To the beach we must go

Colin was feeling the strong need to go to the beach.  So much so, that one day he set up a pretend beach in our living room and did all his school there.  He even turned on a beach scene with ocean sounds on the TV.

 

He wore his swimsuit for 2 days in anticipation of going to the actual beach.  We had plans to go to the harbor and paddle board as a family the next day, but it turned out to be much too windy for that.  Colin still really needed to go play in the sand and I never turn down a beach opportunity, so we had our own little beach afternoon.  While it was 85 at our house, the wind by the ocean made it feel very cold.

I bundled up in a blanket and Colin played in the sand.  Doesn't everyone take a hulu hoop with them to the beach?

He attempted to boogie board for all of 2 minutes and then was ready to go home because he was so cold. 

 

We still had a really fun time.  The harbor has become one of my favorite spots...I just love watching the boats come in and out with the mountains behind them.

New Year's + Eli's rubix cube

New Year's Eve we rang in the new year with games and Harry Potter.

 Eli mastered the rubix cube in no time!

Christmas, part 2

My beautiful girl, showing off her new earrings.

The boys building Mario Legos.

{roses from our anniversary}

 We spent the day playing, talking with family and resting.  

Maya dished out kisses.

For dinner we had prime rib, sourdough, mashed potatoes and brussel sprouts.

That night, Colin and I went on our last walk and yes, he went in his jammies and slippers.  I wasn't able to get a good picture, but I just had to document my favorite thing...this was in front of the best house in the neighborhood.

 

 

We stopped by the Little Library; a stop we made often on our walks.  There are a lot of these around our area, but this one up our street, I appreciate SO much.  Many of the little libraries have closed down during Covid, as well the public library, but a lady up the street has kept her running and it has given our family a little treat.  Colin will take a few books up there and pick a few for himself and Eli.  Some times the lady will leave little treats in the bucket; the week of Christmas she left fun sticker activities and stamps.

And we couldn't go to bed until we got in a little target practice.  This gun can shoot really far!

We had a wonderful Christmas, full of sweet memories, thoughtful gifts and yummy food.

The next day: Ben and Eli building his electronic kit.

Christmas Day, part 1

Christmas finally came!  I've heard rumors that Eli woke up all the kids at 5 am and convinced Alison to watch Star Wars with him in her bed, while they waited for 6:30.  Then everyone was on our bed for stockings!

 

Coffee and breakfast was started and we started opening presents as the sun came up.

There were too many wonderful presents to document them all, but here are some highlights:

Alison got a new trick board

Colin got a riffle nerf gun

Maya got a sweater 😂

Alison got a "Prada" bag from Nana filled with goodies.

Colin got fun slippers

Tea pastry time!  We added a new egg casserole this year that is definitely a keeper.

Maya is convinced that she is now a human when she is wearing this sweater.

Surprise!  Colin also got a new trick board too.

Alison got new piano music.  I loved seeing her just sit and look through all the songs.

Eli got a soldering kit with another kit that he could build his own gaming unit.

And Eli got the new Lego Mario.  He really was excited about it, but for some reason, just didn't show it until later.

Christmas Eve, brought to you by Colin

We spent the day getting the house ready for Christmas (aka cleaning) and then had tamales and bean dip for dinner.  This year, the tamales were a little extra special as someone gifted them to Ben as a thank you for his counseling.  They were delicious!  We had talked about watching a movie or playing some games, but the kids were so anxious to go to bed that none of that happened.  They were literally begging us to get dinner going and trying to get into bed by 6:30 so that Christmas would come quicker.  We did open sacks and read our advent book, but that was about it.  This is how Colin felt that it wasn't Christmas yet...
 

17 years

Our anniversary weekend was full of adventure.  We usually run together Saturday morning and Ben asked if I wanted to mix up our route a little.  I agreed that I could use a change of scenery, so we headed to Oak Canyon, just a few miles from our house.  I like running trails with Ben because he carries my water for me :)

We debated for awhile what to do for our anniversary.  We've eaten at Lure the last couple of years, but all dining at restaurants is closed.  Our neighbor told us that they often take picnic dinners out on their paddle boards and I thought that would be hilarious to try.  We penciled in picking up sushi and taking it out into the middle of the ocean to eat, because it's 2020 and that seems like a logical way to eat dinner right now.  We spontaneously changed plans (which was good because the sushi place was closed) and decided to go on a hike that Ben has been really wanting to take me on.  In his words, "It was short and easy, with just a little bit of scrambling."  There was certainly scrambling, but I survived making it to the top and it was a lot of fun.

We picked up dinner at Neptune's Net in Malibu and ate it by the ocean afterwards.  Sounds so picturesque, doesn't it?  It wasn't.  The food was just okay and we were shivering so bad that we could barely eat.  There was no talking, it was just hurry up and eat so we can get back in the warm car.  It was still a fun adventure and I'm just thankful that we got to do something to celebrate in this wonky year.