Christmas in California

Here are some of the pictures from Christmas at the Finlay house. It was a full house this year which we loved. Brooke was with us just prior to Christmas, Brad's parents came from Ohio, Katinka came from Holland to stay with us for a month, the Crumps came down from Roseville and Ilenia from Italy (who stayed with us 8 years ago),and her new husband, Igor, spent part of their honeymoon with us - it's sure to be a very long marriage now.

The first picture is Christmas Eve and as is the usual tradition, the kids all slept out in the living room waiting for Santa, after we read the Christmas story. The second picture is of some of the kids at Christmas dinner. In the third picture, Ilenia had just cut the Pandoro and was getting ready to serve it. . .she said that Christmas dinner in Italy wasn't complete without it. The next picture is of all of us at Santa Anita, watching the horses work out in the morning. Finally, Erin and Evan worked on the Palmdale float for the Rose Parade. They must have done a good job as the float won an award.

Ellie enjoyed visiting her 9th state, and playing in the beach once again. She was so spoiled staying at the Ritz Carleton on Key Biscayne for Ian's conference, she says she is never going to allow cheap hotels again. She loved the swimming pools, but wasn't as big of a fan of the ocean.

Right outside the Ritz


Playing with Cousin Brooke on the beach

Buried in the sand!

Having fun in the pool!

A Funny Take

Well my finals are done!  I can't believe Christmas break is already here.  I am very excited.  

One of the issues that comes up VERY often in vet med is Animal Rights.  There is massive confusion about this topic in the media and quite frankly it would be really bad for the profession.  I found this comical view of the matter on The Onion (a pseudo-news source) which really pokes some pretty good fun at the whole issue.  I thought I would put it on the blog for a good chuckle.  I am just so giddy to be done with finals...

Should Animals Be Doing More For The Animal Rights Movement?

The White Coat Ceremony

Here are James, Ster and Rooter right after James received his White Coat in veterinary school. Now it's no more classes and onto the clinic work for a year and a half.



The Christensens, Finlays from Akron and Margaret and Ian all came to help celebrate with James at the White Coat Ceremony.



We took a short trip up to Frankenmuth to see the World's Largest Christmas store and to visit the Silent Night Chapel.



Rooter with her Mom, two Grandmas and even a Great Grandma.

Southern California Mormon Choir

Last Saturday night we had the opportunity to hear the Southern California Mormon Choir perform their Christmas concert. The performance was amazing. Brad just recently auditioned for the group and made it in. He has a great voice and really looks like he enjoys performing. This was the first of many performances and travel opportunities Brad will have with the choir.

Ohio Thanksgiving

We enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving dinner at Gram and Gramp's place in Ohio. We were sad that they couldn't be there, but it was nice to have a spot were the Eastern Finlays could get together. We ate way too much but that was nice for left overs the next day.



While traveling to Amish Country we stopped by the Smuckers factory. They now own Pilsbury so Roots had her picture taken with the ultimate dough boy.



In Amish Country we put Roots in a little kettle to keep her out of trouble. She had a great time as did we!



Just before the BYU vs. Utah game started we visited Kirtland Ohio. This is the city of much of the history of the LDS Church. We had a great time there, although it was pretty chilly.

Bicoastal Thanksgiving

Some members of the family spent Thanksgiving in the midsection of the United States while others enjoyed the holiday on the West Coast as well as the East Coast. Erin and Jeannie were able to spend time together on Nantucket Island. The girls reported that the weather was very chilly, but clear. The first picture is taken in front of Brandt Point Lighthouse. It looks like Erin is serving up a beautiful turkey with all the trimmings for their dinner. The girls enjoyed a real New England feast with several other friends from the Whaling Museum. Meanwhile at Morro Bay, the weather was warm and sunny as we enjoyed a Thanksgiving breakfast in the backyard. The smoked turkey for dinner was delicious, as always. Not only was it Stephanie and John's first Thanksgiving dinner, but we also enjoyed the company of two exchange students from Munich, friends of Allison's from Cal Poly. The last picture is taken with Mom and Dad and the grandchildren on Cuesta Ridge, along a fire road at the top of Cuesta Grade, outside of San Luis Obispo. We took a picnic supper there and enjoyed breathtaking views as the sun was setting over the ocean. As dusk settled in, it did get chilly and breezy. All across the country, where ever we were, it was wonderful being together as a family for Thanksgiving.

