christmas so far...

We are about half way through our break so far and have had some fun times. Our first day off we had a piggy-play date with some friends in which we brought all five (combined) of our piggies to the park. :)

Christmas Eve started out with a hike in Mecca. We've been before and it is such a beautiful hike. We were the first ones there, but by the time we headed back down, there were lots of people to wish Merry Christmas to. :)

 

Later that afternoon we went to our church's Christmas Eve service, to my parent's for dinner, then rounded out the night with ice cream at Cold Stone. :)

Christmas morning we started out with stockings, then our traditional Land of Nod breakfast while watching Elf. We stopped the movie midway so the kids could open their presents. My parents later joined us for a delicious lunch.

Yesterday we were able to spend some time with Jen and her kids. Cameron LOVED the ATV. He had never ridden one before and spent the majority of the time on it. Kendall had a blast with Jen's girls, making up plays and riding in the trailer pulled by the ATV. I so enjoyed catching up with Jen. :)

 

Today we are off to run errands and then we'll head up north in a few days to celebrate with Chris' family!

the desert

 *On Saturday the kids and I took a trip to a favorite Christmas destination, Robolights in Palm Springs. I would describe it as a Christmas light display made of strategically placed and painted junk. You either love it or you think it's the weirdest, most disturbing thing ever. Chris does NOT love it...hence it was just the three of us. Ha!

 

*On Sunday we dropped the kids off at Chris' brother's house so we could attend my oldest and best friend's 40th birthday party. Jen rented out a roller skating rink for all of her friends. I had roller skated a few times in recent years with the kids, but Chris had not been in a very long time. He did great! The theme was 70's, and while Chris said we were more 60's...hey...at least we tried!

Jen, three of her sisters, and myself

Chris and I had a Vegas trip on the calendar for a few months. As the day approached, we realized we just weren't feeling it. I have had a busy couple weeks of work and we both decided the desert (and much shorter drive) was much more appealing. So we booked a room and off we went.

When we first arrived, we sat outside our room and watched the few golfers who happened to pass by.

 

We loved the fact that our movie and dinner were within walking distance from our hotel.We saw, They Shall Not Grow Old, which was excellent.

 

After the movie, we walked right next door to The Cheesecake Factory. We took a piece to go...then headed back at the super late hour of 7:30pm!! ;)

This morning I got a lot of Christmas shopping done, which was awesome. We are now back home but the kids will stay one more night with my parents. We are now trying to decide where to go for dinner. I have to work tomorrow and Thursday, then I'm finally off for a good long while. Woohoo!

mission inn bike ride

 *My ear buds stream Pandora Christmas music non-stop at work. Instant mood lift.

 *Yesterday my dad, Cam, and I joined up again with a local bike club for a ride. So. Much. Fun. We started in Redlands and rode to the Mission Inn in Riverside, where we stopped for a snack/coffee break and to take some pictures by the pretty Christmas decorations.

My dad rewarded us (latte for me and cookie for Cam) at the coffee shop (where the ride began) when we returned.

 

*I was able to find a podcast that the kids LOVE! We listen to it in the car or with a snack by the Christmas tree. :)

 

*The kids and I are also well into season two of Once Upon a Time.  I've had to fast forward two short scenes (which actually fostered good conversations as to why), but otherwise it's been a fun series to watch together.

*Last year my mom bought us an advent book that the kids LOVED. She bought us a new one this year and the kids enjoy our reading time every night. I actually get into the story as well. ;)