Christmas Visits

One of the joys, for me, during Christmas is the opportunity to visit with family and friends. At the beginning of December my sister-in-law and her family came up to visit and enjoy the town's Christmas activities. Mark and the kids rode the "train". Then the kids climbed through a train bounce house, ran through some "snow flurries" and pet a few barn animals in the petting zoo area (Ira was particularly fond of the chicken).

Train Ride

The weekend before Christmas my cousin came up from Orange County to visit. It was great seeing her--I last saw her when Emma was a baby. Ira made fast friends and enjoyed rocking out to the music video for Ghostbusters with her! My sister and her husband also made the trip up and Ira got to open a couple early Christmas gifts. Emma missed the opening of gifts because she was taking a much needed nap.

Presents!

Just after Christmas my high school friends and I had our usual holiday gathering. This year we met at a friends place in LA. I will not go into details of our trip down. Suffice to say, after over 4 hours traveling and numerous pit stops we made it. I didn't do too well taking pictures, but Ira took a few at dinner. The kids loved the walk to the Chinese restaurant--that is something I miss no longer living in a city. I loved the strolls I would take with Ira when he was a baby.