The Christmas Spirit

It's been a marathon week of Christmas-related activities. In addition to eating entire plates of cookies for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner, we've been out and about. Our first adventure was completely unplanned. I was running an errand with my mom and the girls and we spotted snow on the hills between us and the ocean. We took a 20 minute detour and found ourselves building snowmen and throwing snowballs. Pretty rare for where we live.







Next, we went up to the city with my parents for lunch in Union Square. My dad took Lilly home on the train and my mom and I took Ava to see the Nutcracker ballet. She enjoyed it even more than I expected, although she was ready to go home near the end of the 2-hour show when it got into more serious ballet. She especially liked how they gave her a free toy when we got there and gave out free juice and cookies at intermission. I buckled at the end and bought her a nutcracker snow globe that she just had to have.






We went to Gilroy Gardens this weekend. It was fun and beautiful - and COLD! It was all decorated for Christmas and they had some rides open, Santa, and a Snoopy show. The girls were in heaven, but we just didn't last that long, due to fear of frostbite and pneumonia. If the weather is normal next year, we will definitely go back.


My sisters braved the mall with us on Monday. Our primary goal was to see Santa, which turned into an ordeal. Just getting off the freeway next to the mall was an ordeal, so you can only imagine. It was totally worth it, because Santa was super cool. He took lots of time with the kids, asking them what they want, snapping lots of pictures, giving them coloring books, pointing out his reindeer on the roof, and asking them to draw pictures to put under the tree for him. Here is a picture I took on my phone:


One of my family's Christmas traditions is to go up to the temple at Christmas time to see the lights. My mom made chili and we had a little tailgate when we got there. They also had a live nativity. I was a little disappointed because Mary was chewing gum and trying not to laugh. Ava was a little disappointed because there were no sheep. The best part of the evening was seeing a beautiful sculpture exhibit they have in the visitors center. The girls, Ava especially, loved seeing the sculptures of Christ and hearing the stories they depicted.




Ok, so maybe the best part of the evening was getting ice cream at Fenton's when we were done. I think Ty has a little dab of chocolate fudge on his shirt in this picture.

The Hills Are Alive...

...with the cries of freezing children.

Tyler's tennis was canceled this morning, due to last night's rain. Instead, we stayed in bed most of the morning. Around noon, we decided to venture from our house and get some fresh air and exercise by hiking "the dish".

We were so prepared. Tyler put air in the strollers' tires. I packed snacks and warm clothing for the kids. In my mind, I pictured our little family happily hiking the hills, enjoying nature - our own little version of the last scene in The Sound of Music.

It started out well. I even had the luxury of pushing an empty stroller up the first segment of hill, watching Ava run alongside Tyler and Lilly. Before I knew it, she was tired and both children were crying about how cold they were. We took off our sweatshirts to blanket over the girls, but they still cried. By the time we got to the highest point, I wanted to cry too. It was C-O-L-D! We turned around and quickly jogged back to the warmth of the car.

Was the excursion anything like I envisioned? No. It was a funny adventure, nonetheless. I don't know why I let myself get caught-up in visions of perfect family moments, like something from the movies...something I know is not real. Real families have to deal with things like weather, fussy kids, potty breaks, puke, and all things unexpected. Occasionally, we have moments that feel better than the movies, when we're doing something as a family and I'm caught off-guard by the beauty of life. These moments cannot be planned, and their unexpectedness is what adds to their beauty. I live for these moments.

'Tis the Season...

...for stress. I don't know why, but from the moment I stepped off the plane from our Thanksgiving trip, I've felt this enormous push to finish all the Christmas chores. So here I am with a half-decorated house, a tree in my living room (undecorated for 3 days and counting), a stack of cards (unaddressed) on the counter, cookie dough in the fridge, and unwrapped gifts in the closet.

You might say, "Wow! You're almost done." Instead, I'm surveying my home wondering why I don't finish one thing before I start on the next. And more importantly, why am I referring to these things as chores?

Little Miss 3-Year Old and Hawaiian Adventures

Yes, folks. Lilly had another birthday - in Hawaii! She's spent the time since letting me know all the things she can and can't do now that she's 3. For example, she threw her booster seat on the floor and proclaimed that she no longer needs it, because she's three. She also needs to buckle herself in the car, sleep in panties, go to primary...you get the idea. Her greatest disappointment was learning that she can't go into Ava's pre-k class at preschool. When I dropped them off, she stood outside Ava's door, crying over the misunderstanding, saying "but I'm free (3) now."

Lilly has spent all 3 birthdays in Hawaii and I'm running out of ocean-themed parties. For her first birthday she had a flip flop cake, the second was Finding Nemo, and this third birthday was all about the Little Mermaid. Here she is blowing out her candles:


And if you didn't get a good enough look at the cut-up cake, here is another picture. I'm pretty proud of myself for this one:

Of course, Lilly's birthday was just one of the highlights of the trip. The first was having the entire family there. The girls wore themselves out each day playing on the beach and swimming in the pool with their cousins.


We cooked a full turkey dinner for Thanksgiving and ate it by the pool. Here is Ty testing the turkey to make sure it was done:


We tried to get a nice family picture, but Lilly just wanted to make funny faces, she's such a ham. This picture is the best we could get: