Christmastime is here!

December consisted of family, family, family (and some friends). We put up Christmas decorations. Don't let the shorts fool you. If Landon can help it, he's either in shorts or pajamas. It was 19 degrees yesterday morning, and he trotted out in shorts after we'd sent him to get dressed. We let Ainsley have a gingerbread house making party. Landon and Kaylee got to invite a friend too! 

We attended choir concerts. We jumped into and played in massive leaf piles. We wore fancy clothes. Landon refuses to wear a tie, but he recently decided he loves bow ties - thank you Dr. Who. We baked a lot. 

We attempted family portraits. We ate good food (Kaylee took charge of table setting this year). We opened presents.

We played games and made some games. We played with new electronics. We fell asleep in the middle of the day. We said some sad goodbyes, but that was because we had such a wonderful time. Merry Christmas!

Wrapping it Up

I have realized that if I don't hurry up and finish writing about our California summer, I'll have a brand new round of California fun to write about before too long. So, here's a conglomeration of everything that's left! We played with Aunt Yoko and Grandpa and Landon worked from home.

Grandma and Kaylee crafted. Ainsley washed cars, and in her spare time she played with and fed the neighbor's cat. Landon and Kaylee thoroughly enjoyed the cat too. There were backyard water fights. Landon lost two teeth, including a snaggle tooth. Grandpa gave the girls guitar lessons.

We took a trip to the little water slide park near my parent's house. My dad rode one of the slides several times. The best ride of the day was when my dad and I went down together. Our weight combined had us zipping down so fast I thought we might fly right off the slide. We were laughing hysterically the whole way down.

We were all happy when Chris arrived. Of course, we went to the Jelly Belly factory and had our annual "Every Flavored Bean" competition. This year was the worst. I ended up with several vomit flavored beans. I was almost vomiting for real. We have some pretty hilarious video footage of the event. There was reading and snuggling with Grandma. Ainsley went on her first temple trip to perform baptisms for the dead. I love it that we went to the Oakland temple where she was sealed to Chris and I when she was a baby. Chris and I, Grandma and Grandpa Gadd, and Ainsley's Great Grandma Gadd were all there with her! Landon and Kaylee enjoyed walking around the temple grounds and taking a tour through the Visitor's Center. And last but not least, my brother introduced me to P90X (it was a sweat fest), and my dad and I went on several bike rides. Our longest ride was 24 miles! Hooray for family!