Christmas and More

Here's a quick (well, actually kind of LONG) run-down of the last few weeks:

December 18th: This was Jon's LAST day of school! He gets an entire THREE WEEKS off of work for Christmas break and it has been AWESOME!!! That night was also our ward Christmas party. It was "A Night in Bethlehem". Everyone dressed up in old Bethlehem attire, we ate Bethlehem food, and had a really neat Christmas Program. Jon and I got to be Joseph and Mary and Bryce got to be Baby Jesus. It was really neat to have that opportunity!!

December 21st: I didn't take any pictures, but this was an AWESOME day. We went to the L.A. Zoo, then to Griffith Park for a picnic. After our picnic, I took Lizzie on a long bike ride. I wish that we lived closer to Griffith Park -- it is SO beautiful and peaceful. And the perfect place for biking.

December 22nd: Lizzie got sick. :(

December 24th: Christmas Eve. We invited Jon's parents, Darlene and Justin, and Justin's parents over for our Christmas Eve dinner. We made Argentine Chicken (Jon marinades the chicken in garlic, lemon, salt, pepper, vinegar, parsley, and onion and then grills it ---- it is THE BEST CHICKEN IN THE WORLD), broccoli salad, and bean salad. I also made foccocia bread and whole-wheat rolls that I thought were pretty good. I made honey-butter to go with the bread. Jon's Mom made her famous "yellow" rice too...also really good. Oh yeah, and I made pumpkin pie, and coconut macaroons, these cherry jello chocolate bars (kind of gross), and some mint fudge (that was also really gross and I ended up not even serving it). :) And Justin's parents brought drinks and some yummy dessert too. We had a feast and it was DELICIOUS!!

After we ate dinner, Jon played the piano and we all sang Christmas carols. It was really fun!!

Oh yeah...and I caught Lizzie's sickness that evening too. :(

December 25th: Christmas Day. Besides the fact that Lizzie and I were sick, it was an awesome day! We woke up and Lizzie got to see her new red car that we gave her for Christmas. Then we went to Jon's parents house for Breakfast (noodle-egg pancakes, hashbrowns, smoothies, etc.) and to open up our presents. We all recieved so many things and we feel truly blessed.

Here are just a few pictures of the day:

This is Lizzie, at our house, playing with her new tea-set that we bought her:

This is Lizzie in her new car. She really loves it, she was just concentrating on it so much that we couldn't get her to look up and smile for a picture!

Lizzie opening up some cute new shoes that Grandma got for her:

Opening a little cash register toy from Darlene and Justin:

Opening an Olivia Doll that we bought her. She LOVES the OLIVIA books...and she really likes her new doll too.

We bought her this red van on EBAY to go with her "family".

We got her 3 new Dr. Suess books --- she is OBSESSED with Dr. Suess books!

We bought her a "Very Hungry Catipillar" shirt. She really loves that book. The shirt? Not so much...

Bryce and Daddy...

We finally bought Lizzie another "baby" for her "family". She lost the baby last February and we just barely got around to finding another one on EBAY.

This is a blanket that Lizzie's great-aunt made for her.

Fast Forward to December 29th: After Christmas Day, we just relaxed at home while we all tried to recover from our colds. But yesterday, we ventured out into the world again and we had a really fun time!

We went to Santa Monica Beach first -- no swimming, of course, but the weather was PERFECT for hanging out on the beach. After the beach, we went out to eat at Souplantation. I love salad...and that place offers the biggest salad-bar ever! Afterwards, we went the the Getty Museum (an art museum). We had a good time, but next time, Jon and I want to go WITHOUT the kids so that we can fully appreciate the art rather than be so rushed.

Here are a few pictures of our day...

Lizzie, sporting her new pink sunglsses at the beach...

By the pier...

Uner the pier with her seashells that she found...

I took Lizzie on a bikeride along the coastline. It was AWESOME!! The biking path goes on for miles!!

While Lizzie and I were biking, Jon hung out with Bryce and took pictures of him. :) I can hardly wait for Bryce to get a little bit bigger so that he can sit in the bike trailer with Lizzie (as long as she leaves him alone...)

Here is Lizzie on the tram traveling up to the Getty Museum...

Daddy on the tram...

Bryce on the tram...

The kids and I after getting off of the tram...

An attempted family picture...no Bryce.

Another attempted picture...only half of Daddy. Oh well!

Anyway, that was a REALLY long post. I think that I will stop now!!!