kitchen door.

I'm thinking I might make more cookie dough later tonight but we'll see how it goes. I'm recovering from a very late night on Friday (I didn't get home until 4 am!) and another late night (well late for a school night!) last night. I'll have more to share about all that later, so stayed tuned!

Only 3 more sleeps until Christmas Eve! My favorite day of the year!

Love.

Last night I painted my toes red in honor of Christmas, while Jesse laid by the tree and Steve and I watched Die Hard on TV, a Christmas classic according to Steve. It was really nice. It didn't just feel like Christmas, it felt like home. I'm really learning that it's true what they say...home is where your heart is and there's no doubt, mine is pretty cozy and snuggly in the hands (and paws!) of Steve and Jes. Love you Babe! xo

I love you Christmas!

I'm just like a kid at Christmas. Seriously. I am so, so in love with everything to do with the holiday and I'm counting the days until Santa comes, right along with the kids! It's been such a busy, bustling 2 weeks since I returned to Australia but exciting, all the same! There's been nothing but ornament making of all kinds, card creating, gingerbread house decorating, present wrapping, carol singing and Christmas parties in the last 10 days and that's only just at work with the kids! I've been writing cards (which have been posted late due to my travels to Canada, but mailed none the less!), decorating, Christmas shopping, crafting and cleaning (it makes the decorations seem nicer if the house is clean!) at home. Tomorrow night Steve and I are off to enjoy an eggnog latte at Starbucks (I've been craving one all week!) and we're going to buy each other's stocking stuffers, separately, of course! Is there anything more fun than opening a stocking on Christmas morning?! Saturday is being completely dedicated to Christmas baking. I even bought a new magazine full of yummy recipes that I can't wait to try! If all goes well, they'll make some super gifts for the neighbors:) We're not exactly sure what our plans are for Christmas just yet, but after a very exhausting 2 weeks in Canada, I'm looking most forward to a bit of down time, relaxing with my favorite boys! So, like I said, I love Christmas! The exciting energy is just contagious! Do tell...what are you most excited about this holiday season?:)

Gatorade Triathlon Series - Race 2

On Sunday I participated in race 2 of the Gatorade Triathlon Series Super Sprint. What a fantastic event and only a 15 minute drive from our house. A super sprint means its super short, 500 meter swim, 20km ride, 5km run. I finished with a time of 1hr 15min 54secs.
Swim - 12min 6sec
Bike - 35min 44 sec
Run - 23min 53 sec

Getting all my number stickers on my bike and helmet.

Clo came along to help cheer me on. You can't tell at all in this photo but shes 7 months pregnant.

Setting up my transition area.

Jesse also came along.

My support crew.

Finally got to use my new wetsuit.

Need to stretch before I swim.

Santa stopped in to officiate the race.

Waiting for my swim wave to start.

I am smiling...

Looks cold? It was cold... I'm very happy I had a wet suit. The swim was extremely hard, the distance was easy but the size of the waves made it very difficult. They don't actually look very big from this pic but when you were trying to swim through it the waves felt like they were 10 feet tall.

I look like I'm drowning in this pic! I was actually trying to exit the water after the swim leg.

Coming out of the water, on my way to the transition area.

Starting the 20km bike ride.

Finished my 2nd lap, on my way to transition again to start the run.

Done like Dinner, coming across the finish line after the 5km run.

Jesse needed some refreshment after watching the race.

Now you can see some baby belly!

Love my lucky shark pants. I had a great race, it was awesome having Cari and Clo cheering me on as I raced, thanks for coming guys! Next race is Jan 10th. This one will be an Olympic distance event, 1500m swim, 40km ride, 10km run.

Steve (how can 2 girls talk about babies for 4 days straight) Dickinson

Show some love.

Jesse isn't always up for cuddles. He has to be in the mood. I laughed today when Steve tried to lay with him and Jes acted like it was total torture! See him pulling away? He wasn't impressed!