Last Day of School

Both of the boys on their last day of school before Christmas break--Parker on pajama day with his Santa hat on, and little Levi Reindeer (with a red nose) devouring a green Christmas tree rice crispy treat. 

Christmas Kids

I made the kids put on some red clothes and pose in front of the Christmas tree for me a little while ago--Levi was pretty excited about it, as you can see in his first few shots, Parker was less than thrilled, and then their patience waned when I tried to get them to pose together lovingly. But I managed to get a few good ones to capture the moment and their personalities at this age!

Mission Bay Mini-Vacation

A few days before the start of Christmas vacation, we came across a Groupon deal for the Bahia Resort Hotel in Mission Bay. We've always admired the location of this hotel, as it's right on a couple of our favorite coves, where we often ride bikes, sail, and play in the water. We reserved a room for Sunday night, and got our break off to a good start with a little mini-staycation. 

We loved the location of the hotel--as you can see, our room was very convenient for storing and launching the Sabot! We kept it right on the grass outside our slider, and easily carried it onto the beach to launch. It was such the perfect spot for the kids to go right outside the room and play--Jared and the boys went for a nice long walk along the water early on Monday morning casting their fishing poles. Then we got the boat in the water and waited for the wind to come up--we were able to spend a couple of hours out sailing and playing in the sand before we hurried back to check out on time! The weather on Monday was absolutely amazing--perfectly blue sky, sunny, warm, and really clear water. The breeze was light but perfect for Parker to practice sailing some more--he's really gotten the hang of steering with the tiller and determining the direction of the wind/which way to steer accordingly. He is always so proud and excited when he sails--we all love it. 

That's our room, right behind the Sabot. 

The view from our room to the marina--so pretty. The paddleboat on the right is a reproduction, but it was very pretty and lit up at night. Unfortunately, it doesn't run during the winter, but at other times of the year registered hotel guests can go for boat rides across the bay for free. 

The boys did a lot of this during the evening--what the heck, it's vacation! It was really cold and windy that evening, so it made sense to hunker down inside. Our room was a suite, which was cool--it had a little stove, good sized mini-fridge, microwave, toaster, and sink. There was a separate, very small bedroom with a queen-sized bed, and this couch opened up into a big bed, where the boys slept. They absolutely loved their bed! They had the best view of the bay and lights at night--jealous.

Parker took this picture of Levi--he was absolutely giddy, loving jumping on the bed/couch and being silly. Hotels are so fun!

Woke up to a gorgeous day on Monday. On the sand right outside our room. You can rent kayaks, peddle boats, stand up paddle boards, and bikes right here, as well as sailboats and probably motor boats. 

The Bay was absolutely deserted--the beaches and water were virtually our own.

Sand sledding--Christmas in Southern California :)

Captain Parker at the helm--he was pointing to the buoy that were were going to tack around. The wind was perfect--light enough that he could sail himself without any issues, but strong enough that we still clipped along. I love that Sabot!

Wishing for wind...duck pond.

Merry Christmas!

Leaving milk and cookies out for Santa before bedtime on Christmas Eve.

No time to waste--Parker started putting his new Lego set from Grammy and Grampa together as soon as we got home on Christmas Eve. He woke up early by himself on Christmas morning and continued building without saying a word (or, presumably, peeking at any presents).

Levi wrapped (well, Mommy wrapped) about eight presents for Baby in the days before Christmas. This was totally his idea--he told me he wanted to give her presents because she is his best friend and she's a lovely girl. Where does he get these ideas?? He is definitely his own kid. He chose little toys from around the house and I wrapped them--I finally had to tell him I was DONE wrapping presents--no more!!

The view on Christmas morning. Santa was here!

Christmas sunset, Cassidy Street beach. We were blessed with amazing weather these last couple of days.

Christmas Eve

Thank you to Grammy and Grampa for a lovely Christmas Eve in Carlsbad! It was a really nice way to get the holiday started--and for the boys to start celebrating early--I thought they might explode if they had to wait much longer to open some presents! Grammy cooked us a really good ham dinner and all opened presents. The boys were so happy and excited and pleasant. We came home and played with new Legos for a little while before bed, sprinkled reindeer food on the lawn, looked in the sky for Santa's sleigh (no sight of him yet), left out a cookie and milk under the tree, read Twas the Night Before Christmas, and hit the hay. Both boys fell asleep amazingly fast, giving Santa plenty of time to get here and drop off their presents and fill their stockings. Twas a Merry Christmas Eve!

Pajama Day!

Last day of school before Christmas vacation! Pajama day today--and also movies, crafts, and treats. Should be a fun day! Parker was very willing and excited to wear his Santa hat to school today--he's really into it :)

 

Parker's List

"I'm Up Super High!"

"You must take a picture of me!"

Croup

Levi has croup this week, and despite it all he still manages to have a happy spirit. Here he is all bundled up in the stroller waiting to pick Parker up from school...might as well be cozy.

 

Letters to Santa

I forgot to get a picture of Parker's letter and list!