Sandy Lego!

We had a wonderful family trip down to San Diego (or Sandy Lego as Elsa once coined it). We flew down on Monday and went to Seaport village for food and a wonderful carousel ride.

Then we headed up to the San Diego Botanical Gardens for a great Winter Lights Treat.  There was sled riding, horse drawn carriages, roasting marshmallows and lit up plants.  The kids (once Liam woke up) had a great time.

We then spent the next 3 days in and out of LegoLand.  Liam loved the "factory tour" and Elsa enjoyed the roller coasters.

We had other adventures, like exploring Mini-Land, meeting holiday characters, making boats and cars, and playing in the sand.

The most fun was Kid's New Years Eve.  A site wide party, with live bands, a Brick Drop, and then Fireworks.  Elsa loved dancing to the bands and I loved that NYE ended at 6 PM!

Our last day in San Diego we went to the beach to play.

Then we spent the rest of the day at SeaWorld.  We were splashed by the dolphins, enjoyed the sea lion antics, watched the Orcas with wonder, and went on a few rides.

A wonderful family vacation!

Holiday Family Fun

The last month of 2015 was filled with a lot of holiday family fun time.  We started off the season with Thanksgiving at my Mom's house in Millbrae with the extended family.  I think the highlight for the kids was watching shows on the big TV.

   

We did a number of fun holiday activities over the month.  Breakfast with Santa was fun, although I do not think Elsa liked "real Santa" very much. 

Elsa's girl scout troop went to the Nutcracker.

We decorated the tree at my Mom's house with ornaments that I had put on the tree as a kid.  The kids loved opening the boxes of ornaments to put on the tree - it was like opening presents! Mom also took Elsa to see a Christmas Ballet.

At Elsa's after school program, she made a graham cracker gingerbread house.  

At home, we made a lot of gingerbread cookies.

Once winter break started, which Elsa questioned - why do we need a winter break when school is fun - we were able to spend more time with family. With the cousins we saw a live Charlie Brown's Christmas by the SF Symphony.  Then on the 24th, the kids spent the day together and Elsa and Sonja really bonded.  They dressed up in matching outfits for Christmas Eve service.  We have some wonderful angels in the family!

Liam was a good sleeper through the whole service!

Then it was back up to Hill Road for a smorgasbord.  The girls all enjoyed the matching PJs.  

Then next morning it was Christmas and everyone had a great time opening presents in Berkeley.

Then again in Millbrae!  Liam had these faces of wonder he would make that were great.

We ended Christmas Day with my extended family at my cousin's house in Oakland, before returning home to rest.

The Stokstad cousins then came over for a day of play in Palo Alto and then Elsa and Sonja got to have a sleepover!

What a wonderful holiday season!