There is nothing better than celebrating Christmas in sunny California! I know people say that it doesn't quite feel like Christmas without snow but I beg to differ. Don't get me wrong, I love the song "White Christmas" and all but just prefer singing it rather than experiencing it. Taylor and I were able to fly down to Cali a little earlier than Sonny. Ha ha, he had to stay behind and work a little longer.
My dad built this treehouse in their backyard for Taylor. He's the only grandchild right now so he makes out pretty well (can you tell?). He had no problem going up at first but once he got up there and walked around a little and looked down, he got a little scared. With a little consoling, he was good to go again.
Eating lunch in the treehouse
We went to Disneyland about a week before Christmas and Bami (my mom) bought Taylor this lightsaber. We did all the usual rides and surprisingly, it wasn't too crowded. It's funny, I didn't realize how much I enjoyed having the annual passes and going so often until after we moved away. I guess that's the way it always is. You don't realize how good you have it until it's gone. We realized late that night, after Taylor had fallen asleep in his stroller, that he would have been tall enough to go on the Matterhorn. Man, that would have been awesome!
It actually got pretty cold at night there (notice the coats and scarf). But that didn't stop us from looking at the lights. There are a couple blocks in Glendora that have every single house lit. It was fun to look at.
We met my sister and her husband for some dessert the night before Christmas Eve. It was this little Asian tea house where we enjoyed some smothies with boba (tapioca balls) in it. I know, sounds weird but so good!
Thanks to my bro Kyle, Taylor was entertained most of Christmas Eve. Kyle plays the trumpet in the BYU marching band and happened to know the tune to The Empire Strikes Back (The Darth Vader Song). Thanks for being a good sport Kyle and playing it for Tay over and over and over and over...
My parents on Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve dinner. I tried to make homemade rolls and was a little disappointed on how they turned out. Oh well, I guess it's an aquired skill. Maybe next year!
My sister, a regular Sarah Lee... Yes, it's true! Her name really is Sarah Lee!
Me and my sister Elizabeth just hanging out
Sonny being the cool dude that he is
Every year Sonny gets a funny tee-shirt from my parents. This year it was a shirt from the the tv show "Entourage." I've never seen the show but I guess the phrase "Maybe you can have it all" is used a lot, or it's the theme, who knows. Anyways, Sonny was excited to add it to his collection.
Of course, you gotta sing a few Christmas carols too on Christmas Eve too
Christmas Eve family picture
My mom gave this tent to Tay. We TRIED sleeping in it upstairs on New Years Eve. That idea ended real quick!
We also had a white elephant gift exchange. Sonny found this funny statue of a little boy playing soccer. Can you say CREEPY?
Sonny found a bunch of Thomas the train stuff on Craigslist for super cheap. What a find!
So after opening all the presents and laying around lazy for a couple hours, what do you do next? Go to a movie of course! We went to see "A Christmas Carol" at a theater in Pasadena that only charged $3! Again, what a deal!
Taylor really wanted to go to the beach too while in California and so we did, complete with a fire and all. Roasting hot dogs at the beach is the best! It was a little too cold to actually go swimming so we spent the day climbing rocks and hanging out by the fire. We had a good time feeding the seagulls. They took some chips right from our hand!
The last full day I was there, we took the metrolink down to Olvera St. in L.A. Sure beats having to fight traffic and finding somewhere to park in the city I always say.
Tay really enjoyed looking out the window at everything
My studly brother Kyle being a true metrolink rider, holding onto the bar up on top!
All of us making our way through Union Station, trying to find platform 9 3/4 ! That one is for you bosh! ha ha
Union Station was pretty cool inside, very beautiful actually, like an old-fashioned train station.
Olvera Street, where we ate the most delicious mexican food ever!
We walked a little ways up to the Los Angeles Preforming Arts Center where they preform all the plays etc. They have this awesome fountain that shoots up and down. My mom got busted for running though it!
The Walt Disney Concert Hall. I'm not usually a fan of Modern architecture but I'm a sucker for this place. Isn't it awesome! It has been featured in lots of films and tv shows.
We had such a great Christmas with my family in California and are excited to come down again soon! I will always be a California girl :)
Along with giving him "The perfect push-up" for his birthday (actually, he bought that for himself for his birthday), I decided to frame some of Taylor's artwork for Sonny. I have been saving a lot of his drawings and paintings since he was about 1. I'm glad that I did now. He loved it.
I found the awesome frame at Micheal's for 40% off. I'm glad I found it because it goes perfectly with our Brazilian cherry wood floor. Sonny is excited to hang the display in his office.
For dinner, Sonny asked for a Chinese dinner. I found some really good Asian dishes off of this website, www.favfamilyrecipes.com. So I slaved away all day making some Orange chicken and Hawaiian Teriyaki beef. It turned about well! But the Orange chicken didn't have quite the crunch that say Panda Express has. But the sauce turned about really, really good.
We decorated a little too.
Growing up, my parents always got me a bunch of cute, little gifts too. So I thoght that I would continue the tradition.
Another shot of the dishes. Hope you had a great Birthday babe! We love you.
