Christmas Break

 

I guess this should really be called "Winter Break" to be more politically correct, but that's okay. We headed over to my parent's house with a sick little boy, but he bounced back pretty well throughout the week. The first thing on our agenda was the Newport Beach Boat Parade. We sat on the beach and watched all the decorated boats go by. I think this was one of the better years for decorations and as tradition would have it, we headed to The Old Spaghetti Factory after which is where I had this dream meal: Ravioli, Butternut squash, sausage and some maple sauce. Sounds a little like something Buddy the Elf would like. It was amazing and I now I want some more because I am talking about it...let's move on...                                  

 My mom started a new tradition this year. The Polar Express Party. She mailed us all tickets, my brother dressed up as the conductor and we all dressed in our pajamas.

We started off with some cookie decorating and then moved on to some breakfast for dinner. Then we played some games that the  kids LOVED!

I was in charge of the centerpiece for Christmas Eve. I was taking a walk with Beckham when I found a plant with holly and berries. I had my mom pull over on the side of the road and I trimmed some pine needles and pinecones for the middle part. It turned out beautiful. I forgot to take pictures with the plates so this is more the aftermath. The dinner was fabulous, we then sang some songs, watched some short clips with the nativity and then off to bed. My sister wasn't there with her kids so it was very different than normal and very calm. We will see how it is with a 9 month old and a 2 year old next year though.

The next morning we all woke up and waited for Beckham to wake. He slept in until 8. He obviously did not get it. But he eventually woke up and he loved his new tent and his 2 basketballs, 2 footballs and a soccer ball. He was one happy boy. We spent the rest of the day just watching movies and hanging out. It was delightful.

 

The next day we went to Knotts Berry Farm. It was really really crowded which made it difficult to really enjoy it all. Even the little kid rides were a long wait and what 1 year old can wait in line for 45 minutes??
After trying out a few rides, we had some dinner and it was the most amazing chicken I have ever had! I guess they are famous for it and I can see why.

Mike got me a sport kite for Christmas! Does this guy know me or what? We took that thing to the beach and flew it all over the place. I have to admit, it was harder than I expected, but I am confident that we are going to get the hang of it eventually.

In the beginning of December, for Eric's birthday, we got a groupon for the car racing place in Huntington Beach. We decided to put it to use. These boys came home so excited about it! If you are in the area, we definitely recommend it! You go in with your own car or you can rent one and then you race it around the track and over the jumps. My favorite part was watching all the middle aged men that were super super into it with their own vamped up cars.

It even kept this wiggly guy occupied for a few minutes.

On Sunday, we started our trip to Utah. I was really nervous about taking a 1 year old on a long road trip so I tried to prepare the best I could. I wrapped some presents from the Target 1$ bin for him to open when he got antsy. Unwrapping alone took a lot of time so that was nice.

I also made some stupid little concoctions that seemed to keep him occupied like this cup with a whole in it where he could put straws. Of course, we always keep Baby Einstein on deck just in case. We planned the trip so we would drive a few hours, then stop in Vegas until his bedtime and then drive the rest of the way and that seemed to work out well THANK HEAVEN!

We went to Siegfried's Secret Garden where we could come up close to the dolphins and see the most gorgeous white tigers. It was about 20$ each and wasn't all that big. But I am glad we did it!

We went to some other hotels like the Flamingo to see the Flamingos, Ceasars Palace to see some quick free show and then to the Bellagio to see the fountains. This was definitely Beckham's favorite. Then we headed out of town right when Vegas was going to get crazy. We hit a little snow on the way in but made it to our hotel safely.

The snow kept coming all night and by the time we were leaving to go sledding in Spanish Fork with my sister and her fam, the roads were terrible!




I got Beckham a snowsuit on Ebay and we happened to have a jacket. The one thing we didn't have... boots. We had no choice but to wrap up his shoes in plastic bags. I am not totally sure how Beckham felt about the snow. He seemed a little confused and didn't seem to mind going down on a sled, but didn't seem to love it either. I am not a big snow person so perhaps he got that from me. We tried our best to keep him warm during the chilly chilly days.
This is when my pictures stop. I am so bad at taking pictures! That night we went to dinner with Mike's bro, Kevin and his wife, Megan and then went to the BYU game. While Mike went snowboarding with his siblings, I went and visited my old companion, Sister Squires who is one of my all time favorite people. It was soo fun to see her little daughter and just catch up. That night we went and met up with some of our favorite people from Chicago and went to a Jazz game. We loved catching up with them as well. Our boys were due a few days apart but with hers being early and mine being late, they are about a month apart. They seemed to get along pretty well though. The next day was spent visitng Mike's other siblings and then around Beckham's bedtime, we headed on home. Mike drove til 2 in the morning like a champ.
I have to admit I really like long car rides with Mike. It seems like funny stories and strange conversations always come up. It is like dating again...especially when the baby is fast asleep in the back.
Being back on Thursday gave us a few days to ourselves to relax and get some things done around the house before reality starts on Monday. So to end our vacation, we went to the Wildlife Learning Center. It was the weirdest zoo type place. It was super small and filled with the oddest animals- eagles, blind owls, sloths, prarie dogs, alligators and so many more. So strange, but an awesome end to our break.

Now it is back to reality...