Pinnacles National Monument

Nothing makes me happier than a little family adventure on a nice day.

This was a good one that included a talus cave filled with (sleeping) bats.

Thinking we did about 3 miles total and everyone did awesome.

Sally could've stayed strong the whole way if she didn't need a bathroom towards the end.

Justin and I were the only ones excited about going in the first place but everyone ended up loving it.

Happy day.

Party at Our House

 This is what our New Year's Eve looked like.

Jealous?

Earlier that day August got diagnosed with bronchiolitis.

He's been pretty miserable.

And mean me was going to take him to a parade for an hour anyway.

But then we found out the van battery was completely dead.

(my fault)

And it wouldn't recharge.

So we had to stay home.

First New Year's Eve we've spent with just us...ever?

Everyone else was fine with it, but I was bummed to not make it to First Night or a bonfire with friends.

Tried to make the most of it, though and the kids got to choose what we ate and did.

Food requests: Gushers, Fruit by the Foot, pizza, Goldfish

Activity requests: movies, Nook, puzzles, Apples to Apples.

Done.

And I made myself fruit pizza because it looked so good in pictures from Rachel's birthday party.

Owen had a nap in there somewhere, but everyone (except Auggie) made it to midnight.

Party!

After some nebulizer treatments and antibiotics Mr. Bronchiolitis is doing better.

Still whiny and clingy, but better.

Felt so good to get the van battery fixed and get out of the house for some Starbucks tonight.

A couple more 2013 memories before we move on:

A kitchen floor tea party with August in his pink-eyed glory.

And a seriously pretty bike ride at Fort Ord Dunes.

During which Sally said, "It's a beautiful day to go shopping!"

Happy New Year!

Christmas Bonus

Yep, still posting about Christmas.

But 2 days after Christmas, I took baptism pictures for my friend's daughter in our favorite forest:

And while we were there, we saw the tree in the first picture all decked out.

Loved it and had to bring the whole family back later that day to show them.

Sally was the most excited and couldn't resist a little rearranging.

Another bonus every time we go to the forest (which I finally learned has a name: Rip Van Winkle) is the dogs being walked. The owners are usually nice to let the kids play with them.

After a little trip to the library, Justin obliged my request to walk around by Coast Guard Pier.

All the Christmas lights were still up and it was so pretty. I felt like I hadn't been out much since Thanksgiving and wasn't quite ready for the Christmas season to be over. This brought me some closure.

This, and getting up close and personal with my favorite "Peace on Earth" lights. I didn't see them as much this year because of where we live. So sometimes I would specifically go out of my way just to drive past them.

Can't explain why they make me so happy, but they do. It was also cool seeing the huge boats being repaired on this dock.

On an unrelated note, we let the kids choose out their ornament for the year the day after Christmas (50% off, yay). The price tags aren't left on to be tacky, they're there so we can exclaim in 20 years about how cheap they were.

Arranged in order from oldest to youngest. Justin chose Auggie's little stocking. Love it. Love them all, actually.

K now I'm done w/Christmas. I think.

Christmas Day

The pictures say it all.

K most everything.

It was a really great Christmas.

Justin was miraculously better late Christmas Eve.

The weather was perfect.

Our sandmen were awesome.

The Chinese food was not, but I love the tradition (2 years in a row makes it one).

And yes, Owen really did doze off in the middle of dinner.

Didn't last long, but he was wiped out.

Owen and Drew were beyond happy with their Nooks.

Sally wore her "real" high heels all day.

August developed pink eye.

One of my favorite things was riding Auggie down to the beach on my bike.

It is so fun every time.

Even better this time, because Justin drove us home and I didn't have to go up the hill.

Drew's little tooshie in his new underwear wasn't a bad ending to the day.