OGC Christmas Bash!

Emma & I spent this morning with the rest of the OGC having a mini Christmas party. The girls exchanged gifts (viewmasters from Emma, Chutes & Ladders from Sophia, and princessy trinkets from Hayden), made votive candle holders and beaded ornaments, played dress up, and then had lunch together at the McDonald's playland. It was a great morning and Emma must have had a good time because she sure did knock out for a 2 hour nap this afternoon!

Eagles Christmas Party

We went to the Eagle's Christmas Party Saturday afternoon. The kids had a great time, as usual. It was a bit harrier this year as it was raining, so they weren't able to go outside to play but they just entertained each other like all the other little ones... by running laps around the hall. Lol. Kids will always find a way to make things fun. Santa and Frosty were both there and, true to form, TJ took pictures with both while Emma refused. She was quite pleased with her gift however. 18 gaudy bangle bracelets. Whoo-hoo! Love the jewelry! The funniest part of the afternoon had to be Tim's present though. A little backstory: for the past 3 years Tim has gotten a football. Apparently that is the go-to gift for young boys according to the Eagles. Well, last year, he was less than gracious, to say the least. He pitched a fit about how he always got a stupid football and then he got reamed by both his parents, his grandmother, and sisters, and myself. So he knew better than to complain this year. And, as luck would have it, he did NOT get a football this year! He got a basketball! HAHAHAHAHA!

Smiles for Seniors

Saturday morning was spent volunteering with a local organization I found online called Smiles for Seniors. We met up with a big group of people and visited 2 different nursing homes in the area delivering Christmas stockings and presents for all the residents. Over 160 in total! I had talked to Emma about how Christmas is really a birthday party for Jesus and how we should celebrate by helping other people. Karen & I also told the kids how there are many "grandmas and grandpas" who don't have anyone to come visit them at Christmas time so this was why were going to visit and sing carols and give hugs. Emma was very into it before we got there, telling her cousins how "the old people need hugs to be happy for Christmas." Then we got there and I think some of the tubes and wires and wheelchairs were a bit intimidating. She was actually the youngest volunteer there, but she did pretty well none the less. She wasn't comfortable giving out too many hugs, but she did well with smiling, high-5s, and delivering packages to the residents who were unable to come to the common rooms. After we finished handing out all the gifts we joined everyone for a pizza party at the local pizzaria. This was a great way to spend the morning and, hopefully, the little ones got something out of it.

*The next to last picture is of a man named Ben. He asked for a chance to talk to all of us volunteers before we left. He thanked us, on behalf of all the residents, and talked about how blessed they all are to have food to eat and a warm place to stay where they are safe. Then he got choked up and told us about how good GOD is and how amazing it was that we all took time on a Saturday morning to bring them presents. He told us that these would be the only gifts many of them would get this year and how few of them had family who would come to visit. He told us that we were a blessing and thanked us for not forgetting about them. By the time he was done, there wasn't a dry eye in the house... even cynical mine were tearing up. I think most of it went over Emma's & TJ's heads, but I know Mikayla, Karen, & I heard him loud & clear. And THIS was the Christmas message I was hoping the kids would learn...

Princesses, Princesses, Princesses!!!

Princesses are very, very in these days, as is often the case with 3 year old little girls. Emma, Sophia, and Hayden love all things pink, girly, Disney, and princessy so how could we not have lunch with these lovely ladies? Plus it got us fed and out of the rain for an hour. :) Earlier in the day we were able to take the girls to meet Disney's newest princess, Rapunzel, and her beau, Flynn Rider. Apparently they are quite the "it" couple and the meet & greet line averages 2 - 3 hours each day. But we tag-teamed it... Erin & her mom got in line before it even opened while I took the girls to ride Dumbo. By the time we joined them in line, we had less than a 15 minute wait. Just enough time for Jen, Charlene, and Hayden to catch up with us. Perfect! Once we got inside, Flynn asked the girls if they were triplets... and they all said "yes" in unison! Ummmm.... o-kay... They look nothing alike, other than the fact that they are all pretty cute. But sure ladies, you want to be triplets for the day? You got it!

The OGC takes over Disneyland!!!

On Friday morning we woke up at our hotel, got dressed & packed up, and then headed back to Disneyland to meet more friends... the OGC! Within about 20 minutes of getting through the gates, the rain started and didn't let up all day. In fact, as I sit here typing this 4 days later, it STILL hasn't let up! I'm beginning to think it might be time to start constructing an ark...

Anyway, soggy or not, the girls and I all had a great time! We still rode the rides, saw the Aladdin show, met Mickey and Rapunzel, and even had lunch with the princesses again. Those photos are in a separate post though, since there were so many! For a while I tried to keep Emma dry with a poncho draped over her stroller but, as the day wore on, the girls wanted to be out and walking, and getting wet so we finally just went with it. We had 3 very soggy, but happy, little girls by the end of the night. Luckily I had all our clothes out in the jeep, so I just changed Emma into warm jammies when we got back to the car and she was fast asleep before we hit the freeway. Disneyland in the rain turned out to be a fun adventure!

Hotel Fun!

After leaving Disneyland late Thursday afternoon, Emma & I checked in at a local hotel. She loves hotels... especially the ice machine! That is always the first order of business after getting settled. The hotel had a pool as well, which is our second favorite part of staying overnight. Nevermind the fact that it was December and chilly. Well, California chilly, anyway. We still had to go swimming for an hour or so that evening. Then it was time for dinner in the cafe downstairs, a bubble bath, drawing together, and some hot cocoa and cookies in bed! I had planned on us sitting in front of the big picture window at the end of the hall around 8:40 so we could watch the fireworks from Disneyland, but this little princess was knocked out by 7:50! How unusual is that? To be fair though, she had been up and running since 5am with only a 5 minute nap as we drove from the parking structure around the corner to the hotel.

Disney with the LaZors!

Emma and I spent 2 fun-filled days at Disney this past week. On Thursday morning we drove out to Anaheim super early, like before dawn, to meet up with Maria and Mikey. The kids got along so well all day and really seemed to enjoy playing together. Usually she is the youngest in the group and I think Emma got a kick out of being the big kid for once. We would call to Mikey or ask him to do something and Emma would sigh, take him by the hand and tell us "I got him." Lol. She is learning young. As of this trip, Emma is also officially 40 inches tall, according to the omnipresent signs on all the Disney rides. This meant that she could ride "Soaring Over California" with me! Yay! It is a pretty realistic ride with a huge IMAX screen and chairs that lift you up off the ground so that you can fly all across the state. She was silent for the whole ride and just holding my hand. At the end I asked if she had liked the ride. She smiled and told me, "Oh Mommy. When Mikey gets growed up tall, hims has got to go on this ride with me!" She is such a sweetie.