Hiking in Griffith Park

We ventured to Griffith Park to do some hiking and see be a little more touristy. We had such fun doing a little off roading. Tristan did get a little grumpy at the end, but that was mainly a timing issue (hiking during lunch/naptime isn't the best idea). Scott, being the amazing father that he is, carried T on his shoulders through the rougher and steeper parts.





The best part was that these two really bonded on the trail. They spent most of it together talking, imagining and working together. This was them walking to the car as we were done. If this is how hikes end, we will go on many more!

Playing at the BEACH in JANUARY

We FINALLY decided to head to the beach on a sunny warm day in January. We went to the Santa Monica Pier and rode the ferris wheel to get the best view.



Then we walked down to the water. I envisioned the boys running from the waves and getting their toes wet, it is January afterall and the water is cold, but it went a lot farther than that. It started out like this...

And the ended up shirtless and drenched but having the time of their lives!

Tristan was a little nervous about the water but enjoyed playing in the sand...a little too much...stinker!

Modesto

After we left Sacramento we stopped through Modesto to stay at my Harrison Grandparent's house. We spent an evening talking and the kids played with toys I remember from my childhood there. In the morning we picked lemons (we brought a whole box home, yum) and went to the park before driving the rest of the way home.

Trip to Sacramento

After Christmas we mad a trip to Sacramento to see my extended family. It was so fun! We stayed with my Aunt Pam and her family but we saw everyone else almost every day too. We played lots of cards, went to the park, made a trip to Leatherby's, went on a hike and had a New Years celebration. It was busy and fun.
When I get together with my aunts playing cards is a given, it's what we do!

This is our Indiana Jones Adventure hike lead by Indiana hinself(my Uncle Jeff)


The boys loved playing a game of soccer with my big cousins.

All of the cousins together (missing a couple families)

Beverly Hills

We have to be a little touristy since we are still new to the area. Here's a pic of our family in front of a BIG Beverly Hills sign.

Christmas Day

We had a great Christmas and I just wanted to finally put up a couple cute pics of the most loved presents. All of the kids got pillow pets. Connor's favorites were all the Harry Potter books, and movies and a HP Wii game to boot. Haydn loved his club penguin game, dragon car, and dragon egg. Tristan got a few different Cars related sets. He LOVES his Lightning McQueen pillow pet, talking car and race track set. We opened Santa presents in the morning and family presents after church. We had a great dinner at home together and the holiday couldn't have been better.

Christmas Picture

This is our Christmas picture for the year. We were just too crazy doing practices for the musical on the weekends and Scott gets home after dark so we never got a chance to take a real family picture. We will soon though! I decided to just have our cute boys pose for our Christmas card. Here they are...

Just for fun, here are some outtakes...




We wish all our friends and family a VERY Merry Christmas!

Noah's Ark

A friend invited us to go to an amazing place called the Skirball Center. They have a Noah's Ark room for the kids. They have tons of animals made out of random things-rope, purses, keys, etc., as well as puppets, science activities, a craft and a ropey climbing area. The ark has lots of parts. They can make all the sounds of a storm- watch leaves blow, lightning strike and rain fall. Then they can build and load animals onto the arc. Inside there are lots of stuffed animals to play with and an area to climb around. The kids had loads of fun. The best part was, it was FREE. You can't beat a free fun activity for your kids on a rainy afternoon.

A Christmas Walk to Rodeo Drive

We took a little walk last week to go see the lights on Rodeo Dr. It's so close that we just had to. On the way we passed a McLaren dealership that has a real race car (an F1?) on display. We pass it all the time and just had to get a better look!

The tree and decor were beautiful of course! It's cool to be near all these posh places you only hear about. I'll probably NEVER shop there. It was a fun family outing though.

The Toy Shop Musical

Our new ward did an interesting activity for our Christmas party this year. They put on a musical production called "The Toy Shop". Primary kids were invited to be in it. Connor and Haydn both wanted to so we started rehearsals. They had about a month to prepare. Connor was a school child and had to learn 7 lines and 2 songs for the play. Haydn was a teddy bear and had to learn 1 line and 3 songs for the play. It was super cute!!! They both were awesome. Haydn kinda stole the show at one moment when the bears were a little confused about were to be on the stage. My camera died but we got a video of the whole thing. If you want a copy I can send one, let me know. I did manage to take some pics of Haydn's costume. Connor was just dressed to look like it was cold outside(hat and scarf). There was dessert afterwards and Santa came to visit.