The Golden State

We spent Christmas and New Year's in California hoping to catch a little of that California sunshine. Apparently we missed the memo where the state was set to be wholly submerged during the month of December. Oops.

As per usual, JT had to work on Christmas Eve. That usually puts a total damper on my Christmas spirit. I adore family and hate having to spend holidays away from them. However, we got to spend it with JT's aunt, uncle, and cousins! Our FIRST Christmas Eve with family!!!!! It was so nice to spend time with them and even get a chance to see Brandon and Anna! We enjoyed Christmas morning breakfast with them and were joined by JT's grandparents. Grandpa came this year dressed to the nines! I've never seen a Marines Corps Santa Clause before. :)

We drove into California that afternoon and got to spend time with both sides of our families. It was a quiet holiday with a lot of family time. It was absolutely perfect!

That Sunday we held the twins' one year-old birthday paty. I know, I know...it's a bit early. But we really wanted their first birthday to have both sets of grandparents there. It turned out really nice. The kids were showered with attention and gifts. It was wonderful to have so much family there.

New Year's Eve was another relatively quiet day for us. We went out to dinner with Nathan & Katie, celebrated the Mexican New Year with my family (gotta say, I LOVED not having to wait until midnight), and played the wii with JT's family until midnight.  Well, correction: everyone else played the wii until midnight while I tucked myself right into bed. 5 minutes to midnight I came out. Hey, I think it counts.

I'm sorry I don't have a lot of pictures to go along with this post. Our camera was mostly MIA during the holidays. However, I did see a MILLION camera flashes going off during the birthday party. I'm sure someone must have a picture or two they wouldn't mind sending me. *wink wink*

All things considered, this vacation was the best one EVER. No stress + lots of family = actual rest and relaxation!
I know! Completely unheard of.