A crazy and busy 2 weeks!!!

I have so much to blog about because I haven't posted in 2 weeks, so this one is going to be a long one. I have been enjoying my time off from work and more importantly the time Sal has off from school. He finished school on the 22nd and that day we headed down to San Diego for the night, just the two of us. We go put up in this time share in Escondido and it was really nice. It was bigger than my house! I just don't know who would want to buy a timeshare in Escondido. We drove into downtown Escondido and it was fun but really there is nothing and Escondido is about 40 minutes away from San Diego. It was nice for a night, though, because Sal and I haven't been able to really have alone time because of our busy schedules. It was really nice! We went to this really yummy (and healthy) restaurant. Please excuse the double chin!!! After this nice relaxing night, we came home to the craziness of Christmas! Sal's brother, Daniel and his wife, Liz came in and stayed with us. They live in Colorado and only come once a year so Sal and Daniel have been attached at the hip for the last 2 weeks. They are so close and for them to be so far away is really hard for both of them to be far apart. So it has been cramped in our house but it has been fun! Then the Sunday before Christmas, we had Christmas with my side of the family. We went over to my brother's house and had a lot of fun. Of course, I didn't get any pictures of my parents but I did of everyone else. These are all the kids on my side of the family. It took almost five years for our family to add one child to the mix and now after 7 years, we have added five kids, with one on the way! And I am sure there are more to come!
Just so you know, my sister isn't fat, she is pregnant with her fourth child!

This is Sal with his gay lover! Oh wait, that is just Shane, my sister's husband!I die over this little one! Kate is so fun and such a firecracker! She is the most hyper and funny child I have ever met! She is hysterical! This is Julie's youngest, at least until Mallory comes in March!These are my sisters. Julie (brown hair) is my actual sister and Genise (blonde) is my brother's wife! After Christmas with my family, we spent Christmas Eve with Sal's family. They have certain traditions. All the girls have to wear red to dinner, we usually don't eat until 7:00 or 8:00 and we open Christmas gifts at midnight. However, because there are so many little kids and SO many presents, we usually open them around 10:00 and finish around midnight. However, this year, we waited until midnight and it took two an half hours to open them all. Sal has a big family and some of them weren't even there. He has 1 brother and 4 sisters and one sister wasn't there. Then his brother and sister each have spouses and include me, that is a lot of adults. Then total nephew and niece count is 13, only nine were there. It is crazy and everyone has at least one gift!

A picture of all the presents around the Christmas tree! After we got home that night, Sal and I opened gifts from each other. It is tradition. The baby was up until 2:00 at my in-laws and fell asleep in the car on the way home, so he opened his gifts in the morning. I got a coach purse, the Michael Buble and Norah Jones cd, and some clothes. I think I scored. In the morning, the baby opened his gifts (an elmo chair, some coloring books, and bath toys) but his favorite thing was his dum dum suckers that were in his stocking! Why did I buy him gifts? I should have just given him suckers! He would have been fine with that!

Him in the Elmo chair, watching Shrek!A gift he got from Grandma and Pada (grandpa) Gerken. He loves it!

So now onto last night! For New Year's Eve, we went over to Sal's aunts house with his family and some of the aunts and uncles and cousins. His dad is from a family of 10 and only about 4 of the siblings and there spouses were there. I think one time we counted up Sal's first cousins and he has roughly 36 first cousins and some of them have kids. Not all of them were there, only about 40 people in total! But that is still a pretty big family party! We each had to bring something from our house that we didn't want anymore for a gift exchange. I ended up with a towel, that serves as a tortilla warmer and Sal ended up with the best gift of the night, a pair of brand new women's slippers, which ended up going to me! They are so comfortable! There was amazing food and lots of fun! My son didn't go to bed until we left at 12:30! I guess my child is going to be a night owl! He was fighting sleep though. But with the DJ and the loud music, he couldn't sleep! Oh well, like Sal said, it is only one night! No party would be complete without a pinata!!!

or Karaoke!!

Overall, it has been a fabulous week an half. Crazy, but fun! On Thursday, Sal and I leave for our mini vacation to Vegas! We are staying in the Bellagio for the first (and probably last time)! We are going to see "O"! I am so excited I can't wait! I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday and got to spend lots of time with family and friends!