I’m breaking from my regular blog post format due to the fact that there are a LOT of pictures that Paul and I took over the past couple of weeks. Long story short, we were able to go to California to visit my parents (and other siblings who also converged upon my parents’ house). We left here on the 23rd, made it to Mom and Dad’s on Christmas Eve, and were able to stay until New Year’s Day. We got in last night. It was a fun-filled trip with visits to Sea World, Knott’s Berry Farm, and tons of time with family. Joseph loved playing with all of his cousins, but was especially excited to get to play with my nephew’s son and daughter (his son is about 7 months older than Joseph and his daughter is just about a year younger). As much fun as it was, we’re always glad to be home. 🙂
This Trip in Pictures:
Usually I try for chronological order, but I’m not sure I can get away with that this time…
This is from right before we left for California. Joseph wanted to pretend to be a king, so I whipped up a quick paper crown for him.Enjoying ice cream at Dairy Queen somewhere on the road to Grandma and Grandpa’s.He kept saying, “Mmmmmm…yum!” with every bite.We stopped in the Phoenix area to visit with one of Paul’s former foster sisters. It was great to meet her and her family.Christmas morning means that Daddy gets to open his stocking.Inspecting the clamp that Joseph picked out for him.Joseph diving into his stocking.He got a new Rescue Bot in his stocking. He liked the fact that the drill bit that’s on the Bot’s arm actually spins a bit.Using the drill to try and open the rest of his presents…he eventually resorted to the more traditional method of ripping off the paper.Checking out his new book (The Pigeon Needs a Bath).Unwrapping his magnetic chore chart (and yes, oddly enough, he happened to ask for a chore chart after we had already purchased this one for him, so he was pretty happy to see it). We also got him some new church clothes and a couple Imaginext dinosaurs.Uncle Jason and Aunt Saira (as well as Luna) were able to come up to Riverside on Christmas night. They brought Joseph a pinata horse with candy inside as well as presents (three Rescue Bots that actually transform…his little ones don’t, so he was pretty excited about that).This is what happens when Uncle Paul suggests to an assortment of nieces and nephews that they use both gingerbread house kits to make a gingerbread high rise…note the alligator on the roof. I love my family!Reading with Uncle Dave.Joseph loved getting to hang out with all his uncles and aunts!Oh, and cousins! So many cousins!Checking out a show at Sea World.He liked watching the orcas jump out of the water (as well as the dolphins at a different show).Family selfie!And…this is what usually happens when Joseph discovers that he can see himself in the camera…In the polar bear cave. Joseph was seriously unsure about the fact that there were recorded polar bear growls and roars that were emitting from the cave.Playing on a boat.He loved hanging out here…it was a huge bounce house, essentially.He also loved running through these swinging foam cylinders. This area also had a huge rope fort with bridges, ladders, and slides that Paul chased him around in for quite a while.He loves anything that has to do with music…I love the look on his face here. So happy!Hanging out by a sea turtle…at that point, Joseph was kind of getting tired of pictures, so this is the last one we got that day.We went to Knott’s Berry Farm on New Year’s Eve day and it was packed! Next time, we’ll choose a different day for sure! Here’s Paul and Joseph on a roller coaster in Camp Snoopy.He was super excited to go on the Snoopy’s Flying Ace ride.He was insistent on getting into a Sopwith Camel (as opposed to the Red Baron’s plane).Getting ready for the swings.Wee!Leading the pack of pump cars.Playing with a steam locomotive replica…”how does this thing work?”“Cheese!”
And here’s a movie that Google+ did with a bunch of pictures from our trip. I’m not sure why there isn’t a preview picture, but if you click on the triangle (for “play”) on the lower left hand side, it ought to play for you:
Weekly Happenings: This past week was pretty average. The only two things above average that happened were that on Wednesday night we went out to the zoo to see it all decked out for Christmas (they call it “Zoo Lights”) and then last night we went to the park in our subdivision for a “Holiday in the Park” where they had food and a movie playing. Both were pretty fun events.
The Weekly Weather: It’s been cool for the most part with a few warm days and a few cold days thrown into the mix. Typical Texas uncertainty. 😉
What Paul’s Been Up To: He finished up the finals for the two courses he’s been working on and also went around and judged the different houses that were competing for best holiday decorations.
What Sarah’s Been Up To: I’ve finished up with my students for the most part (I have one more tomorrow, but most are taking the holiday time off, so I won’t have any students until January). I also pulled off the choir Christmas program. It was a LOT of work, but it was so much fun! I love the people that I get to work with!
