Southern California Thanksgiving Trip

This year for Thanksgiving we were able to travel down to So Cal to visit our family and welcome Marc's Mom Randy back from her Peace Corps experience. She has spent the last two years in Morocco and had not yet met Lucy. Lucy loved her Grandma Tutu! We did many fun things while we were down, including a trip to California Adventure and Disneyland. Lucy enjoyed her first trip to the parks. It was awesome! We stayed with Marc's brother and his wife Matt and Stephanie, and their son Mason, who had traveled down from Spokane, Washington. It was really nice to get to spend so much quality time with them, and Lucy loves her cousin Mason. On Thanksgiving we went to Marc's Aunt Marsha and Uncle Ricks house for dinner. The food was outstanding and the company even better. Earlier in the day we visited my Aunt Audrey and took Lucy to see my Grandpa Si. He is 97 years old! Wow. My Aunt has such a beautiful yard, and it was nice to see my cousins Joey and Doug. The day after we had a beach day, and lots of family came to hang out. It was a beautiful November day in Oceanside and I was glad to get to hang out at the beach. We wished that we were able to see more of the Karr and Simonson family on this trip...but I am sure we will be down again sooner rather than later.  I always love my time back at home, hanging out with our family, visiting friends (It was great to see my friend Monet and her son Terje!), spending time at the beach, and saying hello to the sun!

Lucy is doing great and learning new things each day. She is very active (of course!) and agile. Yesterday I zoomed her all over the yard on her little bike, going fast, and she held on and didn't want to stop.  Marc took her down a steep water slide on Sunday, but she preferred the smaller slide he said. Slides are a favorite of hers. She has been trying to learn how to put her own clothing on, and she has figured out how to get out of most clothing. She is talking quite a bit, and becoming more independent. Sometimes she can be challenging, and I have to work hard not to get too frustrated.  For the most part, she is a happy, easy going girl.  We decorated for Christmas and she was excited about that! She loves the ornaments, especially the ones that are low. Her favorite seems to be a little wooden girl on a slide. Imagine that!  It is fun to create traditions with her.  Thanks for checking in!