Southern California in December

We have been at the beach for the last four days and have loved every minute!  Chris has taken on a new hobby of photography and has captured some amazing pictures!  It's been so nice to relax, eat junk food, watch sunsets, enjoy walks along and views of the beach, and other activities.  Tyler and his kids came down on Saturday and we watched them ride their new bikes they got for Christmas,and yesterday, Chris went fishing.  We enjoyed milkshakes from Ruby's Diner, which is at the end of the pier.  We only have a couple days left here, but we are so grateful for the time we've had here!  

Christmas Fun!

We have loved being in California!  Christmas was a good crazy, as usual!  We spent the first few days as "Santa's Elves" running errands, shopping, wrapping presents and getting things ready for Christmas. 

On Monday (Dec 22), we made a quick drive to the Griffith Observatory so Chris could see the Hollywood sign!

The next night, we took care of Scott's kids and helped my mom decorate for Christmas!  My favorite tree is her Santa tree!

 On Christmas Eve, I said goodbye to my hair.  I donated 14 inches to Locks of Love.  My mom's hairstylist, Leslie Hilquist, who also did my hair for my wedding, cut it for me...I don't think I could trust anyone else to cut that much off for me! 

That night, Josh and Amy Walters and family came over and we had a special visit from Santa!  The adults chatted while the kids made sugar cookies...after our pizza dinner!  We all loved the evening and being together.  

Our PJs this year are Disney PJs!  Our cousin, Daniel Forsgren, from Sweden joined the family this year.  He and Chris were recruited to help with Christmas preparations and were up until 2 helping Mom. I was up until 3:30 and mom was up until 5am.  Scott's family came over around 9, and Chris and Daniel led the bunny hop to bust through the paper.  Chris was volunteered for breakfast duty and made waffles for the whole family.  The rest of the day we relaxed and spent time with family.  It was a wonderful Christmas!

Trams-Siberian Orchestra Christmas Evening!

Last night, we learned that the Trans-Siberian Orchestra is NOT an orchestra!  They are a rock band!  It was awesome!  We loved it!  Before the concert, we went to the National Christmas Tree at the White House.   It was definitely a very festive evening!

Christmas Party!!!

After being car-less for a day, we finally got my car back and we were able to attend the Christmas party for Marla's church congregation on Saturday night. The evening started with dinner and a hot chocolate bar.  Then the primary kids performed a Nativity and some Christmas carols followed by a Christmas Sing-along.  Then ended with a special visit from Santa!  We ended the evening by driving through Old Town Alexandria to look at Christmas lights!

We Love This Time of Year!!!!!!!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

We have had a lot of fun getting into the Christmas spirit the last few weeks!  We decorated our apartment and also have two trees!  There is an artificial tree in our bedroom and a real tree in our living room!  I put out my many Nativity sets and other small decorations....and we bought those smelly pine cones!  

Today we went to see Chris' mom and we took her a small tree to decorate.  We chatted and decorated the tree with her.  Chris also showed her the work he's done on their family history on both sides!  

On our way home, we listened to the Christmas Devotional for the LDS church and finished watching it when we got home.  It is such a special time of year!

Family History

Chris has a new hobby!  A few weeks ago, he was introduced to family history.  He started out only knowing a little info about his parents and grandparents, and had a few names from a relative on his dad's side.  After some help from a couple family history gurus and lots of hours searching Family Search and Ancestry.com, he has some lines traced back 11 generations! Not bad for an only child of parents who are only children!  It's been neat to see his tree unfold right before our eyes!