Second Christmas

Hmm, what should we do now that we're home from our Christmas trip last night?

Let's have Second Christmas!

After we arrived home last night and the kids went to bed,

Daddy and I put some gifts under the tree that we had saved to open at home.

Todd (who struggles to get out of bed early in the morning)

received a Clocky alarm clock that will beep and roll around his room

until he catches it and turns it off.

I received a snazzy flat whisk

and an even snazzier bunch of air-pillow packaging 

that can double as a scarf.

I'm sure it will go nicely with everything in my closet.

They say that clear is the new black.

All right--enough silly fashion humor.

It's time for our annual treasure hunt!

The clues led the kids all over the house,

until the final clue sent everyone down into the basement . . .

. . . where Daddy unveiled a (really heavy) foosball table

which the kids happily played with for the rest of the day!

Merry Second Christmas!

Fond Memories

Last night, we dropped Daniel and Todd off 

for their turn sleeping over at Pink Grandma's house . . .

. . . then I gathered all of our bags in Red Grandma's entryway

so we could leave for the airport right after we picked the boys up this morning.

It's been so fun to hang out with family . . .

. . . spot Tia and Cici's doppelgangers in an antique shop . . .

. . . and check out a giant train set in the Lake Arrowhead Village . . .

. . . where we searched for miniscule cats on a tiny building 

while Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader waged an epic duel on the roof.

Cats and Star Wars--the perfect combination to appeal to every member of our family.

After a few days of getting an 

"I want to bite you SO HARD" vibe from Turbo,

I finally won him over with kindness, persistence, and multiple gifts of celery.

I get the sense that he was still keeping an eye on me though.

It wasn't particularly fun to have a bee fly into our car at the bird store . . .

. . . but it was really cool to show the kids the chapel where Daddy and I met,

and reminisce about folding sacrament meeting programs together

while we chatted in Spanish.

Ah, the memories!

There's a Bird on Your Head

Our family went on a Southern California safari today.

We started out at Omar's Exotic Birds.

Some of the birds there were really tame, 

and would happily sit on the kids' hands . . .

. . . or their heads.

Our next stop was Heather's homestead,

so Phillip could spend his birthday with some horses,

which are his favorite animal.

Heather took the kids for a little ride on Hurricane . . .

. . . and we got to pet her goats, dogs, and pig (Peppa).

Did you know that goat eyes have long, horizontal pupils?

I'm told it's so they can spot predators more easily, which makes sense,

but it still freaks me out every time I look at them up close.

Anna thought the farm animals were fun,

but her favorite activity at Heather's house

was reading to little Cousin Jojo.

Somebody's Throwin' Stuff

One of Grandma's favorite holiday traditions

is hosting a family Minute-to-Win-It tournament at Christmastime.

This year we threw jingle bells at little cups . . .

 

. . . rolled a ball along a tape measure . . .

. . . and tossed ping pong balls to try to get three in a row.

Technically, Joy got the most points,

but we all won because we all had a blast!

Except for Daniel, who went to bed halfway through

because we didn't start until about 10pm.

Shopping for Owls

We ate dinner tonight . . .

. . . at my favorite pizza place on Earth!

(Sorry, New England--I still don't like your floppy pizza).

Then Joy and I tried on some spiffy clothes at an antique store . . .

. . . and checked out a shop with courteous signage

("KINDLY RESIST SITTING") . . .

. . . an exceptionally fluffy coat . . .

. . . and a cantankerous owl.

The rest of the kids went back to the cabin 

and played Mario Kart with Cool Aunt Heather.

Cat Hoodie and Dog Hearts

It was delightful to celebrate Christmas at the cabin today!

We opened Christmas gifts with my sibs and their significant others . . .

. . . Red Grandma . . .

. . . and Cousin Jolene.  Smile, Jojo!

A pocket watch was one of the top things on Joy's Christmas list this year.

She likes that when she opens up her new watch,

she can see the gears turning.

Daniel loved his new taco cat hoodie,

and wore it the rest of the day while he and Todd 

played some of their new games.

Speaking of games,

no trip to the cabin would be complete

without a few rounds of Hearts.

The dogs are optional, though.

Sweet!

We made it to California!

The girls had a sleepover at Pink Grandma's house last night . . .

. . . while the rest of us stayed at Red Grandma's house.

She said we could have anything in her kitchen for breakfast . . .

. . . so I mixed up a fun hodgepodge of tasty things to eat . . .

. . . while I watched Grandma's roadrunner friend

dash around her backyard.

We then headed over to Pink Grandma's house to pick up the girls

and enjoy a second breakfast of cookies and cheesecake. Yum!

 Our next stop was the cabin in Arrowhead,

where the kids got right to work playing Candyland.

It's just as much fun as when they were little.

Flying with Numbers

The big day is finally here!

Our family drove to the airport this morning 

for our much-anticipated Christmas trip to California.

After COVID cancelled the last trip we planned,

I was so worried that illness or bad weather would disappoint us again.

As I looked at all of the flights that had been cancelled by a multi-state snowstorm today, 

I felt deep sympathy for those would-be travelers . . .

. . . but also gratitude that we were only getting rain in our area.

The kids had fun playing with their squishmallows while we waited to board our plane . . .

. . . but they got pretty bored on the actual five-hour flight.

Fortunately for Todd, he could look at lots of interesting info about our plane's progress.

Unfortunately for me, he wanted to tell me every time one of those numbers changed.

After fifteen or twenty updates about our altitude and arrival time,

I asked him to just enjoy all of that fun data in his head.

He seemed cool with that.

Ready to Go

The stars aligned for us to travel to California to visit family this Christmas,

and I've worked hard this week to get ready for our trip.

Parakeets replaced by Joy's boots 

handed off to a friend who promised to birdsit them while we're away?

CHECK!

Christmas tree decorated so we can open presents next to it 

the day after we get back?

CHECK!

Surprise foosball Christmas gift moved into basement while the kids are at school?

Um . . . almost?

The foosball table was a LOT heavier than I expected, and even with the legs temporarily removed,

it was hard for us to maneuver it through the bulkhead door, or any other door, for that matter.

So Daddy and I left it on the lawn, and reached out to some big, strong friends who came to our rescue.

Foosball table moved into basement?

CHECK!

Ornaments and Pistachios

A few nights ago . . .

. . . I got tired of having a wonky-looking tree

with dozens of round bulbs still waiting to be switched out,

so I decided that I was going to finish the job

or die trying!

The effort kept me up until around 1am,

but I'm happy to report that I survived the attempt!

Our tree is now round-bulb free . . .

. . . and ready to be decorated!

It's always fun to look through the ornaments we've collected over the years . . .

. . . and run across old favorites . . .

. . . then look for the perfect place to put them on our tree.

On Tree Trimming Night, I like to set out some nuts to crack,

along with our little collection of nutcrackers.

This year I included a bowl of pistachios,

because some members of our family like them even better than the traditional mixed nuts,

and you can munch them without waiting for a turn with a nutcracker. :)