Family Christmas

We had a great week off for Christmas.  This year, instead of going to Chicago, my dad flew out for the week.   It was a bit strange not going home, and of course I missed my mom.   But we had a nice time out here, and certainly warmer weather.

On Christmas Eve, I cooked a big family dinner.   It was fun to host.  Of course, I resurrected the gumdrop tree, and it was a huge hit with the kids.

Christmas morning brought a load a presents.  Nerf guns and Calico critters seem to be the big hits in our household this year.

The day following Christmas, we headed to Yosemite.   When we booked the place back in October, we were hoping for snow, but we have not had any rain in over a month, so there was no snow for skiing.   Instead, we spent two days hiking in the valley.   We rented a house in Yosemite West, which allowed just to cook meals and hang out in the evenings together, which was nice.   Yosemite was beautiful as always, but I have to say, it was super crowded.   On both evenings, we got caught in huge traffic jams in the valley that rivals San Francisco traffic.   So much for getting away from it all. It was still stunningly beautiful though!

Due to the lack of snow, Ethan and Jason were able to take a long hike up to Glacier Point.   Usually, this trail is closed due to snow in winter--it rises 3200 feet from the valley floor in a little under 5 miles.   The boys made the 10 mile round trip in good time, and had great view and relative tranquility at the top.   Dad, Alaina and I took some shorter hikes, and still enjoyed the day.

Our last day there, the kids and I went ice skating.   It is a goal of mine to get the kids comfortable on skates while they are young, and I am slowly making progress.   Alaina used a bucket to propel herself along, which actually worked quite nicely.   Ethan mostly grabbed the wall, but was doing ok by the end.

From yosemite, we headed right to Jason's parents home, where we had another big family dinner.  Jason's brother Brandon and his wife Jennifer were in town for a few days, so Gary and Eileen were happy to have the whole family together.

If you can imagine by new year's we were exhausted and not up for anything much, so we had take out and watched a movie with our neighbors. The kids still got to stay up late, which tickled them pink (and made our day quite miserable today!).  Today we spent the day cleaning and reorganizing--Christmas tree is down, toy closet cleaned, etc. etc.   Whew.