Christmas 2015

We traveled to CA for Christmas this year!  The kids had a major countdown till our flight left bright and early at 7:30AM!  We arrived in SF with little trouble, found our rental car, and headed to the city for lunch!

 

I sneak one of these pictures every year!  Love it.

 

this kid

good thing we got the smart car- haha!

riding the tram and watching the rain

 

As soon as we landed, we saw the rain.  When we were pulling out of the rental car lot, Hunter said, "Maybe we will see a rainbow!"  And, of course, we turned the corner and this beautiful, full ARCH greeted us. 

 And it kept following us...

 

 We arrived at Pier 39, still in the drizzling rain.  It didn't stop us from finding some pizza!!

 We watched this funny little sea lion climb up on the boat dock, only to be chased down by an attendant.  Well, he was smarter than most, and went up the adjacent dock.  He did this "trick" over and over again- we were laughing so hard watching this sea lion!

 

 

yes, we are matching nerds in fur.

 

We then drove up to Lombard street, to take the kids down the famous curvy road.  And that beautiful rainbow reappeared in the distance.  Breathtaking- you can see Alcatraz in the background.

We arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's house about three hours later, after a long nap and a little puking incident from Peyton.  All over Paige.  And for those of you who know Paige, you can imagine the trauma it caused.  She was practically hyperventilating on the side of the road as we stripped Peyton down to his undies....and attempted to wash out the carseat that I can guarantee will never, ever be the same again.  I almost vomit just thinking about it again. 

And then I laugh. :) 

So we put our plans to find a live Christmas tree off until the next morning...so after bundling up, we went to the tree lot to find only ONE tree was left.  It was like a scene right out of Christmas Vacation- Paige and I sitting in the car, shaking our heads and saying, "That tree will never fit in the truck- or the house!"   And then all of a sudden it was ours! :)  The kids loved the experience, and it is one of my favorite Christmas memories that makes me smile all over again. 

Grandpa hugging it out with the tree man

This guy does love a Griswold Christmas!!

 

Christmas season calls for Christmas cookie baking, of course!  Grandma and Grandpa at work with the kids.  Peter and I sipping coffee by the carafe somewhere in the distance.  Time change never does well for these kids the first night...but by night two, we were golden.

 

shopping in downtown

 Christmas Eve Mass!! Hunter hated his "tie" shirt, would not get dressed, and he didn't have another option, unless we wanted him to attend Christmas Mass in his athletic gear.  Sorry, dude- not going to happen on Christmas!  We finally got him dressed, and he mumbled about it all through the first part of Mass- I actually had to take him out for a bit when he started yelling, but he ran to the bathroom, came out, and wanted to try again.  He looked down at his shirt when we were re-seated and he said,
"Mommy, you tricked me!  This is a WHALE on my shirt, not a tie!"  

Seriously?  I just needed to say it was a WHALE?  Yes, love.  That is one big, handsome whale.

 We always open one present on Christmas Eve- so the kids were excited to get back home!

 Christmas morning- the kids were awake at 5, 5:30, 6, and we finally let them get up at 6:30AM.  Here we go!
Santa had come- he brought the Avengers Lego tower for Peyton,

 A racetrack for Hunter,

 and the American Girl Wheelchair and Feel better kit for this sweet, compassionate girl.

 Grandpa had woke early to put a turkey in the oven...

 And we continued presents with everyone!

 Paige's request...

 And yes, kids, we do need one obligatory Christmas pj's by the tree picture.  :)

 Great-Grandpa arrived early to visit with all of us...and Hunter rode McQueen on his chair..

 Love Great-Grandpa--such a spunky personality and we loved having the one-on-one time!

 Cousins arrived to play...

 And the next day, friends and family stopped by to see everyone.

 

 The kids made their own band, with these talented cousins!  Paige was in heaven being able to spend so much time with her cousins.  She was so sad when they left!

 

 One of my besties from college who married one of Peter's besties from high school- so fun spending time with them!

 Go Pack!

 We went to the flight museum in town- such a fun experience for the kids!

 We went to see an old friend from Peter's high school- and the kids wished her well with hugs.

 Uncle Erick arrived!!  So excited to see this Master Builder! 

 Wearing Grandpa's new hat

 

friend night out

 And then we drove up to the mountains until we found...SNOW!

 

 And then, about ten minutes later, they were done! :)  So we found a spot to take pictures of the beauty.

 Our traditional jumping picture

 WAY too much fun playing in the snow...

 Peter's friend and football team manager- so good to see him!

 And then, it was time to pack up from Grandma and Grandpa's house and head back to the city!

 

 We just love San Francisco during the holidays.  It is so breathtaking- and fun to walk the hills!

 Seeing all the displays inside the fancy downtown hotels

 More cousins and friends came to meet us in the rainy city

 After walking many, many STEEP blocks (it said we did 22 flights of stairs on my fitbit), the kids needed a break- and Frozen was on in the hotel with the Gingerbread House.

 

We went to Lefty O'Douls to eat, dry off, and say goodbye to all of these precious family members.  The time went so incredibly fast, and we were not ready to head home.

 On the way out, the policeman "wrote" a ticket for each of the kids.

 

 We had a blast celebrating with so many family and friends.  Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for such a magical holiday!! Thank you to everyone who came to see us, for all the hugs, the time, the memories, the fun...Merry Christmas to all!