Utah Thanksgiving

The weather has been perfect here for Thanksgiving. We hiked to the Y on the mountain above BYU in the morning and then had a delicious dinner at the Christensen's in South Jordan. The Christensen rolls and desserts are always unparalleled. Last night, we all went to Temple Square to see the hundreds of thousands of lights lit for the Christmas season. It was cold but really made it seem like the holiday season was in full swing. Today, is carpet cleaning at the townhouse and watching the bitter rivalry BYU vs. University of Utah football game. It's been a great way to spend the long weekend, despite not being with the whole family.

Silver Bells

For reasons not known to us Lansing has its kick off to the Christmas season over a week before Thanksgiving. So we went out to enjoy the party streets near the Capitol with some neighbor friends of ours (Joyce, Deb and Paiton) to enjoy fireworks and an electrical light parade. Roots stayed bundled up in her mom's coat to stay warm.



This picture has been altered a little to drown out the effects of having a flash. I would have trashed this picture, Root's face really shows how much she was enjoying being out and about with friends.



This is us in front of the tree that was lit up in by the capitol building.



Here is a cute pic of Roots helping make the bed. Where does she get those faces???

Poverty and Wealth in Lousiana

The final day of the trip was spent going into the lower 9th Ward in New Orleans. Even though it is over two years since the Katrina hurricane, it looked like only about 10 to 20 % of the houses were being lived in. There is still so much to be done there. The final picture is of Alana at Oak Alley Plantation along the River Road.

New Orleans Nights and Days

The annual Congress of Cities was held in New Orleans this year, with over 4000 elected officials in attendance. Margaret had the NLC Board meeting and dinner at Antoine's and spoke to a group of other councilmembers on the City/School partnerships in Duarte. Alana took a few days off and flew to New Orleans to meet with attorneys that are involved in city government. One of the things that we did was to help rebuild New Orleans in some of the devastated parts of the city. The three pictures are of a one- day operation to put together a playground for a badly deteriorated neighborhood. The first picture is about 11:30 a.m. and the final picture is of part of the play equipment about 4 p.m. There were about 200 people to help make the playground a reality. We have learned a lot of lessons from this trip about being prepared for disasters in the city.

Playing Dressup

I don't really understand what Halloween is. Mom borrowed some funny clothes and kept getting me dressed and laughing at me. (You can tell by looking at my face in the pictures that I didn't think it was funny at all). Daddy kept giving me brightly colored wrappers to chew on while he ate the boring brown stuff that was inside the wrappers. So, I'm pretty sure I got the good end of the deal on that one.
Mom said I was too young to go trick-or-treating, but maybe next year.

More North Shore

The first picture is taken from the balcony of the condo. It had just rained 3 inches overnight and as you can see, there is a lake where there is usually no lake on the first fairway of the golf course. This was Grammie and Grampie's 67th Anniversary so we celebrated with breakfast out on the deck. The next picture was taken in front of the huge banyan tree that is about a mile walk from the condo in the jungle. Finally, Meg and Gavin are pictured in front of Turtle Bay with the Turtle Bay Resort and the golf course in the background. Aloha!

Hang Loose, Gavin

Yesterday was a nice day for the beach so we headed down to Sunset Beach, where they are starting a surf championship today. Fortunately during the night a big storm came through and today there are big waves. Gavin liked the warm sand and even liked getting the bottom part of his body wet in the ocean. Looks like we have a future surfer here.

Ghosts, Goblins and Whales on Nantucket!

Erin reports from Nantucket Island that there were many fun activities for the local residents on Halloween. All of the docents at the Nantucket Whaling Museum dressed up in a variety of different costumes. Erin decided to play Jane Austen for the day, dressing up as one of the characters from Pride and Prejudice. Leading the parade down Main Street was Clara the Whale, escorted by her bodyguard, the harpooner. The local children followed Clara throughout the downtown, trick or treating along the way. The museum uses the whale costume for special occasions. If I were Clara the Whale, I'd try to keep a few steps ahead of the harpooner. That harpoon looks pretty sharp!

Hawaiian Halloween

Gavin arrived in Hawaii to "help" redecorate the condo with his Mom, Grandma and Great Grandparents. He dressed up in his giraffe costume and we all went up to the resort to watch the sunset over the ocean while we had Happy Hour. Gavin met a friend up there, Avery, who was dressed as a Hawaiian girl. . .but Gavin won the best costume award.