Beachy

Are we still really doing recaps from our time in California? Yes. We are. Because we freaking did so much while we were there!! (For those of you who follow The Jacksons blog too, some of these may be repeats for you.) So...here we go.

During our trip to Cali we got to go to the coast with The Jacksons and Nana and Papa Smith. It was such a great getaway since this California girl hadn't seen the ocean in over a year!! (Mountains are pretty and all, but c'mon!) We spent 3 days and 2 nights in Monterey at the lovely home (really, really lovely home) of family friend Grandma Quinn. The first day there we stopped for sandwiches to take with us to the beach. I wish I could describe to you the comedy show that took place at the deli we went to, but it would be a blog within itself. The sandwiches were less than phenomenal, but the scenery more than made up for it.

Jonah had a blast exploring all of the rocks and picking up the "sand" (Northern California pebble sand) and chucking it as far as he could.

 

Jonah and Cuz Noah wore the rocks down with all of their climbing. They got in a little game of tug of war with a piece of kelp too. (*pics by KC)

 

Jonah and I both looked for shells in the sand, though the activity definitely held my attention longer than his.

Before we left we all took a few moments where we just stared at the crashing waves. Jonah was safe holding onto Nana's hands. It did my heart good seeing everyone together like that.

 

Christmas Jammies

Courtesy of Nana, the cousins all have matching Christmas PJ's each year. Here's a little peek at the cuddly goodness of this year. (Noah hugs Jonah in the last shot and it's pretty darn precious.)

Outdoor Explorations

Christmas afternoon the Cuz's went exploring in Nana and Papa's backyard. The edge of their property is lined with bushes that are just perfect for little-boy exploring.

First they had to discuss their plans:

Then they entered the labyrinth of foliage:

Hiding from the cameras (looks a lot like spotting Bigfoot doesn't it?):

Their watchdog was patrolling the area (Ferocious Sierra):

Examining their findings:

Copping a squat (exploring is hard work!):

Smith Family Christmas

December 25th meant that the Smith/Jacksons celebrated Christmas as a family. Cuz Noah made an entrance as quite the dapper little dude. Jonah decided to forgo the formality of a tie, but Noah really worked it.

At the Smith house the order of the day is stockings, breakfast, presents (whereas at the Reed house we sometimes forget about stocking til much later). Stockings always bring with them some traditional items (cereal and oranges *although no oranges this year??) and special treats.

Everyone gets boxes of cereal. Here I am showing Jonah what kind he got, and then he is proceeding to plead me for it.

 

Beyond that, each of the boys got toys specific to their interests (planes/cars vs animals) and some that were just the same (sea creature toys to foreshadow our trip to the aquarium after Christmas). Both of the boys have such enthusiasm for their passions. It is so fun to watch their zeal.

  

After breakfast (quiche...yummo) we moved on to opening presents. In the Smith family they open by age so Jonah had to wait through a full rotation of people before he could open his first present! He showed amazing patience though and I was really proud of him. Noah, was cool as a clam as well. (He would appreciate that reference.) 

 

Among his gifts were a kickin personalized duffel bag from Auntie Becca (so so cute when Jonah says it) and Uncle KC, a Rosie train from me (I needed a girlie train for when I am forced asked to play choo-choos), and a Spinbrush for kids from (dentist) Uncle Adam and Auntie Melissa. He thought the toothbrush was a hoot and loves using it every night. Laughs every time!

 

The day didn't end after presents! The boys explored outside, we had a faulous crab dinner, and a mini Cousin Christmas Pajama Fashion Show. I gotta save something for the next blogs though!!! Merry Christmas.

 

Reed Family Christmas

Wow. Halloween was our last entry huh. That holiday is in October right? And it's now January? I feel sheepish. Well, I guess I will just say that it is a new year...and let's let by gones be by gones... and so on and so forth...etc. Hopefully the blogs will be coming fast and furious now that we are home and we have almost 1,000 pictures to share with everyone! (*note: slight exaggeration--Only 934.)

We had a great time at both Christmases this year!! Per our usual routine, we spent Christmas Eve day with the Reed family and made it our Christmas with them, start to finish. GG came from Oakdale to spend the day with us and Great Gramps was able to come from his home and spend a few hours with us as well. We only get to see each of them once a year, if that, so it always means so much to have them there.

We started the morning with breakfast that had a healthier side this year. (Since mom knew I was trying to lose weight and be more mindful overall of the food I eat she has eggs with veggies and stuff as an option. Thanks Mom!) The cinnamon rolls were there too, but because they weren't homemade, they were less tempting. After breakfast we moved on to presents. We decided to do a "smaller" Christmas this year overall, and I must say that I really liked it. There was no gluttony of material things, just a few items for each of us. I think it should be our new thing.

The theme of the year for Jonah was Cars and trains. (Namely Lightening McQueen and Thomas, but he'll take anything in those categories!) Here he is opening a Thomas book with Mimi and looking through a few other new Leapfrog books with Uncle Josh. (I realize that I keep jumping back and forth between my references to mom as mom and references to her as Mimi. Same with the other family members. Hope you can figure it out and follow along.)

 

With a little suggesting from us, we convinced Jonah that he should ask Santa for a McQueen and Mater toy this year (requests went through our Elf on the Shelf). And look at that...Santa came through!!

Jonah gave Great Gramps a picture frame that he painted all by himself, with a brand new picture in it. Grandpa isn't able to communicate much these days, but was visibly emotional about the gift. It was a really sweet moment.

 

After presents, Jonah and Pop Pop went outside to play. I was able to catch a few moments of them together on film!!(Pop Pop is more natural without and audience so we just peeked out the window at them.) Pop Pop kept letting Jonah spray the hose one direction, but it was just too tempting for Jonah to spray it at him!!

Jonah took a nap after playtime and the adults watched Arrested Development DVDs. Everyone does that on Christmas right? (No picture for that, but it wasn't a real photo opp.)

We made sure to get a family pictures before GG had to head home.

 

 

New Year's Resolution

Happy New Year

New Year's resolution #1: blog more consistantly.