Christmas festivities

After some deliberation, we decided to do Christmas in California this year (or last year, I should say). Our every-other-year-in-Hawai'i tradition would have had us go home to Hawai'i this year, but we ultimately decided next year would be better for the trip.

Mamo and Pod graciously agreed to come to California even though they'll be back on the mainland in March. They were supposed to arrive the night of Thursday, December 18th but got stuck overnight in L.A. and arrived in Carlsbad the next morning. I had booked us on the Newport Holiday Light Boat Parade cruise that night. We left hours early, as I had read that it's a zoo and parking is a nightmare, and I knew there'd be plenty of traffic. Once we found the boat check-in, we had a few minutes to kill because they were busy with people checking in for the boat that left before ours. We rode the ferris wheel right there by the water. It turned out to be the fastest and longest ferris wheel ride I've ever been on, so it was actually really fun. It made my stomach drop a few times. Dolly was freaked out when it started so quickly, and she cried briefly. Then she decided she passionately loved it, and she didn't want to get off. After the ride, we had just enough time to grab a rushed dinner at a mediocre cafe-type restaurant before going to the designated spot on the dock. The gang waiting for the boat:

The boat we were on was all decked out in Christmas lights and was part of the holiday boat parade around Balboa Island. We were viewing decked-out boats as well as decked-out (and just generally amazing) houses on Balboa. We had a freaky cold spell while Mamo and Papo were here, so the temperature was probably in the 40's that night. It was really cold. Hot chocolate was included in the price of our tickets. It was watery and therefore not super delicious, but it helped warm us up a bit. The second half of the cruise got a little slow, but overall I thought it was a fun, festive adventure. Some pics from the boat:

Saturday we went to a matinee of The Nutcracker at the San Diego Civic Center. Blue Steel posed with me before it began:

We all took naps of varying lengths during the first act. We did better during the second act, and the Russian dancers brought down the house, as always.

That was the extent of my planned activities. I did a bunch of research about Julian (old mining town) and wrote down info about all the things we should do there. Then I checked the weather - it was supposed to be a high of 42. So that was scratched. We filled our time with walks, dinners, desserts, and TV shows and games in the evenings. Pod went to Utah for a couple of days to visit Grandma and returned Christmas Eve. Mamo did lots of cleaning while they were here, which was really nice of her. One day she wanted to know what task hanging over my head bothers me the most. So she washed windows and swept the concrete patio in the back. She did lots of cooking, too. They'll never want to come back!

Christmas Eve we read the Christmas story from the Bible (Pod), read "The Happy Prince" (Mamo), and sang Christmas songs. I had borrowed a Christmas songbook from my visiting teachee, Elaine. It happened to contain a song called "Christmas for Cowboys" that Pod had just heard for the first time while visiting Normie. (Ryan Strong had sung it while Pod was there.) "So many gifts have been opened today; Ours is the sky and the wide open range." It actually is a really nice song, and it speaks to my romantic ideal of an outdoor life. Pod got choked up at certain spots every time we sang it. So cute. Ever stood up by the piano and led most of the music. She is really into being a chorister.

Christmas morning Ever enjoyed pulling about a zillion little things out of her stocking - various noise-makers, a harmonica, a recorder, a ring, candy, etc. The harmonica, especially, was a hit, although the magic has mostly worn off by now.

Papa showed Ever how to work her new cash register from Coco and Dun Dun:

Ever and Jim tested out her new little walkie talkies. Santa may have accidentally injured one of the antenna, and they were pretty much a bust:

She was excited about the aprons Grandpa Kringel sent and the scooter from Auntie Dawn and Uncle Ed:

Ever helped open all the presents, regardless of the intended recipient. It was a lovely Christmas morning. We had a nice waffle breakfast, talked to some of the absent family, and went for a nice walk in Hosp Grove:

Jim got some snuggles at sunset that my phone couldn't really capture:

Another day we went for a walk around Lake Calavera. I didn't take a stroller, partly because Ever usually doesn't want to ride and partly because some of the trail is really steep and rocky. Jim kept Ever motivated by calling Mamo, Pod, and me "slow pokes" and trying to beat us. With that inspiration, she was amazing and ran much of the way.

