Solvang and Ebelskivers

No Christmas on the central coast is complete without a trip to Solvang. The city was all decked out with Christmas décor which was great since it was mid-70's on Christmas Eve and wouldn't have felt right otherwise. We visited the Christmas store which is amazing, gawked at the prices of the wooden candle fan nativity thingys (not sure what it is really called, but we want one) before heading to another place to purchase our ebelskiver pan. We realized a few months ago that we needed a new pan and took one home this trip. Sooo glad we did too, they are so delicious. It was the perfect activity for Christmas Eve.

 

Christmas Party 2013

The Thomases, Isaacsons, Heaths and our family got together for a Christmas party.  We played Christmas themed Minute to Win It games, the kids ran around crazy and we ate lots of yummy appetizers and treats.  It was the hardest I'd laughed in a long time, so much fun!

Lillie's Gingerbread House and Christmas Projects

I was able to go to Lillie's class to help her decorate her gingerbread house of the last day of school before Winter Break. She would put one piece of candy on the house and then two in her mouth, but eventually the house was decorated and her sweet tooth was satisfied. Unfortunately, on the walk to the car, the gingerbread house slid off the plate and onto the dirt. She cried so hard, you'd think she was close to death. She did eat the parts not covered in dirt and Henry didn't mind a little grit and so most of the house was devoured. Also pictured are some of the projects that she completed at school this year.

Father Son Skydiving

One morning Eric casually mentioned that he and his dad should go skydiving. His dad didn't say no, didn't say much of anything and so Eric went ahead calling to see if they were going that day and scheduled an appointment for them at 1 that afternoon. Lyle didn't seem excited to go, but never said no or backed out and so they went! This was his dad's first jump and Eric's second. We didn't know which jumpers they were, until we heard a yell from way up in the sky. We knew it must be them. I think they had fun, although Eric's dad did say that Eric was the only one that could get him to do that. I think the fact that it was such a spur of the moment thing, kept them from getting too nervous about it. Definitely a bonding moment and one that they'll never forget!

 

Ian's Blessing

 

 

 

 

While Eric's parents were here, we blessed Ian.  It was kind of a last minute planned event, such is life with your third child, but was a wonderful, low-key day.  I hadn't tried Henry's blessing clothes on Ian until Saturday night, and they didn't fit.  Not even close!  So luckily my sister Julee had given me this white button up and he had some grey corduroy's that were Henry's that did fit.  So that was his blessing outfit!  But he looked handsome, we love this sweet baby.  We had asked a couple friends to be the circle the night before, but one didn't get the text and was late to church and the other is a dentist and had a dental emergency to attend to that morning, so it was just Eric, Lyle and two members of the bishopric.  But that's okay.  The blessing was nice, such a special event.  Ian is such a wonderful addition to our family.

Eric's Parents Visit!

Near the beginning of December, Eric's parents came to visit! We blessed Ian while they were here, the men went skydiving, went to the butterfly forests, and watched Frozen together. It was not the most action-packed trip, they were probably bored a lot, but we LOVED having them here. Mary is a wonderful mother-in-law and is a great cook. My kids are crazy about Lyle and he fixed a lot of small problems at our house that made me super happy! Lillie loved having her grandparents drop her off and pick her up from school each day and I was glad to not have to take Ian out in the cold. Henry and Lillie climbed all over Grandpa all day long, literally. We were all so happy to have them here.