Merry Christmas

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas! Gram, Pop, Laurye and Lauren joined us and we had such a wonderful time visiting with them. I was so lucky to get so many thoughtful gifts from family and from Santa. Santa left me a note telling me how much he loved the cookies and hot cocoa. We'll keep that in mind for next year!

Dear Santa

I spent some time with Santa Claus tonight. We read books, took a few pictures and I told him what I wanted for Christmas. The only thing I want is a shiny horse or a unicorn (a real one, not a stuffed animal) ... we'll see what he comes up with!

Christmas Tree

Yesterday we went to a local Christmas tree farm with my friend Christopher and his family. We found a great tree to bring home with us. Daddy got busy chopping it down for us. It was really tall, so tall that we couldn't even put it upright in our garage. He had to trim a few feet off the bottom before we could start decorating. It turned out so beautiful!

Malibu Tidepools

A few weeks ago we spent some time sifting through the tidepools in Malibu. It was a beautiful day! We saw crabs, sea urchins, lobster shells (insides already a tasty treat to some seagulls) and a lot of beautiful shells. Mommy and I added them to the ones we got down in San Diego. We have quite a collection.

Next Year...Gingerbread Men

We were all filled with anticipation with our gingerbread house kit. I lined up all the candy and mommy put the house together, then we waited the suggested 15 minutes for the icing to harden. Daddy was determined to make the perfect roofline but the top started collapsing and breaking. While I decorated, mommy held the house together and kept pumping icing all over the place in hopes that it would stay together. It looked ok and we got a picture but then it immediately fell in on itself. The whole thing was in the trash within minutes. Next year... gingerbread men!

More Celebrating

A couple days after my birthday Gram and Pop came to town to celebrate with me. I stayed with them in a cabin at the beach. It was too chilly for the surf but I enjoyed cuddling up with Gram by the fire. I was lucky enough to get a lot of very thoughtful gifts from my family. The day before we headed to Laurye's for Thanksgiving dinner I was able to show off my school and all the fun fall decorations.

4th Birthday at Disneyland

I went to Disneyland for my 4th birthday yesterday and it was magical! It was especially beautiful with all the Christmas decorations. I met three of the Disney princesses, Mickey, Minnie and Goofy, they were all so happy to wish me a happy birthday. We rode the Teacups, It's a Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean and Alice in Wonderland among other things. I didn't quite make it for the evening parade and, apparently, daddy and mommy had some fun dressing me up on the way out of the park.

Happy Halloween!

I went trick-or-treating tonight with my friend and next door neighbor, Christopher, and his cousin Isabella. We really made out with the candy and I've already had to be placed on a rationing plan. Daddy walked around scaring people with his Michael Myers mask. One girl even took a picture with him. The picture of mommy and I was before we went to our MOPS Halloween party a couple weeks ago.

Sea World and Coronado Island

After the race we brought Grandma and Grandma to the airport and headed down to San Diego. We stayed on the beach down on Coronado Island, another amazing view. The next morning we went to Sea World. We watched shows with Shamu, dolphins and fed the sea lions. One of the most amazing moments was when I was able to pet a young kangaroo. He was part of a show with performing rescue animals. You wouldn't believe how soft his coat was!

That night mommy and I made our way down the beach with a bucket to collect shells. We found a purple sand dollar which mommy says is very special We filled the bucket and still need to sift through which are 'keepers', as mommy says. She was amazed by the tiny pieces of shell I could find...the entire bucket was filled and I was covered in sand. It was tons of fun and the sunset was amazing!

Los Angeles 1/2 Marathon

We all loaded up the car and headed down to the Convention Center in LA Saturday so mommy and daddy could pick up their numbers and gear for the 1/2 marathon the next day. Even Grandma and Grandpa were inspired. We stayed on the 17th floor of a downtown Marriott which had panoramic views of the city and the Hollywood sign. We couldn't have asked for a better view!

The next morning mommy and daddy caught a bus up to the starting line and began running the 13.1 miles at 7:39am. They both did really well and felt extremely strong throughout the race. Daddy finished in 2:10 and mommy in 2:53. Both were pleased with their times and excited to see the finish line!