Jim and Ever in the distance:

Running to make sure we didn't catch up:

We went to Baskin Robbins. Ever made sure no drop was left behind:

Tutu spent a lot of time entertaining Ever. There were endless stories - both books and "made-up stories" (often based on fairy tales/books). We often threaten to take away stories when Ever misbehaves because stories are probably her favorite thing in the world besides treats. She has two books of fairy tales. Most of the stories in them are incredibly long, and they are not very heavily illustrated. Mamo sat down to read Ever a fairy tale and started just summarizing the story using the pictures. Ever recognized quickly that she wasn't getting the real story and insisted that Mamo read the words. Mamo couldn't believe how long Ever will sit and listen. Every time we drove somewhere, Ever wanted Tutu to sit next to her and tell her stories. I think Tutu was relieved when Ever temporarily lost her stories for bad behavior. It's hard to come up with that many stories!

It wasn't all storytelling. Tutu got Ever a rubber ducky that she could paint, and Ever loved that. She painted the duck, and then she painted a lot of paintings on paper. They also spent some time drawing on Ever's easel (the easel, table, and chairs were all Christmas presents):

Jim, who generally hates being in the kitchen, has gotten into Sunset magazine and the recipes it contains. He found a no-fail pie crust recipe he wanted to try. While fam was in town, we made at least two apple pies and two pumpkin pies. It was delicious and totally disgusting what went on on the dessert front. This is one of Jim's servings of apple pie and ice cream:

Can you say "portion control"? Because we can't.

At the end of December, they did a graduation ceremony in nursery for the three-year-olds going into Sunbeams. They had caps and everything. Ever's would not stay on, and she was having some major hair issues:

Coco and Dun Dun arrived on New Year's Day. We took them on a nice neighborhood walk (photographer Pod is the shadow):

Friday we took the train down to Old Town San Diego. Jim bought the train tickets online, and we had to catch a certain train. It ended up taking us longer than anticipated to get out of the house, as it always does. We took two cars to the train station, and poor Mamo got stuck in my car. My driving terrified her, but I got us there alive and in time.

The lucky ones got to play cards on the train; the boys entertained Ever:

Our first stop was the Mormon Battalion. I think it's worthwhile, but the scripted presentation is painfully interactive and kid-oriented. We tried to be at least minimally responsive to help out the poor sister missionary who did our tour.

Pod modeled the Battalion gear:

At the conclusion of the tour, our guide, Sister Chung, took this group photo:

We poked around the display room briefly. Dustin's many-greats-grandfather, George Washington Taggart, was a fifer with the Mormon Battalion. Dustin found him in the database:

Grandpa Taggart's fife was even on display:

I took Ever to the bathroom before we went outside to pan for gold. The adults entertained themselves in the meantime:

Ever was obsessed with Sister Chung. While we were in the bathroom, she kept asking if Sister Chung would be there when we went outside. They were happily reunited when Ever joined the panning expedition.

After the Mormon Battalion, we took a spin around the nearby Victorian section:

We went into the stagecoach museum. Dustin was impressed by the leather-strap suspension system on this one:

He also admired this chair:

We stopped for a snack. The Kringels had cookies. Bags got bread and jam that she shared with Pod. Mamo enjoyed a sarsaparilla. When I tried to photocize the group, the sun was in Jim's eyes. He came up with a new picture-taking technique: keep your eyes closed because somehow that's better than being caught blinking or squinting. This is the result:

Ever got in on it for this one:

There was a little extra jam, and Pod couldn't watch it go to waste:

We went by the courthouse that the Mormon Battalion helped build and took a peek at this jail cell out back:

We tried to visit the Mason School, but it was closed:

I remembered from Mamo and my previous visit to Old Town that the Sherrif's Museum was cool. Turns out the best part is the shank display. Prisoners make some pretty cool stuff while they're cooped up.

Ever struck an interesting pose for her mug shot:

She was excited (though she doesn't look it) about going into a "real" jail cell:

Yes, Jim is sitting on the pot.

