California Christmas - Part 3

 

Jim and I headed out to the Hyatt to celebrate or 10th anniversary! We stopped at the beach on the way there and decompressed. Jim had a long walk on the beach looking for shells and I enjoyed sitting and soaking up the sun.

 

 

Some views from the Hyatt...we had a beautiful sunset that evening.

 

Breakfast was a highlight! So many foods I could eat and such a nice atmosphere.

 

Sand sculpture in the lobby to welcome in 2015.

 

Fun Christmas decorations...

 

There's my handsome getting ready for an outing. It was so nice to be kid-less for a couple of days! We read, slept as long as we wanted, and enjoyed the beach even though it was cold!

 

Last morning...

 

...and it was great to be back home with the family. We love our kids and Mom and Dad did such a great job taking care of them. Thank you so much for this getaway!

 

Playing with cousins and watching the Rose Parade.

 

Wade plays with Grandpa's childhood toy.

 

The boys play "store" with the cash register.

 

We all went to the Habit for lunch before we left. I had to include this one because I think Mom looks so vibrant and pretty in it! :)

 

Saying goodbye...we were sad to leave everyone! It was good to be with family.

 

And the boys were sacked out within a short distance of driving. It was a huge, fun week.

 

Back home in Broomfield the next morning after a quick, uneventful drive...

California Christmas, Part 2

Christmas morning! We used Grandma's stockings for the boys to open gifts we brought along. Then Chris & Gretchen & boys, plus Chris' dad John came over for the big present time and a nice brunch.

 

 

Ollie with the cat we gave him that's similar to Wade's beloved Kitty a.k.a. Meow-Meow.

 

The boys crowded around the busy board Phil & Abby made and Mom & Dad got for the boys.

 

The next day we went over to Balboa Island to spend some time with Jim's friend Rick and his kids. Nice to catch up with them!

 

Garrett and John and just a few weeks apart, and had fun playing together.

 

Afterward, we met Mom and Dad at the Crab Cooker! The boys ate tons of bread and a little fish and we all had a nice time. :)

 

The next day we had a nice relaxing time with Grammy and Poppa. The boys enjoyed the grand/great-grand toys, we had a delicious meal prepared by Grammy, and had a nice time sitting in the sun on the back patio chatting while the boys dug in the dirt and brought old guavas over to Poppa for him to slice open and show them.

 

Mom made a lot of nice food for me/us! This was yellow squash "chips" to make a nacho plate.

 

It was great to be back at Granada! Garrett read a scripture passage up in front during the kids time. Wyatt also went up and enjoyed that. Wade really wanted to "read" the hymnal and have me read it to him so I sang one of the songs for him, which he liked.

 

So great to catch up with so many people, including Jana & Dave and their 4 kids visiting from MN!

 

Afterward, Jim took the boys for the afternoon and evening since they were a little sick, and I went down to Uncle Tom's for Cox Christmas with Mom & Dad. We stopped at Smashburger and Redondo Beach on the way down - so fun! And, I couldn't resist taking a picture of this guy with his cart and flag ETC....this is just so "L.A." to me! :) Never a dull moment with so many different kinds of people to watch!

 

Phil & Abby invited us over for some backyard play. It was so fun! They have a great backyard and the boys got to help with the compost pile, dig holes, use a real small saw, and swing!