Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

The Openshaws came down for a quick trip and we all hit up the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley on Friday.  It was a good 2 hour drive each way, and not exactly the most kid-friendly place in the world, but it was a cool thing to do.

 Some of the kids hanging with the Reagans.

 Libby and me with the president.

 Lexi and me in the full-size replica of the Oval Office as it was during his terms.  Some of the items are the originals and some are replicas.

 Air Force One used by 7 US Presidents.  We got to go inside, too.  And they also had a Marine One helicopter, but funny enough, Reagan never rode in that one.  The one he used is still in operation and won't be at this location until it's retired.

 They also had a Christmas tree display with 23 different trees representing different regions of CA.  This one was Ellie's favorite from Lake Tahoe.  Can you see the skier in the tree?  Pretty funny!

 Ronald Reagan was famous for his love of Jelly Bellies and this was a mosaic made entirely of his favorite candy.

 The kids all enjoyed climbing through a tunnel in the replica of the Berlin Wall.

 And no trip to the Reagan library is complete without a horseback ride with Ron!

At the end of the day, I probably didn't learn nearly as much as the rest of the group (due to chasing little rugrats around the whole time), but it was still cool.  And, the mystery of why it's called a "library" when it's really a museum remains unsolved.  Hmmmm....

New Year's Day in Huntington Beach

For our New Year's Day celebration we decided to go for a bike ride along the Huntington Beach boardwalk.  Beach for Christmas, beach for New Year's - makes sense, right?!

 Syd taking the girls for a ride on her new longboard before we took off.

 All strapped in, bikes loaded, and we're ready to go!

 Once we got to the beach it was a bit chilly (not the 80 degrees we enjoyed for Christmas), but the kids had a blast playing in the sand while Brad got Ty's bike fixed.

 Lexi sure loves the sand!

 Syd and Libby are best buds nowadays.  Libby tells us that her "heart is broken when Syd isn't around", but thankfully, she recovers quickly. ;)

 Swinging around on the wet sand.  They tide was out really far that day.

 Brad was the hero of the day and fixed the bike and then came to play with his girls.

 So glad my year can begin with those three - I sure do love them!

 Family photo op!

 Can you tell what this is?  In case not, it's supposed to be 2014, but the girls weren't the most cooperative.  Shocking, I know!

 The fog started rolling in and when we walked out on the pier it was freezing!

Libby got to borrow Syd's sweatshirt (and Grammy went and purchased 3 more for the freezing group) and try out an extra-long longboard. 

What a fun way to start the year.  2014 is shaping up to be a good one!

New Year's Eve

The partying continued on New Year's Eve at my house - it was back to me in the rotation! ;)  A potluck of appetizers made it very easy to host this time!

 Tam with Devin and Matt on their last night in the continental US.  They flew out the next morning to move back to Hawaii...poor babies!  Yeah, we made sure to let them know they should be expecting lots of visitors!

 Grammy and the Stewart gang.

 The boys - being ridiculous, as always!

 Libby loved playing with that cute little baby Reagan.

 Lexi, meanwhile, thought that the kitchen table without chairs under it was absolutely FANTASTIC!

 Once we got her out of her new hide-out, she was all smiles.

 The Mitchell side of the family.  It was so fun to have Tam and Eric in town for all the good times.  If only they actually lived here!!!

 For our first "ringing in of the new year" (at 9:00 - hey, it's midnight somewhere, right?!), Ty and Libby had a blast with Grammy's celebration equipment.  There were horn-blowers...

 confetti poppers, and everyone's favorite - pop-its!

 Then Brad and Mike whipped out the big guns and lit off some fireworks.

 Unfortunately, they were so anxious to light them off that they beat the crowd and everyone just stood there enjoying kids throwing poppers, rather than a fireworks display.  I guess we need a bigger arsenal next year (well, that or boys with a bit more patience!).

 Once the little ones were down, it was time for a rousing game of "Screw Your Neighbor" - introduced to us by the Mitchells.  It was a super fun game and the winner was....

 BRAD!!!!  Yay!  Everyone claimed it was an unfair home-court advantage, but he won his $33 fair and square.

Ty, the 8 year old was the miserable second placer that went home empty handed. Though, let's be honest, do you really want an 8 year old to win at a gambling game?!  See, now he learned his lesson - gambling stinks!!!

For our second round of ringing in the new year (at the real midnight), we drank some martinelli's, blew some horns, sent off some confetti poppers and called it good.  Here's to a GREAT 2014!

Grammy's Birthday

My mom's birthday was the Sunday after Christmas, so basically the same gang got together again to celebrate some more!  Same basic group, next location - Jen's house.

 Enjoying a great dinner of Jen's Café-Rio inspired burritos.

 Devin and Matt were able to join the festivities this time.

 Food prep and dish-doing station...such fun!

My contribution was my mom's two favorite desserts: German Chocolate cake and Peanut-Butter Chocolate Rice Krispie treats.  Let's hope that wish came true - she deserves it, whatever it is! :)

Sea World with Daddy

We girls have gotten to go to Sea World quite a few times, but really wanted to go one last time with Daddy before our passes expired.  So, turns out we picked the busiest day EVER to go - the Saturday after Christmas, but it was still a ton of fun and we were super happy to have Brad with us!

 Riding rides with Daddy is so fun!

 And with Mommy, too!

 Here we are at the dolphin show at least 20 minutes before it started and is was already packed.  (Almost every show all day long was filled to capacity at least 20 minutes before show time.  What type of crazy people go on days like that?!  Us, I guess!)

 Hanging out in polar bear cave with Daddy right before...

 jumping into a pile of polar bears at the gift shop.  I'm guessing that's not exactly the idea of the display, but whatever! ;)

 The girls loved Shamu's Christmas show (though I probably loved it the most out of all of us - they had REAL Christmas songs like "O Holy Night" and "Silent Night" and it was awesome!) and the big Christmas tree.

And it was an extra special treat to get to see some of Santa's reindeer!  They looked pretty darn exhausted from their busy night a few days earlier but we were glad they were still accepting visitors - carrot-breath and all! ;)

Christmas at Grammy & Pops'

We spent Christmas afternoon and evening at my parents' house and had great time. 

 Since the weather was so nice, the girls and I decided to wear our matching skirts from Diann.  We called them our "candy cane skirts" for the day.

(Sad when this is the best picture!)

 We had a 2 hour present opening extravaganza for the Fosters, Stewarts, and us.

 Then it was time for some grub when the Mitchells, Warrs, and Coopers joined us.

 After a great meal we did a $20 gift exchange - a great way to keep Christmas for a big group manageable for all types of budgets.

Uncle Randy and Aunt Tammy

 Lexi enjoyed some story time with Grammy and her new "Doc" book.

And Libby got some quality story time with Pops and her new Princess book.  He still loves to call her Princess Ursula, no matter how much she protests!

Thanks for hosting a great Christmas day, Mom!