Disneyland CH2

Tiki Room show, a pleasant surprise:





Pluto's house


King Arthur's carousel:






Fire station:


New additions to the family: Chip and Dale!

Mad Tea Party

Disneyland CH 1

Disney guardians

On our way to Disneyland for the first time. A conversation in the car:

DaddyO: Rosie, tomorrow there are going to be a lot of people. It is going to be very important that you stay close to Mom and Dad the whole time.
Rosie: Why?
DaddyO: There will be a lot of people so you could get lost.
Rosie: But Dad, at Disneyland the characters will take care of me.

3rd annual Cousins' Day

We had an epic Cousins' Day to Pinnacles National Park. We began the day with a serious breakfast at the house and then loaded in the car for a beautiful and sunny drive. Pinnacles is an amazing spot and, to borrow DaddyO's word, magical. The rock formations were breathtaking, the caves cool in temperature and in its intrigue, the weather spectacular, and the hikers joyous.









"Mario's" tree:

"Rosie's" tree

Our lunch spot:



Tree hugging


Something interesting on their left:








Much deserved nap time. Rosie really worked hard. Her pre-nap adrenaline burst amounted to her needing to scale any rock she came across.


The day wouldn't be complete without transitioning from mountain to ocean in one day, so we headed to Monterey and had a blast playing in the water, some beach ultimate, and getting sand. Everywhere.

Sunset:


Walk on Cannery Row:
















Final group photo:
At the beginning of the day I wondered whether we would be able to top our past Cousins' Days. No question the day went above and beyond! Love these kids.

Nostalgia

Zoo

Can never get enough of this place.


Not as many animal photos but who can resist the baby goats (certainly not us):


Skyride:


Ending the morning with a couple rides.


Thumbs up:


Amelia in action:

Christmas

At Auntie and Uncle's house for Christmas Eve tradition:


Had family over Christmas Day. Here's the one group shot I have. It's a pretty cool (though slightly creepy) panorama:


Look at that leg!


Vavô and Vavò:


Group nap:


The start of a family tradition: tamales!


Pre-nap we watched a YouTube video on how to make tamales. Rosie woke up right at the start of assembling them, and, half asleep in my arms, reminded Daddy to use the plastic (Saran Wrap) to spread the masa. Reminder on how much she is taking in.


Tamale assembly line:


They came out so good! Thanks for the carne asada filling courtesy of Vavò. Also featuring chile and cheese tamales. Yum!


Gingerbread house:











A wonderful week leading up to and including Christmas.