Christmas

I can't believe the holidays have come and gone. Where does the time go? I LOVE Christmastime so, so much. Our little family had a wonderful Christmas.

To start things off, Boyce got a full 2 weeks off from work, and we decided to take full advantage. The first week, we drove down to Bakersfield, stayed a couple of days with Boyce's parents, and then left Gracie with Grandma and Grandpa while Boyce and I took a little mini-vaca. We went to Disneyland and had so much fun! How is it that Peter Pan is still my favorite ride (from the time I was 4)? We got there before the park opened and were one of the first ones in, and so many Disney workers greeted us as we went in. Seriously, you feel so special. :)

Us at the Blue Bayou Restaurant Inside the Pirates Ride

Suzanne's Dream Disney Job - Rollerskating Snowflake Girl

It's a Small World All Decked Out for Christmas

The next day, we took a ferry to Catalina Island and spent 2 nights there. We'd never been there and had a great time. It was the off season, so the island was very quiet, and lots of local shops were closed. But we took advantage of the quietness and just relaxed. We did manage to do the island's eco-zipline, which was amazing! The island has a place called The Casino that was built by William Wrigley during the island's heyday, and now the Casino is just a huge movie theater. So we went and saw Tin Tin (it only shows one movie a week, and to our dismay, we missed The Muppets by a night).

We also had a chance to walk around the island a little, where we stumbled across an actual pet cemetery. Wow. Who knew?

Actual Pet Cemetery

Pelican with The Casino in the Distance

We ended our excursion with a semi-submarine tour where we got to see lots of the local fish and marine life.

After Catalina, we went back to Doug and Rinez's and enjoyed a couple more nights with them before heading back on Christmas Eve.

My dad and sister then came the day after Christmas and stayed the week. We had a great time just being together as a family. Since they came a couple days after Christmas, we waited until they were here to open presents and have Christmas dinner. As expected, Gracie didn't really know what to do as far as unwrapping presents, so we helped her out a little. :) But she sure enjoyed her gifts - a little piano and teacup set, both that play lots of songs. She is quite a lover of all things music, so they were a hit.

Grace with Aunt Kat

New Year's Eve with Dad, Kat, and Her Boyfriend Brian