San Francisco with the Rest of the Gang

The next morning we met up with the cousins - yeah! We had 18 in all - what a mob to take around the city! Camille, Kaitlyn and I stopped in at Trader Joe's to pick up some breakfast and snacks, then we ran to one last store to get a pair of shoes. We met up with Mom, Susan, Carly, Chris, Michelle, Todd and Laurie at the Legion of Honor. I have never been there when it was so crowded! But the art was wonderful as always, and the courtyard offers the traditional picture opportunities!

After a through exploration of the exhibits, we sat outside and ate up the snacks from Trader Joe's.

The other half of the mob - Julie, Tyler, Carisa, Jared, Sam, Chelsea and Sam stopped at the Jelly Belly Factory on the way into the city.

We found them at the Palace of Fine Arts - conducting a photo shoot!

Here is most of us - but Laurie, Todd, and Michelle stayed at the Legion to see some special exhibits.

We split up again, sending one group to get lunch and another group back to Union Square for more shopping.

Here is some of the lunch crowd. Dino's - on Filmore - fantastic pizza. Say yes to extra garlic. YUMMY!

The pizza group met up with the museum group and went to see the bridge - then off to the pier and wharf.

The St. Francis (Westin) does an amazing gingerbread house ever year.

And we went to see the tree at Union Square. It is huge - and real. There was a couple next to us that was outraged that they cut down a real tree!

Camille, Carly, Chelsea and Kaitlyn at Union Square.

The Macy's windows were adorable. Most of the animals had been adopted, but there were three adorable little puppies and a few kittens in the windows still. These girls are beautiful in ever picture!
We went down to Crissy Fields to see the bridge. Two cute sisters!

We all re-grouped at my apartment to rest a little before everyone drove home. Carly, Kaitlyn, Camille and I slept here and went back to Fawnhill in the morning. I had to take a conference call for work, and then we did brunch at Judy's in the Marina (if you go - get the potatoes! amazing!!) Notice how I remark on all the food!?

It was a great two days in the city. We packed in as much as we could!

Shopping Shopping and More Shopping

Kaitlyn turned 16 on Saturday, and the trip to San Francisco was her big celebration. We headed out in the morning to hit the stores.
We started out in Chinatown where we went to my favorite places for good deals. The girls both got great scarves. The guy kept trying to get us to buy 7 for $19.99. I realize it is a good deal, but how many scarves can three people wear? If you are in town - go to the corner of Grant and California - two or three stores towards Sacramento and you will see a stall. Nice scarves and wraps for a really good price.

I showed them the great Chinatown junk (my favorite is Grant and Sacramento) and saw the sights - then off to some serious shopping.

We hit three H&M stores - and bought items in each one of them. Doesn't Kaitlyn look great in the french berets?

We took a lunch break and got sushi and other Japanese delicacy's.

We tried California rolls, Alaska (salmon) rolls, Soba Noodles, and teriyaki chicken. All very yummy, and everyone was very adventurous.

I thought that the Forever 21 store was impressive with this huge balcony and the chandeliers. I think it was against store policy to take pictures in any of the stores we were in...opps. But only a few people told me to stop.
We needed a little substance by mid afternoon, so we picked up some tasty gelato at the mall food court.
After nine hours of shopping, we made it back home and rested at my place. We ordered Chinese for dinner (why not hit all of the Asian cuisines?) It was a great day, and Camille and Kaitlyn were troopers - not a moment of complaint or whining.

The only sad moment was when we found the perfect Coach shoes on a spectacular sale - but alas! in the wrong size. Otherwise, it was a most successful trip. Everyone found good deals and got great stuff. I was even talked into buying the perfume I have wanted since college (Eternity - yes I am that old). I guess it is not an impulse purchase if you have been considering it for 20 years!

Sunday at Fawnhill

We brought Kaitlyn back to Fawnhill with us to celebrate the New Year and get a great California tour.
We started on Sunday with a trip up to the ditch for a walk and stick race.
And of course we fed the donkeys. Kaitlyn did not like the Donkey slobber.

