Christmas Vacation

And then finally, Christmas vacation. It felt like it was a long time coming this year!

We opted for digital cards (i.e. Facebook post) again this year.  And you know what, I feel liberated! One less thing to stress about during this busy time of year.

First up we went to the skirball Noah's ark exhibit.  Scott had been before but I was pregnant with Owen and Mimi and Auntie and the kids and Aunt Charlotte had never been.  It was a super fun and memorable day for everyone.

If you haven't been and you get the chance, I highly recommend it. 

Two nights before Christmas we were able to hit up Candy Cane Lane.

Dodgeball.  Of course. 

And finishing up some hand made gifts.

And then it was Christmas morning.  Owen so badly wanted a mermaid pillow.  And Santa came through. 

And then it became a Christmas of sports.

Water polo. 

A new bat.  A new basketball.  A new football.

Sports.  Love language.  This has been established.

Late on Christmas day we dropped off the RV at Rincon for some post holiday camping before heading to Mimi and Papa's for Christmas dinner. 

Cousin Christmas fun

And then we camped at the beach for a few days.  Because nothing beats a California Christmas. 

Winter wonderland indeed.

We were home before new years with enough days off to plan some hikes with friends. 

And a must document:  Owen's Kevin McCallister hair post shower. 

New Year's eve.  Not complete without some spelling practice. 

Then we partied til midnight with our buddies. 

The beauty of this Christmas break was that after the new year we will had a week of vacation.

Our next adventure was a bike ride to Ojai.  Almost 20 miles round trip.

The boys crushed it.  It helped that we refueled with ice cream in Ojai. 

Trees growing out of the middle of the street, Ojai is one of my favorite towns!

We also went to Channel Islands national park and visited with my retired first grade teacher (sadly no picture) and I got to introduce her to my first grader (and kindergartener). 

December festivities

December is always crazy, but we always manage to pack in all the fun we can during the holiday season.

Kicking it off with a visit to the salt spa with the boys.

Basketball season got underway for Scott.  His first time playing basketball and he LOVED it.  

When he wasn't at practice you could find him playing wherever he was with his friends, or alone even.  Sports are truly his love language. 

While Scott was on a basketball playdate one day, Owen got some special one on one time.  His choice: watching the grinch and going to OSH to pick out a Christmas decoration for the house!

Elfed out:

Then back in early December came the fires.  It was a truly crazy few weeks.  Starting with Hilary and the kids evacuating to Mimi and Papa's house, only for them to all evacuate here for the week. We made the best of it with lots of movie nights and cousin time:

School was even cancelled for us one day due to air quality, so we escaped to Disneyland for the day.

This little dude braved space mountain for the first time.

We had a super fun and exhausting day!  Disney is so magical during the holidays!

We had lots of days filled with chess games:

And we celebrated Brian and Alexis's birthdays

Basketball buddies

I was supposed to relay a half marathon but it was cancelled due to fires.  I still managed to stop by the race start and donate the toys they were relying on being given during the season!

We made latkes in kindergarten

And celebrated with friends

And hosted a gingerbread house decorating party

Dads above, moms below..... hahahahaha

Toben, the oldest in the bunch, and Owen, the youngest, make such a great team and it warms my heart.  Owen is so lucky to have such a great friend!

Love this crazy crew

Capped it off with sequence with all the parents!

Visit with Santa: check

Kindergarten Christmas celebration: check

And holiday love notes from Scott.  "Guis" (guys) heart melt. 

Thanksgiving '17

So waaaay waaaay back in November it was Thanksgiving.  And now I try to catch us up....

We camped at Lake Casitas and had a blast (minus the high temps)

Along with the Staves clan we also had our good friends, the Daniels join us, which made for extra fun for the boys.  Their days were filled with bike rides, football, and monopoly amongst other things.

Thanksgiving night

Feasting their little hearts out

And saving room for dessert!

Campfire diaries...

And one of my favorites, face timing the family that couldn't make it!