Merry Christmas!

Preparation

I am preparing for Christmas and traveling and getting everything wrapped up at work, so I haven't written.

What has been going on:

We got Simon's hair cut and he can see. He did fuss or cry. I am very proud of him.

We visited the kittens at PetsSmart and the kids loved a little calico kitty. Maybe someday in the way off future,but Isaac and I are not cat people.

Simon's school pictures turned out great and everyone loves them. (well maybe not Simon.)
He asked for his old picture to go back in the frame.

We went out and got pizza and then drove around at Christmas lights. After a little bit the kids really seemed to enjoy it. Isaac and I loved it.

Janna has a molar coming in!
I got teacher presents made and delivered.

I just finished wrapping all the presents.

Isaac went to Janna's Christmas party and school and build gingerbread houses with her and her classmates. She loved having her Daddy there with her.

Mom and Dad Hopper and the kids did a great job decorating the house, I only did a few finishing touches. Although Molly keeps getting tangled in the candycanes in our yard. Next year they are going somewhere else.

Simon has been giving us a hard time at bed time and in the morning getting dressed.

Isaac has found some fun new tv series on netflicks and we enjoying them.

In talking about the Christmas story I used the word hotel so that they would better understand it. Janna looks at me and says, "Mommy they didn't have hotels then it is called an Inn."

We are all looking forward to Christmas and family time.

PJ's from our favorite Aunt

We got a box full of clothes and fuzzy socks and pj's from Aunt Carolyn this past weekend. The kids each got a stocking with M&Ms , an ornament, and a small toy. They were excited. They actually put the pajamas one and wore them all night long.

Teacher Gifts

I had great ideas and inspirations about what I was going to do for Christmas gift. I have a ton of them pinned on pinterest, then time got away from us. I realized I need to prioritize my lists so instead I bought green and red twislers and jolly ranchers in a huge bag from Walmart and made these. I put scrapbooking paper on the clipboard but decided to leave the ribbon off.

Maybe next year I will try and make the sweet treats and creative gifts!

LA Trip Day 4-going home

The flights were on time, we had breakfast at ruby’s diner in the airport. The cinnamon French toast was great. The flight was fast but still seemed to take long. We got to Cincinnati by 7 and were home by 9. The kids waited for us and gave us huge hugs when we go home. They got to bed late because I unpacked and cuddled them for a while. We got them Tuck from WonderPets as a souvenir; we took home some caramel and jalapeno cheddar popcorn too. I got a pen and owl key chain and a ton a pictures and a memory of a great trip.

We missed the kids but had a great time together and with friends. It was nice to get awhile and remember what it was like before kids. Thanks Mom and Dad Hopper for taking care of the kids. I know it is hard work and appreciate all you did. Knowing you were there taking care of them allowed us to relax and have fun. I have no pictures of these last days because the camera was in the trunk of the car-oops. We realized the last time the four of us got together was 10 years ago. We hope to make it a shorter time before our next trip.

It was a wonderful “Happy Birthday Matt”, “Happy Birthday Isaac”, “Happy 10years anniversary Trip”.

LA Trip Day 3

We slept in on Saturday and had breakfast at the hotel then we checked out of our rooms. First stop, the container store, which I had been eyeing for a while on our walks. It was two stories and awesome. I love plastic and containers and organizing. I loved this store. It got a few things that would fit in my suitcase. Then we headed over to i –pic movie theater for a noon movie. It was a very nice theater. It had couple seats that reclined all the way back. There was even a compartment for coats and purses in the side arm rest. We ordered lunch to share between all of us. We got flat bread pizzas for the main part and it was great. For appetizers we ordered loaded potato chips and mozzarella cheese sticks. We got reeces and peanut m&m’s. You should have seen my face when they brought us the candy in martini glasses. Wow. The bathrooms here were really nice and had a hostess seat us too. The food and atmosphere was awesome the movie was not. It was J. Edgar Hoover. It was slow so it was easy to relax and eat during, didn’t feel like you missed anything. We got blankets and pillows too for the movie. This was a one of a time experience. I really enjoyed it.

After the movie, we did some more shopping but mostly just window shopping. I didn’t purchase much else. Before heading back for our car, we stopped at 21 flavors again. Isaac and I planned on sharing the rootbeer float flavor but they had circus animal cracker cookie flavor that was so good. So I got that with nothing mixed it. I want more every time I think of it. I wasn’t hungry but had no problem eating all of it. We have time before we had to leave for the Azusa Pacific University basketball game. We played uno in the lobby of our hotel and printed boarding passes for the next day and just chilled.

We drove to the APU basketball game and watched the women and men play. Both games were good. The men almost went into overtime. Afterwards we went to the The Hat for dinner before heading to the Westin next to the airport. The sandwiches were great and so were the fries. There were large servings too. It was great.

The Westin had heavenly beds. They were so comfortable. We had a great night sleep before leaving for the airport mid-morning.

