Christmas 2013

What is Christmas without a cousin party? Getting together is always fun and seeing cousins we hadn't seen in a while was really great. Calling for Pixie is also a lot more fun with true believers in the house! Thank goodness for younger cousins.

Hello, baby Clara.

This was our first Christmas without Kevin at home. We talked to him that day and it was great! However, once we hung up, it was a little depressing. We had to get out of the house. We ran to Jay and Lisa's to drop off their Christmas present and then for the first time ever on Christmas, we went to a movie. I know that many people go to the movies on Christmas Day, but I still couldn't believe how crowded it was.

This and the next picture we texted to Kevin after our phone call. The members were nice to text us a picture of Kevin eating dessert after he called us.

Grandma and Grandpa Adams came to our house a few days after Christmas. They usually spend Christmas with us, but this year we felt they should stay with Rulan. I'm glad we made that decision, since it was his last Christmas, and I'm glad he wasn't alone for the day.

We had fun getting together with Verl and family, eating Christmas dinner, and seeing some of the sights downtown.

Fall 2013

Rachel wanted to be Spiderman for Halloween. All of her friends were super heros. By the time she decided on Spiderman, all of the shirts were gone from the stores and it was too late to order one. So we bought a plain red shirt, and I copied the eyes and web from a picture using fabric paint and felt. I think it turned out pretty great.

I went with my pirate costume from last year and Krysta created a scarecrow look. Easy and creative. My favorite type of Halloween costume.

In November we gathered to participate in a memorial 5K in honor of a former teacher from my school.

 It was a great cause and a fun family activity.

 November also found us at Kim's for a delicious Thanksgiving dinner. Thanks Kim for hosting!

Sometime in November or December we went to a Jazz game where we were able to admire the new humongous big screens.

 In early December, Erin, Camille and Rachel played in their piano recital.

And now I'm only 5 months behind in my blog!

Newport Beach Morning

Fog, sand, surf, rocks, waves--love the beach!

The west coast Shake Shack.

Memorable Quotes for the ride home:

"I don't want you to tell me when to come home. This is my life..." Erin and Krysta, two children who can't yet pay for their own lives, singing loudly and with feeling to Billy Joel on the radio.

"If bunnies didn't have ears they'd be called hoppity dogs!"  Rachel, confined to the back seat and on too much sugar.

"Go now or forever hold your pee." Camille with help from the rest of us.

California Adventure

 "Cheer up Rachel! We're going to California Adventure!"

 "Uh, did you see the signs? You're leading me into danger!"

Posted at the tram stop at the entrance to both parks.  California, the obsessively safe state.

"Run away! Run away!" And so we did. Straight into the park.

One of the girls' main goals was to see Aladdin. We last saw this on a trip with the cousins during a pouring rainstorm.  All the girls love Aladdin!

Memorable Quote from a 30 something year-old man on our Tower of Terror ride: "Did you hear that little 6 year-old girl screaming? That was actually me!" 

 Radiator Springs! If I could live in Disneyland, it would be here.

I love neon lights. They remind me of growing up on St. George Boulevard.

We were too late into the park to get Fast Passes for Radiator Springs Racers. Luckily, I had heard about the benefits of the "single rider line." The regular line where we would all get to ride together was HOURS long. The single rider line, where we may or may not be in the same car depending on the regular line's groups, was about 30 minutes long. Single rider it was!

At one point the ride broke down and all of us, except for Rachel and Camille, were stuck waiting in the middle of the ride for about 15 minutes. We had long enough take pictures. (An advantage to this trip was that everyone had a phone and those were our cameras. I wasn't the only photographer.)

When we got to the end of the ride, we were told to stay on. Because of the break-down we were able to go again. And guess what? It broke again. This time for only about 5 minutes. We weren't offered a third ride and we didn't want one. We loved the ride and came back later, but had enough of it for the moment.

We ate at the California Trattoria for lunch. Buying lunch there gave us automatic entry into a VIP section to watch World of Color. Krysta, apparently being too short to see much on our previous visit and not remembering how cool it was, didn't understand why we would want to even worry about World of Color. Now she knows why we made such an effort. I didn't video or take pictures because I wanted to just enjoy the show. Some things were added and it was as amazing as usual. Being closer and having a better view was also great.

We waited in a long line to get on the Toy Story ride. We hoped it would be fun and it was. Lots of things to shoot and see all in 3D.

Roller coaster! Camille's face! Oooooh!

California, you are an adventure!