Of course we always take tons of photos around the holidays, so I thought I'd load some of my favorites for you!
Randy and Violet playing Wii Resort. This was our "big gift" to the kids this year...something we could do all together. And we played a bunch at Grandma Arlene's house on Christmas Day. I'm sure many a Monday family night will include some Wii this year! Violet's favorite game? Speed Slice!
Isaac loved his hot chocolate! And a slew of other sugary treats these last 2 weeks. You can see my dad in the background. My parents flew in on Christmas Day this year! We were so happy to spend time with them over the holiday since we didn't see them at all last Christmas. We had a wonderful Christmas dinner with Randy's mom, brother, and my parents all at one table!
The day after Christmas was spent at my Grandma Meredith's house. We had a late lunch and relaxed together for a couple hours.
Grandpa Bruce and Violet relaxing after two very full days!
The following day we headed back to Visalia for an afternoon with my dad's side of the family. Here's the girls lining up all the Littlest Pet Shop characters. They were THE toy of the season for my girls. We went from having 0 pre-Christmas to having 25 now!
This is Andy Mouse (as in...if you give A. Mouse a cookie). Grandpa and Grandma brought him from Kansas, along with a bunch of pictures of him doing things in Kansas. He did everything with us (you might have already seen him sleeping with Audrey on the couch at New Years'). We took pictures of him eating at In 'n Out Burger, at Cutija's (our must-stop taco shop in Los Banos), as well as lots of other places. Then the kids and Grandma and Grandpa wrote a fun story to go with the pictures at the end of the week. We'll make a book of his adventures here over the next few months and take him back to Kansas with us next time we visit! Here is Violet and Andy on the way to the beach!
Collecting rocks on the beach at sunset. I can't think of a better way to end a day than watching the sun set over the water, it's just so beautiful and calming!
Isaac LOVES getting in the waves, no matter how cold it is. We went to walk on the beach after breakfast and Isaac came back soaked...but he'd had a great time!
After lunch we went to visit the tide pools. The tides were going to be way out in the afternoon, so we headed to Natural Bridges State Park and happened to walk up to the Visitor's Center just as a guide was headed out to the pools. With his help, we found lots of anemones, urchins, crabs, a sea slug, and more!
Violet touching a starfish with Daddy's help.
That's one big crab!
As the sun went down, the wind picked up and the tide started to come in so we called it a day. But not before we got this great picture of the kids with Grandpa Bruce and Grandma Janice!
We love the beach! The next day was New Years' Eve, but I already posted about that.
Here's the kiddos, New Years' Day. We drove home from the beach that afternoon, stopping (again) at Cutija's for a late lunch. When we got home we set up my new fryer to make New Years' Fritters! I didn't want to take all my stuff (fryer, oil, and all the ingredients) to the beach house, not to mention the oil smell that's left if you fry inside. So we did fritters New Years' Day in our backyard. A great way to start a new year!
Randy and Violet playing Wii Resort. This was our "big gift" to the kids this year...something we could do all together. And we played a bunch at Grandma Arlene's house on Christmas Day. I'm sure many a Monday family night will include some Wii this year! Violet's favorite game? Speed Slice! 
Isaac loved his hot chocolate! And a slew of other sugary treats these last 2 weeks. You can see my dad in the background. My parents flew in on Christmas Day this year! We were so happy to spend time with them over the holiday since we didn't see them at all last Christmas. We had a wonderful Christmas dinner with Randy's mom, brother, and my parents all at one table! 
The day after Christmas was spent at my Grandma Meredith's house. We had a late lunch and relaxed together for a couple hours. 
Grandpa Bruce and Violet relaxing after two very full days! 
The following day we headed back to Visalia for an afternoon with my dad's side of the family. Here's the girls lining up all the Littlest Pet Shop characters. They were THE toy of the season for my girls. We went from having 0 pre-Christmas to having 25 now! 
This is Andy Mouse (as in...if you give A. Mouse a cookie). Grandpa and Grandma brought him from Kansas, along with a bunch of pictures of him doing things in Kansas. He did everything with us (you might have already seen him sleeping with Audrey on the couch at New Years'). We took pictures of him eating at In 'n Out Burger, at Cutija's (our must-stop taco shop in Los Banos), as well as lots of other places. Then the kids and Grandma and Grandpa wrote a fun story to go with the pictures at the end of the week. We'll make a book of his adventures here over the next few months and take him back to Kansas with us next time we visit! Here is Violet and Andy on the way to the beach! 
Collecting rocks on the beach at sunset. I can't think of a better way to end a day than watching the sun set over the water, it's just so beautiful and calming! 
Isaac LOVES getting in the waves, no matter how cold it is. We went to walk on the beach after breakfast and Isaac came back soaked...but he'd had a great time! 
After lunch we went to visit the tide pools. The tides were going to be way out in the afternoon, so we headed to Natural Bridges State Park and happened to walk up to the Visitor's Center just as a guide was headed out to the pools. With his help, we found lots of anemones, urchins, crabs, a sea slug, and more! 
Violet touching a starfish with Daddy's help. 
That's one big crab! 
As the sun went down, the wind picked up and the tide started to come in so we called it a day. But not before we got this great picture of the kids with Grandpa Bruce and Grandma Janice! 
We love the beach! The next day was New Years' Eve, but I already posted about that. 
Here's the kiddos, New Years' Day. We drove home from the beach that afternoon, stopping (again) at Cutija's for a late lunch. When we got home we set up my new fryer to make New Years' Fritters! I didn't want to take all my stuff (fryer, oil, and all the ingredients) to the beach house, not to mention the oil smell that's left if you fry inside. So we did fritters New Years' Day in our backyard. A great way to start a new year!
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