New Years - December 30-31st, 2016

On Friday, Emily came and helped me cook for hours, and she and Ali helped me decorate for our Murder Mystery Party. Everyone came as the character they would be all evening. We had a fun time. Then on New Years Eve, we all got together (even the grandkids) and played fun games until midnight when we banged pots and pans. . MaKayla brought Jonah so everyone could meet her Fiance.

Christmas - December 24-25th, 2016

We had a turkey dinner on Christmas Eve, and then did our little Nativity Pageant, and opened PJ's. We missed having everyone here. Christmas Day after church we Skyped with everyone and watched the kids open their presents.

Girls On The Run 5K - December 17th, 2016

I am so proud of Ali & Mandi. They ran their first ever 5K today. Mandi (who didn't like getting off the couch...) has been in an after school running program for 10 weeks. It is called: "Girls On The Run" She has been training twice a week. It has been great for her self esteem. Yesterday we found out Ali could sign up and race with her so she wouldn't have to run alone. It was so cold and windy. They did a great job, both coming through the finish line around 40 minutes!! We held up signs of encouragement that they saw at the halfway point.  All the runners got medals when they finished. They had a great time. Mandi is ready to sign up for the next 10 week class, and Ali asked to start running in some of the city 5K's!!!

Santa Barbara - Day 8 - November 27th, 2016

Day 8

We all got up early. Tonya and Kevin left at 4 am, and we pulled out at 5 am. I loved spending time with them. The ride home was cold and rainy. We made it home in 7 hours. It was a fun trip, and so nice to get away and see new things and places. The house we rented was nice. It had 2 floors. It had 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, laundry room, kitchen, living room. The view was great. We could see the ocean from the big front windows. There was a cute little side yard to relax in. It is hard to come back to real life!!! 

Santa Barbara - Day 7 - November 26th, 2016

Day 7

Today is our 45th wedding anniversary. After our morning walk, Tonya and Kevin cooked us a yummy French Toast breakfast. Then we decided to go to downtown Santa Barbara shopping again. On the way there it started pouring. From the car to the store, we were all drenched. Umbrellas did no good. Then we all were freezing from the wind and being wet. We changed our minds, and went back to the house and changed into dry clothes, and had hot chocolate. Later, when the rain slowed down, Doug and I went back out to some Antique stores. On the way home we went to the beach and just sat and watched the waves and the beautiful sunset through the clouds. We were going to go out to a nice restaurant but none of us wanted to go out in the cold, so Tonya and Kevin cooked us a special Spaghetti dinner, and we watched another Christmas movie, and then packed to come home.

Santa Barbara - Day 6 - November 25th, 2016

Day 6

Today we spent most of the day in a cute little Dutch town called Solvang. It is about a 40 minute drive from Santa Barbara. We explored lot of Antique shops, Art galleries, Novelty shops, and Candy and Fudge shops. It is a darling town. We ate out on the patio at Chomps ( a malt, and burger place). We could have spent a few more hours and not have seen all the stores. Every thing was decorated for Christmas. I bet it looks amazing after dark.

On the way home we stopped at the Wharf, and the beach, to try for another sunset picture. It was getting cloudy, so we didn't see the sun disappear into the ocean... but it was still pretty.