Merry Christmas 2018!

We had a wonderful Christmas!  We celebrated Christmas Eve in Berkeley.  The kids had a great time making gingerbread houses.

I visited my friend Ian in Berkeley and my namesake - Baby Karna and her brother.  It was cool to hang out with another Karna.

That evening we went to the FCCB Christmas Eve service.  Elsa dressed up as a holy cow, while Liam was just a cow.

Once back at the house, the cousins changed into matching pajamas. 

 And we had a great meal and Stokstad family picture.

Then the cousins watched movies.

Christmas morning came and then it was time to open presents.  The kids started with their stockings.

 Then had fun opening the rest of the gifts.

We then headed to Millbrae for more presents with my family.  After this is was off to Oakland for my cousin Matt's Christmas Party.

Near their place was a great playground with the endless monkey bars!

After a fun night it was back to Berkeley for more family fun before bed, in a new set of matching PJs.

Liam is 6!

We are so excited to have a 6 year old!

His birthday was his last day of school, so he was able to spend it with friends.  Then after a long day at school he came home to his cousins!

Liam had a Pump it Up birthday party on the Sunday before his birthday with his friends from school.

It was great to see all the kids play around the site before sitting down for pizza and birthday cake.

Holiday Spirit, a Clarinet, and Bars

We started our December with a Breakfast with Santa.  Liam enjoys talking with Santa. Elsa, not so much. 

They had fun making faces and taking silly holiday pictures.

The next day we headed to Millbrae, first for breakfast at my childhood favorite place Millbrae Pancake house.  Elsa wrote a review of the restaurant in her class.  She hates it, because according to her, the crepes taste like cheese, it is cold and dark, and the lines are too long.

We then headed up to my Mom's house to decorate the tree with candy canes and childhood ornaments.

After decorating the tree, my mom pulled out my old clarinet.  It was fun to play a few notes for the kids, although Elsa thought I was pretty funny.

Liam wanted to try to play the clarinet, and has now decided this is an instrument he wants to learn!

The weekend is never perfect unless Elsa has some time on bars.  Bars are something she is most thankful for, along with sparkles, pillows, bars, ramen noodles, air, freedom, clothes, and her friend Raina. Arne had some fun catching Elsa in action with his new camera.

November Legoland Fun

Over the Veterans Day Holiday weekend, we headed down to San Diego, escaping the smoke from the Camp fire, for some fun at LEGOLAND! Arne flew down with the kids on Saturday morning, and got them to the airport on time, but didn't comb Elsa's hair. 

 Once there, they checked into the Castle hotel and explored Mini-land, the area of lego models.

Sunday morning, I flew in and joined in the fun, starting right off with a roller coaster.

We then tried out their new Ocean Adventure ride.

And then the Dragon roller-coaster!

 The kids enjoyed finding mini-figures to trade, with a key thing being mini-figures with hair!

 Liam continues to love watching the legos manufacturing process.

 And this trip, we got a mini backstage tour.

We then took a break from the park to enjoy the Castle Playground and Pool. Elsa created a cool obstacle course for herself.  I am not sure this is exactly how the structure was intended to be used.

Our final big ride was the Ninjago ride.  Liam really loves it.

On Monday, we headed back into the park for more lego rides.  From the Technic coaster to the Lost Cities, we were able to go on some of the big rides early.

Liam also liked doing little things, like the Joust in the Castle area.

 We all enjoyed our pirates adventure and then some fun on the boats.

This trip, Elsa tried the Raptor Climb and won a giant sparkly snake.

Elsa and I went for a boat ride, while Liam created boats.

And then after a great day of adventure we headed home.