California Christmas in a nutshell...

So we've been back in town since New Years, however, I'm a little slow getting back to normal with our day. Unfortunately, blogging hasn't made its way back in my schedule. Sorry about that. I even had a good friend call me and ask if I was okay! :)

To catch up, I will try to post all about our Christmas vacation with pictures and brief information. Overall, we had a fabulous time. It wasn't the big break that I had anticipated (what was I thinking... babies on the other side of the country, with a three hour time difference, and I thought it was going to be a relaxing break?) and there was so much that we didn't get to do, but that is always the case. My mom and I always plan, but then end of so tired that we're grateful to hang out together at home. My parents just completed a beautiful renovation of their living and dining area, and we loved hanging out there with them.

First of all, the flight was fabulous. On the way out Emily was a little excited and bouncy, which got old, but who could blame her? She'd been looking forward to this trip for weeks! On the way home, the flight was rather empty (which is why we fly on New Year's Eve!) and Scott and Emily got their own row, and I got my own row. I got Elsie to sleep and laid her across the seats, and then got Eli to sleep and laid him along side Elsie. Then Emily fell asleep. They all slept for over two hours, and because there wasn't a lot of air traffic, our flight was a little less than four hours long. It was splendid! Best flight ever!

Now for the trip. We did a whole lot of hanging out at my parents house which was wonderful. With twin babies and a four year old, we didn't go in to town very often. Rather, we hung out at my parents' house and enjoyed each other. Highlights for Emily was baking with Grammy, Miss Penny, and me, and also watching "tooners" in Grammy and Papa's big bed. The twins enjoyed all the attention, and took it all in stride. Elsie especially enjoyed when my dad got home from work every day and did is patented Papa Dave whistle. It didn't matter where she was or what she was doing, when he walked in and whistled, she would turn and find him and give him a giant Elsie smile. It was truly priceless.

Eli fell in love with Miss Penny who put him to sleep so easily! She would snuggle with him on the couch and rub his fuzzy hair, and he'd be out in no time. Not to mention that she loved to carry him around in the baby bjorn. He loved that he could grab things and pull at things.

Christmas morning was a great time. There was one package in particular that Emily had asked to open the entire week prior. I think the initial conversation regarding this present began on the day of our arrival and went something like this:

Emily: Oooohh. Look at that big present!
Grammy: I wonder who it could be for?
Emily: Um, Me!

She was excited about all the things she got, and of course the twins were just as excited about the wrapping paper and packaging as they were anything else! But really they enjoyed their new toys as much as we could have anticipated. We spent many hours on the floor on a blanket playing with them.

After Christmas we had a wonderful time visiting with family and friends. My aunt, uncle and cousin came and we enjoyed them and my cousin's sweet son. My uncle Steve had a really cool RC car that he let Emily drive. She ran it in to a tree, and when she found out that he wasn't going to get upset with her, she ran it into everything. She especially liked to run it through my mom's flowers, and she would cackle while she did it. It was pure joy.



Scott and I took an overnight trip to Fresno. My parents watched the babies, and luckily that was one of the best nights that they had with sleep. We headed up and had dinner with some great friends, and then we met up with our old group of friends at a favorite place for drinks. This was one of my favorite nights, as we hadn't seen our friends in such a long time. I enjoyed every moment of it, and Scott and I both enjoyed our first night away from the kids since the twins were born. We were very appreciative to my parents, though I think my mom was thrilled to have them to herself!



All in all, Scott and I were glad to be home when we got here. We loved our trip and look forward to it every year. We're thankful that we can see our family and friends, and that even though some of them we only see once a year, we pick right back up where we left off. We are truly blessed!