Oh no! A masked villain!I was informed that it was a “sticky up” (he likes to watch Sheriff Callie on Disney Channel where the bandits tape the good guys to the wall before robbing them). He was pretending his gun shot out strips of sticky tape, lol.Zoo Lights!He liked the projected images on the ground.He REALLY liked seeing his two favorite nocturnal animals: armadillos……and BATS!He really liked this picture frame they had set up.He was being quite the ham…He liked sitting on the elephant statue because it was not hot like it normally is.He found that the hippo statue was also quite cool at night. One treat we got was to actually hear the hippos bellowing at one another. It took us a minute to identify the sound (since we had never heard it before), but once we did, we found it rather interesting.They had “snow machines” that Joseph also found interesting.The lion statues at the very front of the zoo were quite the picture spot.Getting ready to see the movie at the park (they were showing “Elf” which didn’t interest Joseph much, but he liked sitting in his camping chair).Joseph and I had Subway for dinner at the park (Paul went for the food truck’s Cajun food which I thought would be too spicy, but I did enjoy the beignets) and apparently they’re putting little light sabers in their kids’ meals (and putting the meals in bags with the Millennium Falcon on it). Joseph really liked it…can you tell?!
Weekly Happenings: A bit of explanation about the title of this week’s blog. Our tiny dinosaur of a server finally gave up the ghost a little over a week ago, so until the parts that Paul ordered to build a new one came, the blog site was down. Now that he’s had a chance to build a new server and update everything, we’re back in business. Luckily, it’s been a pretty slow two weeks. That fact kind of amazes me, considering the fact that the Christmas holidays are swiftly approaching. Some highlights from the past couple of weeks are as follows: taking Joseph to see Santa at Bass Pro Shops, playing at the park with friends, going to Story Time at the library, playing at home, and attending our ward’s Christmas party.
The Weekly Weather: It’s been rather flip-floppy, to say the least. Some days were cool, others warm enough to wear shorts and T-shirts, and others were cold and rainy. Last night we had a wind/rain storm come through during the wee sma’s of the morning. As we were talking about it today, Paul pointed out that because of where our house is (there’s a street that goes straight out from the front of our house), when the wind blows, it creates a sort of wind-tunnel affect, making it sound a lot worse than it actually is. While I was laying awake, listening to the wind, I worried about our plants, decorations, outside stuff, etc. being blown away. When I took a peek outside this morning, nothing was harmed (or even moved around). I’m very grateful!
What Paul’s Been Up To: Aside from building our new server, he’s been kept rather busy. He volunteered to be in charge of the beautification committee for our neighborhood and found out (kind of after the fact) that he would be in charge of putting up the Christmas decorations at the major entrances to the neighborhood. Consequently, he spent quite a bit of time using the provided budget to build up the sparse decorations as well as decorating the entrances. It was quite the undertaking! On top of that, he is getting ready to do finals for his classes. His plate has been more than full, but he’s handled it like a champ!
What Sarah’s Been Up To: I’ve mainly been getting ready for the ward Christmas musical program, which is next week (the choir is singing several numbers and I am also playing my flute for another number). I also hosted book club at our house, kept Joseph happy and entertained, and even managed to squeeze in visiting teaching stuff, piano students, and housework. 🙂
What Joseph’s Been Up To: He’s been doing quite a bit of imaginative play as of late. It’s really great seeing how his imagination is growing. He also enjoyed snuggling up with us in the glow of the Christmas tree (he says that the tree is his favorite part of Christmas), eating popcorn, and watching “A Charlie Brown Christmas”. A couple of funny things have happened during the past couple of weeks. First, he insisted that I buy Gogurt (the yogurt in a tube) instead of regular kid yogurt (it’s actually cheaper, so I don’t mind too much) but then refused to eat it out of the tube. He wants it in a bowl so that he can eat it with a spoon. Refined little guy, ha! Second, I watched him take a screen shot of what he thought was a cool move while playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl and then save it to the SD card on the Wii. Not only do I NOT know how to do that, but I didn’t even realize it was possible. I guess he did, though! Smarty pants…
This Week in Pictures:
Pretending to be Oscar the Grouch in his trash can.Pretending to be Ganondorf from Legend of Zelda.Climbing the giant spiderweb at a nearby park.He was just a smidge excited to get to see Santa at Bass Pro Shops. 😉Developing his LEGO building skills.He wanted an Iron Man mask, so I did my best to provide one for him. Luckily his expectations and my artistic skills are pretty equal. 😉The ward Christmas party was Polar Express themed.The kids were encouraged to wear pajamas. I folded and got Joseph a cute pair to wear to the party. He really liked the monkeys. 🙂Paul took Joseph around to the various activity stations that they had set up for the kids.Joseph was excited to give me the jingle bell necklace that he made.Family selfie!!We decided to go a fun route for our Christmas card photos, so we picked this one and the one above to put on our cards.
