ah, yes. i remember the silver bells of my youth.

Merry Christmas!!

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas this year! We had a fantastic Christmas!

We spent Christmas Eve with the Johnsons. We baked and delivered cookies, saw True Grit, read the Christmas story from the book of Luke, and opened presents.

Gabe had been sick a few days before Christmas and then I got sick on Christmas day. I felt so awful that I didn't even want to open presents when I woke up. I took tons of medicine to try to feel better. We went to Momma Linda's for some Christmas Brunch with the Medina's. We opened presents. I was still feeling pretty sick in the afternoon, but felt well enough to have Christmas Dinner at Mike and Janica's. Janica did a great job on her first roast!

Because I wasn't 100% on Christmas day, I only have pictures from Christmas Eve. Here they are:

the bounty of presents!

awww. mike and janica!

Emily was sooooooooooooo excited!!

Allyson was just happy to be around. Happy to rock back and forth in the chair and pet the dog. :)

Emily loved reading her new books.

and Mr. J is so proud of his new ski helmet!!

a day at the park

these pictures are about a month old, but i wanted to share them anyway. Emily and I had a saturday afternoon date. I told her we could do whatever she wanted and suggested a trip to the park, a trip to target, or a trip to my house. she chose the park and my house.

We went to a park near my house that I drive by all the time and think is super cute. George Washington Park is right off Lincoln and Anaheim. It has a gazebo, rose garden, and arbor walkway.

Emily and I had a great time playing. She's so brave and adventurous on the playground equipment.

I told her she was a cutie pie. she said, "no! i'm not a cutie pie. that's allyson!"