The females took turns on the two motorcycles:

Ever got to know the Princess-look-alike police dog:

Then she decided the fake courtroom was an opportunity to give a talk, which concluded with a stunning rendition of "I Am a Child of God":

There was a room dedicated to fallen officers, and I just thought of Alyn Beck and had to leave immediately. Outside, we sat in the back of the sheriff's car, and then Ever took a spin in the helicopter. She had to be co-pilot at first; then the other little girl got out, and Ever took over the controls:

We found a Mexican restaurant by the train station that didn't have a wait. After we dinner we killed a bit of extra time and caught the train back. At home we enjoyed treats and cards.

Saturday morning I took Jim to work at Palomar Hospital so we could have two cars at home. The rest of us got a late start on a hike somewhere past Escondido (almost to Ramona, I think). I'd never been before, and it was nice. Ever wanted to walk, but we eventually got her into the backpack so we could make better time. I felt bad about making Dustin carry her, but it was really the only way. 

Dustin carried a dead tree for a little while:

The gate to the parking lot closed at sunset, and we also had to pick Jim up from work at the hospital at 6:00. We were going to turn back, but Pod ran ahead to see what he could see. I followed because I hate not getting to the end and knowing what's ahead. The white dot is Pod's t-shirt:

He photocized the view: 

Then he ran up this little hill to get a better look:

We headed back. Mamo was highly concerned about not returning before the parking lot gate closed, so she rushed ahead. Pod eventually caught up to her toward the end, and they hung out in the parking lot until the rest of us arrived. 

You can't really tell from these pictures, but there were some really nice green hills:

Bags took one car home, while Pod was kind enough to go with me to pick up Jim from Palomar. Jim ended up getting done late, so Pod and I chatted in the lobby and waited. We rendezvoused with everyone at the house and then went out for Thai food at Rim Talay. Jim and I had been once before with friends, and I had loved it. This time my food was too spicy (possibly my fault in ordering 4 out of 10 on the spice scale), and some but not all of the others enjoyed their meals.

The heat was always on while the fam was in town, so the house was never below 70 degrees during waking hours. Nevertheless, Mamo and Pod (especially Mamo) were absolutely FREEZING in our house. Mamo would wear multiple sweaters and her head-to-toe robe while we played cards and would still be cold. We had many fires, which were enjoyed by all but especially the frozen parentals:

The thing I cannot figure out is how Mamo and Pod live in a house with no insulation, no heat, and windows always open - a house that has gotten into the 50's inside. Somehow they are not cold in those conditions but can't handle our 72-degree house? I'm so confused. In any case, I won't complain about any excuse to have fires.

Sunday night we sang a few Christmas carols since Bags and Dunford had missed Christmas Eve with us. Then Bags opened her birthday presents, with help from Little Love:

Monday saw the end of the crazy cold spell. We enjoyed a nice walk in the morning before I took Mamo and Pod to the airport. 

Bags and I made doughnuts using my new deep fryer and recipe book. Don't they look legit?

This giant lizard was spotted in our house right before Bags took Dustin to the airport:

Thank GOODNESS Dustin was still there to catch it and throw it outside. I would have had to evacuate. Bags left that evening, and we were left empty nesters.

The devastating part of the partial family reunion was the sickness. Pod came down with a really bad cold shortly after arriving. Dustin caught it (or something like it) and had to cancel his plans to go to Boise from here to help his mom, Jill, after her bone marrow transplant. Pod and Jim helped Dustin give Bags a beautiful blessing that she would remain healthy, and she was able to go by herself to Boise and help. I got sick as soon as everyone left. I don't usually get sick, and when I get sick it's usually not so bad. But this sucked. And the really awful news is that our house has been plagued by various illnesses pretty much ever since. But more on that in another post...

It's always wonderful to have family visit. Hooray for holidays with family! We're excited about having Bags and Mamo back soon when the critter in my belly makes his/her debut. Ever wishes "Dun Dun Tickle Bug" would return, too, but we'll happily take what (or whom) we can get. (Yes, "Dun Dun Tickle Bug" is a ridiculous name, and yes, that is what he was called this visit. I'm sure you can imagine why.)