And here are the lovely girls just before church.

It was a brief stop at Fawnhill, as Kaitlyn, Camille and I packed up and drove to the city after Sunday dinner.

Christmas Day

Finally, Christmas morning arrived. I managed to stay in bed until 7am, by then Camille and Michelle had had enough of this sleeping in thing!

It was a relatively small crowd: Mom, Dad, Me, Laurie, Todd, Michelle, and Camille. We could not get to the stockings for the boxes, so they got opened last. That was certainly a first!

Here I am modeling my new rain boots, OSU pants, and down vest. Pretty nice combination~ah!

Mom made aprons for all of the girls in the family - aren't we cute?

Along with my OSU pants, Mark picked out several additions to my collection of Newberry books. I might need to start a book shelf for my collection....yeah! I can't wait to use my new lantern over Memorial Day!!

Camille picked out these new jammies - I think she wins the elf award.

Dad and Todd designed and made this piano bench for Camille - our future band teacher.

Here are my girls in their new Old Navy outfits.

This was actually Christmas eve, when Camille and Michelle opened up their one gift (jammies) Kaitlyn and Karyn got their quilts.

Thanks to Mom for all her help in making the quilts. They turned out so cute!

Santa Mark? and the girls came over for Christmas lunch. I think the highlight for everyone were the missionary phone calls. Scott called us 15 min later than he had scheduled - I thought his mother would die from the anticipation! Matt was also late calling his family. Do these missionaries think we can take that type of stress? Great reports from both missions - Mark and Todd will have to fight out who has the best son.

Beautiful Michelle helping clean up dinner.

Camille and Karyn - happy girls on Christmas.

After dinner I went with Mark and the girls to visit their friends. Just a family get together - watching the kids with their new toys, chatting, eating, the perfect activities. It was a wonderful Christmas.

Christmas Eve - The Play

Like many families we have a tradition of acting out the nativity play. We were a little short on our cast this year, but we still had a good show. Several years ago I made Laurie's family some basics for her costumes and she had collected some great props along the way. I got to be a Shepard. I had a little white dog (Mac) to be my sheep, but he was very cooperative.
Dad is always the narrator.

Michelle and Camille made excellent Wise man costumes.

And Laurie and Todd got to pull the leads - Mary and Joseph. It was funny - as soon as we got to the "everyone come to the manger and see the baby Jesus" scene - the car and dog came right over and sat down. They looked pretty darn authentic.

Mark, Karyn and Kaitlyn came over after the play. Karyn wanted us to do it again and let her be baby Jesus. They had been at home waiting to hear from Matt their missionary. He was calling to tell them what time to be expecting his call on Christmas morning. See how Mark is glowing...he was sure happy to talk to his boy.

A very fun and traditional Christmas Eve. Everyone went to bed and Laurie and I spiffied up for Santa to come. We were two tired elves, but it was lovely for the morning.

A Visit to Eugene

I was so excited when I realized that my cousins would be home for Christmas in Oregon and I would be able to see them. They live just about an hour from my sister's house, so we went down one night for dinner. It is always fun to be at their house, and it brings back so many memories. They have lived in the same place for almost 40 years, and I have spent summers, weddings, graduations, etc in this house. It never seemed to matter that there were way too many people to fit in the house. We just crammed in and had fun.
Uncle Jerry - looking good. We are all so glad that he is feeling better and going to get those knees fixed finally!

Aunt Marilyn made a feast for us - soups and home made french bread. So good!

My cousin Jennifer pulled out a game - Snorta. I highly recommend it - kind of a matching memory game. Good for a crowd and very funny.

Two of my darling Cousins! Now I ask you, how can a girl compete with this type of beauty?

And here is the whole gang. It was odd visiting my cousins with just three of them home. With a family of 8, the house seemed so empty with so many gone! All of the married siblings went to the in-laws, so just the three unmarried girls were at home. They call it the virgin Christmas. I am so glad that we got to visit.

Thanks for a great evening and wonderful dinner.