Nana & Papa Richards

My mom and dad came out to California for Christmas. We had so much fun with them here. My mom and I spent most of our time in the kitchen and my dad and Scott spend most of their time watching sports and playing with the kids. It was so fun to have them here for Christmas!

Christmas Break... part 1

Scott finished his last final at noon on Thursday. By 2 o'clock we were at Disneyland!The kids loved having their dad with them.
We spent 1.5 hours trying to entertain the kids before fireworks.
The fireworks were incredible. As always.
Snow in California... at Disneyland... a dream come true.
Us.
We had a couple Christmas parties. This was the one picture that I took, and it was as we were walking out the door to go home. We have made some great friends out here and it was so fun spending time with not only the girls, but the husbands as well!
It was pouring rain, but we still ventured out to Thoroughbread Lane to look at Christmas lights. It was so fun walking through the rain with coats and umbrella's.
The kids were totally soaked by the end.
Jackson loved walking through the gutters in his rain boots.
Scott had the best idea and turned Clara's crib into a cave. The kids loved it and played for a couple hours while Scott and I cooked dinner and were able to get some actual conversation in.

We have loved our break! Unfortunately most of our plans were botched because of all the rain California has received. But with dad home.... nothing could ever be boring!

Family Pictures

My friend Emma took these pictures for us this year. Clara was NOT cooperating. She refused to look at the camera, sit still, smile, and would not keep her shoes on. But I still think we got some great shots. The pictures were taken at Pomona College.

Thanks Emma!

Disneyland at Christmas

If you could pick any time of year to come to Disneyland... PICK CHRISTMAS. It is incredible. We have now seen the parade and the firework show... and we love both. I will admit, the firework show made me a little teary eyed. The music was perfect... they even blew out "snow". It was amazing.
We had the BEST seats. Front and center. But with the best seats comes a very long wait... 2 HOURS. But surprisingly the time went by pretty fast.
These were some of the lovely ladies that we spent the evening with.
And I don't think I would have survived without Josh. Scott was MIA (studying of course). So Josh played dad for the kids. And of course, Clara is obsessed with him.
And thanks to Jeff, the kids were well entertained during our 2 hour wait with his iphone.
Before fireworks. Josh took Jack down splash mountain for the 1st time! He had no idea what he was in for. Despite him being a little freaked out after... check out that smile. I think he liked it. :)
I can't wait for Scott to be done... we are headed straight there after his last test. I can't wait for him to see all the decor, the fun new christmas rides, the parade, the fireworks, and of course take Jackson on some new rides.

Portable North Pole

My friend sent me this link, and we just showed it to Jackson this morning. He LOVED it. He was so excited and could not believe that Santa was talking to him!

Check it out here:

www.portablenorthpole.tv

Sawdust Festival

Very cool... but I recommend going without younger kids :)

Although there were a few things the kids really enjoyed:

The guinea pigs and rabbits.

It reminded me of when I was younger. My best friend Suzy had a guinea pig and I had a rabbit. We would take our pets over to each others house and play with them. Kind of weird now that I think about it, but we loved it.
A wheel that dropped water into the pond. The kids where fascinated.
This was cool. It was a man making glass angel figurines.
Santa. I can't believe Clara actually sat on his lap!

They also had a section with live music. We happened to see an old man band. The first song was about a girl driving him wild... ha ha. Kinda grossed me out. But the kids enjoyed it!

Excited for the Holidays...

Our house is decorated, the music is playing, and the cinnamon is burning...

We are so excited for Christmas. The kids had so much fun decorating the tree!
Jackson put on the star, and then we ended the night with reading... "Elf on the Shelf"... if you don't have it. Check it out. My kids love him, and get so exciting to see where he is hiding each morning.
We couldn't wait to get to DisneyLand to check out all the Christmas decor.
Everything looks amazing. It's A Small World was so cute, the tree is GIANT, the lights were incredible, and the parade was so cute!