Ornament Exchange

At the last minute, Brad and I decided to throw a little Ornament Exchange Christmas party for a few friends at our house. We did it the Thursday before Christmas and had a wonderful time enjoying food, friends, and lots of kids!

I spent all day in the kitchen (a rather fun change from my normal life) and we had quite the spread of goodies - homemade apple cider, blackbottom cupcakes, Cripix mix, ginger cookies, green holly cookies, and Pecan Pumpkin Crumble. Yum, yum!
Me with my hard day's work!

A few of the girls - Jen, Sarah, and Natalie

A few of the boys - Ben, Brad, Wayne, and Clint

Aleisha and Patrick showing off their goods.

The little hostess and her daddy - those 2 are party animals, for sure!

It was a fun last minute get together and we're sure glad we did it! We love spending time with our great friends!

Sea World

Since our last Sea World trip was such a success, I figured we'd better get in one more before our passes expired at the end of the year. My friend Laura and her son Zeke came with us and we had a great time. Libby sure loves all those fishies!

The face says it all - she LOVES Shamu!

The four of us at the Shark Encounter.

Fish, fish, and more fish!

This girl was on the move all day long! Man has she gotten quick!

The famous fishy face that was in action from before we headed to San Diego in the morning straight through the next day as she was telling everyone about her great adventures!

Penguins made the cut, too. As did polar bears and a crazy walrus that reguritated his food right in front of us - GROSS (but really cool, too!)!

Yay for the sea-turtles - they're always fun to watch.

The stroller buddies.

Zeke conked out for the last show of the night, but we couldn't resist a final picture by the tree. The final show we saw was a special Christmas Shamu show and we were soooo glad we stayed for it. They had a live choir, a sax-player, and a true Christmas message - centered on Christ and everything! We were so excited to see that a theme park was actually willing to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas! It was AWESOME and the highlight of the day, for sure! Thanks for the 3 free trips throughout the year, Sea World! :)

Beach Day in December

Turns out I am loving this whole 2 weeks off for Christmas thing! Life is GOOD! We've had really nice weather all week, so Libby and I went down to the beach for a bit on Tuesday. It was at least 70 at our house, but the wind at the beach made it pretty cool down there, so I was glad I brought Libby's jacket!

Gotta love the coastline!
She got out and walked around a bit, but wasn't a fan of the "rough" terrain and sand all over her. I guess that just tells me it's been too long since summer! Don't worry - I'll re-convert her quickly, I'm sure! ;)

We love the ocean!

After cruising the beach, we stopped by the Ritz Carlton to see their annual gingerbread display. Last year it was an old-fashioned Woody, and this year it was a replica of the ship "The Pilgrim" that's in Dana Point. Pretty special for me since I got to stay the night on the Pilgrim in 5th grade. The entire scene is made out of candy - the sails alone were over 100 lbs of white chocolate!

Libby thought it was fantastic and kept saying, "treat, treat, treat". Notice her trying to sneak a piece while I was preoccupied taking the picture - that little punk!

Just another great day NOT to be working! Woo-hoo!

Christmas Parade

The city of Laguna Niguel has an annual Christmas Parade and we finally decided to hit it up for once! It was my mom's idea, but we invited Sarah and Laura to join us and had a great time. Thanks for the fun idea, Mom!

We just walked down the street from our house and set up camp towards the end of the parade route. We all expected it to be a lot colder than it turned out - sweaters and jackets were shed quickly in the 70 degree weather, and Sarah's hot chocolate she brought didn't get nearly as many takers as we expected!
Libby loved the parade so much she may have even convinced her dad that parades aren't so bad after all! They had so much fun together and looked so cute! She was just taking it all in.

Between the bands and the horses it was a toss-up for what was her favorite. The bagpipe band with kilts was extra fun!

One of the paraders (is that a word?) was handing out candycanes and Libby thought it was the greatest thing she'd ever tasted! Mommy thought it was the messiest thing she ever tasted!

Well, I've gotta say, I think you know that you've made it big as a city when Magic Johnson is the grand marshall of your parade! That put Laguna Niguel on the map for sure!

3 kids, 6 adults, and about 2 hours of people-watching! It was a fun event and we were very glad we went. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Live Nativity

A few Sundays ago we went to the annual Santa Margarita Stake "Follow the Star" live nativity. They used to have thousands of nativities on display inside, but not this year. They served cookies and hot chocolate inside and we got to enjoy a live nativity outside - complete with a manger, animals, and all.

Yay for Christmas!
That's Mary and the real baby behind us...you just can't tell. We were there for their 250th performance (over a 14 year period) which was pretty cool. The best part of all, though, was Libby's reaction to the animals. It was all silent and very spiritual until the shepherds came out. As soon as the sheep were in sight, Libby called out "Baaa-aaa!" as loud as she could. It was hilarious! The entire crowd started busting up laughing - she totally killed the spirit, but it was pretty adorable! She continued to "baaa-aaa" and "neigh" throughout the rest of the show, but no one seemed to mind too much, thankfully. What would a live nativity be without sound effects to go along with it?!

Christmas Activities Begin!

Our Christmas festivities started early this year. Our annual ward Christmas breakfast was on Sat, Dec. 3rd and was a great way to start the season! Brad had to work, so it was just Libby and I representing the Macbeths, but we had a great time and ate lots of yummy food!

Libby enjoyed watching her older friends sing in the program.
That night we decided to go up to Fashion Island in Newport to see the biggest live tree in SoCal. It was quite the sight to behold and we enjoyed walking around the outdoor mall, despite the cold (and, yes, it was California's version of cold, but still, it was cold!).

The decorations were amazing and Libby was amazed by all the "balls" she saw! She never tires of the word "ball" no matter how many she sees! And she says it over and over and over again till you say, "Yes, Libby, you're right! That's a ball!" Apparently the need for parental approval starts young. ;)

The cutest gift under the tree!

The full affect of the tree. Pretty cool that it's real, huh?!

And the best part of the night...the normally non-cuddly girl was being super lovey-dovey and I was in heaven! If cuddling up close is what this Christmas season is all about, then let the season begin! ;)

A Failed Attempt

Over Thanksgiving break, I thought it might be a good idea to try to get a Christmas picture of Libby for our Christmas card this year. Well, it was wishful thinking. I don't know if it was the the fact that I tried to be entertainer and photographer at the same time, the fact that I know nothing about photography, or the decision to try to use "Christmas props" to make it cute, but whatever the reason...it failed. So, though none of these are Christmas card worthy, they're at least blog worthy. :) At least she's smiling in this one! Not looking, but smiling.

My attempt at a backdrop gone VERY wrong - she wouldn't stay put, so the whole concept just makes me look like I'm a slob. What can you do?!?

Turns out the only good smiles I got were when she was looking at herself in the mirror (oh, the vanity!). So, this is an in-the-mirror shot.

So cute, but such a little stinker! Gotta love her! Better luck next time, right?