Christmasing with the Joneses

Can't miss the lights at Temple Square! We tried to meet up with the Lee's but they were leaving by the time we got there.

Why walk on the sidewalk when there's piles of snow to walk through? This was Isaac's usual everywhere he walked.

Fun on Christmas day.

Fun with family.

For those of you who have ever wondered why Matt was never the lead singer in any of his bands, here is your answer:

(This was Christmas Day and Matt had been helping in the kitchen. Don't you think the gingerbread man apron puts it over the top? Btw, we've dubbed those dance moves by Matt "The Special Ed" and it's really quite difficult to do. If you don't believe me, try it!)

Squeezing It All In

Christmas is the busiest season of the year. Maybe when we're not traveling to Utah (if ever), it will help calm things down a bit for us. But this year before we left Long Beach we had two must-do activities remaining.
The first was the Long Beach Aquarium. I had won some passes to the aquarium earlier in the year and they would expire before we got back home. It was nice since we hadn't been there in a while.

The boys loved this little tank with about 20 tiny rays and Seth even dared to put his hand in a few times. Isaac has become quite interested in rays. I couldn't help but laugh when he asked the attendant what their names were.

We also couldn't miss our traditional trip to Naples with Grampa Lee and Pam. We went to CPK and then walked around Naples to see the lights. We noticed that on one whole side of the canal nobody was home and NO Christmas lights were up or on. We were so surprised, since usually there are lights as far as the eye can see. Then our suspicions were confirmed when we saw this:

The dual bucket arial lift made Isaac's night! It was pretty amazing to watch that massive thing move from the other side of the canal.

Thanks grandpa and Pam for a great time!

Christmasing With Friends

The season partying started with a small fondue party at the Field's house. Even though we are still in the "experimenting" stage, it was delicious and we resolved to do it sooner than next Christmas!

Next came the ward Grinchmas party where we had lots of delicious delicacies from Dr. Suess' book that looked fantastical and tasted fantastic! Though an nontraditional Christmas party, the story of the Grinch reminds us of the most important characteristic of our Savior and God; love.

Then tonight we went on a cruise to see the Christmas lights at Naples for F.H.E. with a group of friends.

The boys loved it!

Please Don't Call the Authorities!

We all know we can't watch our kids every second of the day. There are things that need to get done, afterall, like designing christmas cards (me) or facebooking (Matt). We also know that kids can get into trouble if not carefully supervised.

This is what happens while I'm at the computer:

Isacc won't stop creating! (And making a mess in the process). This is what happens when mom is gone and dad is at the computer:
The boys decided to try jumping off the bunk bed without adult supervision (as are the rules).
Fortunately, the impact only squished the bone in Seth's foot together (I forget what it's called), so as soon as he was able, he was allowed to bear weight on it. We found that riding his bike was the best way he could play until he could run around! Even though he could weight-bear after two days, he wore the brace for 10 days and he passed inspection just in time for our trip to Utah!

Heritage Park

We went to Heritage Park for play group today. It has been 3 years since the last time we were there when Seth was about one month old! It is a huge, beautiful park with cannons and other "old and fashioned" things that Isaac loves.

Do you think the boys enjoyed it? I hope I can remember to go there again soon!

Isaac's 5th Birthday Party