Build-A-Bear

My parents' Christmas present for their youngest grandchildren this year was a gift card to Build-A-Bear.  When the Openshaws came down we all headed to the one at Downtown Disney since it's the best - a full 2-story stuffed animal making dream world!  It did not disappoint!

 Grammy with the gang - all geared up and ready to build!

 Lexi and Brad had a great time trying them all out.

 Everyone's made their choice, now it's time for stuffing!

 Lexi was first up and did a great job working the pedal.

 Libby thought the whole thing was pretty darn great!

 Stuffed and ready for dressing.

 Lexi had fun "cleaning" her doggie.

 After a few clothing options, this is what won out: a pink polka-dot bear with a Princess Aurora dress who she lovingly named Minnie Bear.

 Pops likes to tease Libby and call her "Princess Ursula" so he was beyond thrilled that they actually had an Ursula costume for her bear.  Despite his best efforts, Libby remained unconvinced and stuck with her original choice.

 Those are some seriously spoiled kids!

Total success - they loved it!  Minnie Bear and a dog dressed in a Tinkerbell costume - who'd have thought?!

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! :)