Big Bear 12-29-16

Dave's family rented a cabin up in Big Bear for a few days, so Caren and Cecily went up on Thursday to play in the snow for a few hours. When we got there, we checked out their cabin then met the rest of the family at the lodge for lunch. Then Caren and Cecily built a snowman, had a snowball fight, and sledded in the yard of their rental house. Once the kids were done skiing on the mountain, they came back to the house and sledded with Cecily for a bit before we headed off the mountain. On the way home, we swung by San Bernardino to check out Gaelen's new house. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3WKug

Francesca 12-28-16

Cecily wanted to spend a day with her new friend from ivivva, Francesca. So we planned a lunch and shopping afternoon with Francesca and her mom, Brigitte, at South Coast Plaza. The girls talked and coordinated matching outfits to wear, and then they did a fit session at ivivva together. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3WKqw

Christmas 12-25-16

Christmas eve we headed up to Caren's parents' house to celebrate with her family. Allen cooked a prime rib, and we enjoyed a special bottle of wine from Caren's dad's 40th birthday. After dinner we took family pictures and opened presents. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3WKiQ

Merry Christmas! We spent a nice quiet Christmas at home. We went through our stockings, and Cecily opened her presents. Caren even built her new Lego Disney Castle in 3 days. That night, we took a walk through Brightwater to enjoy the Christmas lights. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3WKmA

SMHS Reunion 12-23-16

Caren was hoping to take Richard to her 20 year high school reunion, but the cost of the tickets were crazy! So instead, she took her "date" from the 10 year reunion, Gaelen! Mayumi and Grace ended up bringing each other as their dates as well. It was fun to see everyone and catch up, even though we are all Facebook friends (and the turn-out was not that great). Let's see if the next reunion will be better! (5 Year Reunion - Twin Palms, 10 Year Reunion - Burger Continental, 20 Year Reunion - Communal) http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3WKdg

Ornament Exchange 12-20-16

Cecily loved participating in the Keus family's annual ornament exchange and cookie decorating party. Since they moved away, we decided to host our own party this year. The girls had a good time doing the ornament swap and decorating ugly sweater cookies. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3WKZw

Legoland 12-18-16

Caren and Cecily took Grandma and Papa down to Legoland to meet up with Uncle Allen, Aunt Cindy, Brendan, and Quinn to celebrate Brendan's 6th birthday. We got to ride the Ninjago ride for the first time (similar to Toy Story Midway Mania). This year there was no snow area, but we still got to see the Lego Christmas tree and Lego Santa Claus. The best part of the day was getting our picture taken with Unikitty from the Lego Movie! http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3WKVA

Nutcracker Ballet 12-17-16

Cecily was invited to go see the Nutcracker Ballet with Misty Copeland dancing the lead at Segerstrom Performing Arts Center by ivivva. Apparently ivivva stores in LA and Orange County bring a few girls each to see the Nutcracker. Cecily and Francesca were invited by the South Coast Plaza store. They went with two other girls and Lindsay, who gave each girl a black ivivva jacket with their names embroidered on as a gift. What a fun holiday event! http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3WKRQ

Christmas Tree 12-15-16

We finally went to get our Christmas tree at Home Depot. Cecily was super excited to see a holiday Stitch wearing a Santa hat in one of the painted boards decorating the tree lot. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3WKIw

Holiday Cotillion 12-13-16

Tonight was the Holiday Cotillion. The kids learned about using utensils and ate their desserts sitting at a table. They discussed how their next cotillion would be an actual supper club, where they will eat together at the tables. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3WKEA

Girl Scout Meeting 12-12-16

At our Girl Scout meeting today, the girls made candy cane holiday grams for a senior home as well a sugar scrub to give as a holiday gift. Then they enjoyed a holiday cookie exchange. Later in the evening, Cecily went with Caren to the service unit meeting, where they had a hot cocoa bar and crafts for the moms and daughters. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3WKAQ

Boat Parade Party 12-11-16

Sunday night was our annual Huntington Harbour Boat Parade Party at the Hanks home. This year, Kelly went back to her Nutcracker theme. The kids had fun making ornaments and snowglobes as well as taking pictures in the photobooth. After watching the parade, we enjoyed a ride around the harbour on Kelly's boat to check out the holiday lights on the harbour homes. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3WJ_Q

Santa & Boat Parade 12-10-16

Caren wanted to take Cecily to see Santa at the Grand Californian, but she found a much better Santa at the Huntington Harbour Mall. He was probably the best Santa Cecily has ever had her picture taken with! Later in the evening, Caren and Cecily went to watch the Harbour Boat Parade while enjoying a delicious taco bar. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3WJ7A

MV Fundraiser 12-09-16

Marine View's Fall Fundraiser was called Step It Up, where the kids collected pledge money for Marine View. Kids who donated a certain amount were able to participate in the blow-up obstacle courses today. They got to run, climb, bounce, race, and eat Kona Ice. The weather was perfect as it was overcast and cool, so the kids did not get too hot. For volunteering during the event, Caren even got a free meal voucher for In-N-Out! http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3WJ3w

MV Band Performances 12-08-16

On Tuesday, the Marine View Band, Dance Team, and Jazz Ensemble performed at Lake View. Then on Thursday, they went to Hope View, Village View, and Harbour View (with a stop at McDonald's for lunch). Caren headed to Harbour View to watch the performance. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3WJzg

Richard's Birthday Cruise 12-04-16

Happy 40th Birthday, Richard!!! To celebrate this big birthday milestone, we took a short cruise over the weekend to Ensenada. Since it was a special birthday, we splurged with a mini suite, so Richard could enjoy the balcony and Cecily could sleep in a bunk instead of a couch. We were on the Crown Princess, which was the ship we sailed on last a couple years ago along the California Coast for Spring Break. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3WJmw

It was supposed to be a sea day on Saturday, but due to weather and ocean conditions, the captain changed our itinerary and docked in Ensenada. Since we had been here many times, we just stayed on board to enjoy the ship. Richard lounged on our private balcony while Caren and Cecily had the pool all to themselves. We celebrated Richard's actual birthday that night with a cake and a candle. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3WJqA

Our last day on board was a sea day. Cecily made slime in the kids club. This would be her last time here, as she will move up to the teen club next time we are on a cruise! We made some crafts, played trivia, enjoyed tea, and watched the Magic Show in the evening. Caren and Cecily took one last dip in the hot tub (while watching the beginning of "Four Christmases" on MUTS). It was a nice relaxing, quick weekend getaway. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UbNGrdw3WJuQ