A Very Merry Christmas

We had a lovely Christmas with many friends and family together. The picture above is of the people that were in attendance at our Christmas dinner out in Redlands at Jim and Sue's. We had a wonderful time, catching up on all of the latest cousin activities. The only cousins that couldn't be there were Jeannie (serving our country in the Coast Guard on the East Coast) and Evan (serving a full-time mission in Argentina).
Backing up a bit, last weekend we met Ian and Annie in Salt Lake City and view the lights at Temple Square. We loved seeing the Christmas Concert at the Conference Center.
As is standard, every year the kids still sleep under the tree and wait for Santa to come. This year Tony decided to sleep with them also, and wait for Santa to bring his catnip.
The first present Gavin opened was his parking garage. He had so much fun playing with it - and even Coco enjoyed playing with the cars.
There was total pandemonium for a bit when the wrapping paper started flying. Christmas is so much fun with little children around again.
Just before breakfast, we took a four-generation picture in the kitchen.
Coco was fine with playing with the cars until she opened up her first dolly and the dolly stroller. Then she kept pushing it around all morning long. Gavin finally put the cars down and wanted to push the stroller around also.
Coco took her dolly's shoes off and then tried to put them on her own feet. . .didn't quite fit.
One of our best Christmas presents was. . .video skyping with Evan in Argentina. We all gathered around the computer and were able to hear and see that he is doing just fine in San Pedro. The Maru family has taken such good care of him and we are grateful for all that they do for the missionaries. Gavin kept talking about Uncle the rest of the afternoon after the phone call.
Tica helped women in Kenya to earn a living by buying a lot of the necklaces that they make to earn a living. Coco and Gavin enjoyed trying all of them on. It was good to see Tica after she has spent the last 5 months in Kenya working at an orphanage.

Merry Christmas from Argentina

Evan spent Christmas Eve with the Maru family. They are a lovely family in San Pedro that has helped him in more ways that we can possibly thank them for. The father, Matias, is a singer and he and Evan have performed duets for the ward. Gaby and Matias also are fluent in English so they have been able to help Evan with perfecting his Spanish. They also are terrific cooks so they have been feeding Evan and his companion well over the past few months. We are grateful to them for their generosity and kindness. . .and today, we get to speak with Evan - and maybe even video skype with him. What a great Christmas present!
Evan is shown here making his favorite chocolate chip cookies for the Maru family.
Matias and Evan are shown here, just before another wonderful meal at the Maru home.

Christmas Light Show in Pleasant Grove

When we went to Utah, we saw this house with incredible lights and sound that came through the radio. . .one that shouldn't be missed.

Christmas Season Activities

The Christmas season has been filled with little people (and I am not talking elves) helping us decorate the tree (and in Ethan's case, undecorate the tree) and in general, get us into the spirit of Christmas.
I started out with taking Gavin and Ellie to "Christmas Is" at Citrus College. It is a marvelous production that would make Broadway proud of the skill and expertise of the college staff and students. The musical was about the magic ingredient of Christmas - love and giving. Ellie and Gavin enjoyed it and sat through the whole musical without squirming at all. They even got to go up on stage and sit with the elves and Santa and Mrs. Claus. We will definitely do this next year as it is a very professional production, with extraordinary singing and choreography.
Another Christmas highlight is the Brush neighborhood Christmas party. The grandkids had a great time picking out some of the delicious and spectacular looking desserts.
Ethan is eating, with glee, one of the wonderful desserts, while his parents look on and Megster tries to steer the chocolate away from his handsome outfit.
Santa stopped by the party to find out what the children wanted for Christmas. With all 4 grandchildren there, Brad and I had all that we wanted for Christmas.
Thanks again to the Brush family for a lovely holiday party. The food is incomparable, the hosts are most gracious and the guests were a lot of fun to mingle with.
Upon return to our home, we were surprised to see that Santa had stopped and delivered one present to each child. They quickly unwrapped each one and found new warm pajamas from Santa. . .good thing Santa brought them early because it has been cold.
They all put their pj's on and modeled them for us. Good choice, Santa!
Yesterday, Brad and I flew up to Salt Lake and were able to see the Christmas concert in the Conference Center, thanks to a wonderful Christmas present from our children. David Archuleta was the featured performer and actor Michael York did the narrative. It was an unforgettable experience and one that we will treasure always.
Finally after the concert, we walked around Temple Square and looked at the lights. It's hard not to feel the spirit of Christmas when we have so much to feel thankful for at this time in our lives.

Mile High Adventure

Gavin knows how to get through the airport easily.
Megan said one of the things the kids liked best to do was to ride the free 16th Street Ride.
The REI in Denver has a great kids play area.
We had dinner with the group one night.
Southwest sponsored a skating rink outside of our hotel and Jeannie and Helen took advantage of it.
The group enjoyed skating for about an hour.
Coco had a little help from Grandma and the aid for skaters
They played music at the rink. . .and Coco liked to rock out to the music.
We needed to get over to the City/County Building and the streets were packed due to the Parade of Lights. What better way to get around - pedicabs!!
Here we are with our two pedicabs and the drivers.
Karen and family joined us after the Parade of Lights.
The Christmas market in Georgetown was fun.
Coco was seeing eye-to-eye with the reindeers.
Meg suggested that the kids might like to take a short narrow gauge train trip above Georgetown. Santa was on the train also.
Santa is asking Coco what she wants for Christmas
Everybody got to talk with Santa after the train ride.
Ian and Annie at the Georgetown Loop.
Gavin is explaining to Santa about Thomas the Train and Henry.
The lovely City/County Building which is lit every year is one of the most beautiful light displays I have seen.

Another Preparation Day in Argentina

The Maru Family in San Pedro was kind enough to take Evan and his companion to the Vuelta de Obligado site on the Parana River. The naval Battle of Vuelta de Obligado took place on the waters of the Paraná River on November 20, 1845, between the Argentine Confederation, under the leadership of Juan Manuel de Rosas, and an Anglo-French fleet. The European countries were trying to access the interior of South America without paying the tariffs for trade demanded by the Argentine Confederation. There is also a wonderful nature preserve in the area where they all enjoyed hiking and climbing in the jungle.
The Maru family by the Parana River. Thanks to them for their care of missionaries.
Elder Diaz, Evan and Matias Maru by one of the commemorative art pieces. The chains to the right of the picture depict the chains that were strung from ship to ship across the river to keep the European vessels from accessing the upper ports on the Parana River.
Evan always has enjoyed playing frisbee in the parks.
Evan looks at an ocean-going vessel on the Parana River, that empties a good part of the interior of South America.

A Thanksgiving to be Thankful For

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, starting out with family and friends doing our own 5K Turkey Trot down on the bike path. . .had to make sure we had plenty of room for our dinner.
My parents and Brad's parents have been great friends for over 35 years so it was so much fun to see great friends with their great grandchildren.
Thanksgiving dinner was a delight, with lots to eat and love and friendship to be thankful for.
Family, friends, food and fun make this holiday my favorite of the year.
What better way to clean off after a heroic attempt to eat a great dinner. The kids love this big bathtub.
On Black Friday, we decided to forgo shopping and go to the Griffith Observatory and take the 3 mile hike to the top of Mt. Hollywood. This picture accurately depicts "Hooray for Hollywood!"
Cousins and sisters make the best friends in the world! What a great hike and view of Los Angeles from the top of the mountain.
Megster always does the best job getting everything prepared to do the gingerbread houses. We love this Christensen family tradition that has now become a Finlay family tradition.
The artists are at work on their beautiful homes. We had a great time decorating them. Thanks to Megster for her hard work.