Until Next Time

We flew out of Seattle at 5 pm on Christmas Eve, and arrived in San Diego just after 8 pm. Visits to San Diego are my favorite. I really like my family.

The girls got exactly one present from me and Kyle and 47 from my family members. This picture captures the morning perfectly----actually, it captures our entire visit perfectly----a room full of people staring at my girls in pure adoration.

It was a typical Christmas, with gourmet Hartwell food and a lot of boisterous company. Delicious, exhausting, and wonderful.

For my birthday, Kyle and I met up with our friends, the Adams, and spent an afternoon at the San Diego Zoo. Truth be told, the girls were more interested in playing with their long-lost-friends than looking at the animals. We missed them dearly!

To wrap up the birthday festivities, we had dinner at my favorite sushi restaurant. Kyle and Kerrisa are slightly less adventurous with their food than me and Jordan, but they each agreed to try one bite. This is a picture of Kyle "accidentally" dropping said bite on the floor. Next time, we'll give him a fork.

A cold front moved over San Diego while we were visiting, which means one thing to every San Diegan: SNOW in the mountains. London wanted to build a snowman, and Sierra really likes pie, so we caravanned up to Julian. Maeci built the snow woman while London threw snowballs at her, and accidentally knocked the head off several times. Elle ran around in circles, chatting, eating the snow, until her nap-time crash.

The week after Christmas, the beaches were quiet and peaceful. Uncle Noah spent the day with us in Coronado, digging, finding shells and sand dollars, and chasing seagulls. My girls ran up and down the coastline, holding Uncle Noah's hands.

Tasty!

Moo Time was the perfect end to a day spent in the California sun.

Taryn, OJ, and Maeci took London out for an afternoon. She loves to do activities with "grown-ups", and I love that they are so willing to make her feel special! They rented a surrey, and London sat on the front, in her little bike helmet, as happy as a three-year-old can be. 

Our two weeks came to a close all too quickly. In an attempt to lift London's spirits, I asked her, "Who are you most excited to see in Washington?" 

-"Taylor, and An Missa [Aunt Melissa]. And I want to listen to Taylor Sift in our car, too!"

Until next time, San Diego.