LA Trip Day 2-night

We got back in time to change and get ready for dinner at Mi Paci. It was a couple blocks from our hotel. It was a fancy Italian restaurant. This was the only place that the bathroom was not fancy. The food and bread were great. Conversation and downtime was wonderful.

Afterwards we went to 21 Flavors. There are 6 flavors of the day and you can mix in any candy or treat, and they had everything. Every worker was nice and friendly. Matt had been saying how great this place is and he was right. I got French vanilla ice cream with peanut butter chips mixed in. It was heavenly.

After ice cream we headed back to the hotel changed in to pajamas and played cards for a while. It was a great second day.

Next day: shopping, movie, and basketball game

LA Trip Day 2 -Universal Studios

Friday we met in the lobby to leave for Universal Studios. Matt told us there was a breakfast there and we needed to be there at 9:30. We left the hotel at 8:30 to allow driving time. We stopped for starbucks coffee…yum and much needed. When we got there the place was huge. Matt Valet parked the car. Then we went looking for the office. Once we found it and were inside we found out that Matt went all out and got the VIP experience. Which included the following:

Exclusive tour of Hollywood's most famous studio backlot

Immerse yourself in a full day of movie-making magic as you discover the Universal Studios Hollywood the general public doesn't get to see*.

· Go behind the scenes to visit closed-to-the-public sets and soundstages, and hear inside stories about the making of famous movies and TV shows

· Visit Wisteria Lane from ABC's hit series Desperate Housewives

... and more behind-the-scenes experiences, all led by an experienced personal guide.

You’ll be pampered like a star

· VIP Lounge

· Gourmet lunch in the exclusive VIP Dining Room

· Valet parking

· VIP privileges at Universal Studios Hollywood theme park

·

o Front of Line access to all rides & attractions

o Special Reserved seating at shows

Wow! would be in understatement of our shock. We had no idea what we had in store for us. Matthew was our tour guide and he would be with us all day. We started out on a tram ride to the back lot. We saw the set of Parenthood, the city hall area of back to the future, the street of Desperate Housewives, set of Jurassic park and War of Worlds, plus more.

We got tours of wardrobe and prop warehouses.

During this tram ride there were “rides”. We experienced the King Kong Ride which was really cool. Then there was a ride through Jurassic Park where we got spit on by dinosaurs. Then there was a subway set/scene with crashes and fire and flooding. There was flooded old town and a drive through Jaws set. We saw cars dance and crash with special effects. My face hurt from smiling by the end of the tour and it wasn’t even noon. Isaac kept asking if I was okay. I was just taking it all in.

Then we got off the train and rode the Simpson ride. I wasn’t so sure about this because it dropped like a roller coaster, but was assured if I closed my eyes it would be okay. I did it and liked it. It was my least favorite though. Then I got convinced to go through a haunted house. I didn’t like it but it was ok. At one point Isaac jumped, that made it all worth going through.

Then we had a gourmet lunch prepared by a master chief. I would have been fine with chicken fingers and fries but it was good and Isaac really enjoyed it. It was nice to take a break and relax. It was a buffet full of everything. The shrimp and pasta was good.

After lunch we took in a Special Effects show, and then Terminator 2 in 3d. Both shows were really neat. Then we went and rode Jurassic Park with our ponchos. I did scream on the last big hill but I liked it. Still got a damp but was thankful for the free ponchos from our VIP guide. Then we went on the Mummy ride. This was my favorite. It was an indoor rollercoaster, but it didn’t have drops. There was just jerking and backwards movement; we all would have loved to go again but had to meet the group.

After the rides we booked it back to the Water World Show. It was fun to watch the action. We have back row seats in this one to avoid getting wet.

Then we rushed over and they let us in late, thanks to Matthew our guide, to the last Shrek show in 3D. It was one of our favorites. The seats moved and the show was great.

We every ride and show we were first in, no lines, and front row seats. We did everything except one show.

After Shrek we did some shopping and walked around the City Walk and even got popcorn or munch on before dinner.

The day was awesome but that doesn’t even begin to explain the fun we had.

LA Trip Day 1

Wednesday Night we drove to Cincinnati after the kids fell asleep and stayed with my parents who live close to the airport. Our flight left at 9am on Thursday.

Thursday morning we got McDonald’s breakfast (yum) on the way to the airport. The flight was on-time. We did fast park instead of parking at the airport, it worked great. We got to the gate and boarded with-in 15 minutes. The flight went well to LAX. There were tv on the seats. We watched tv shows on it, we read, and I slept for the 5 hour flight out there. We arrived at 2 our time, 11am their time.

It was sunny and awesome!

Matt and Amie picked us up. They had rented a white charger for the weekend. We had lunch at Wholefoods. Our store doesn’t have that many fresh veggies Wow! I tried Cherry Vanilla Soda, and it was good. Then we drove and stopped at Venice Beach. I chased some birds and felt the Pacific Ocean. The view was great. Seeing the mountains in the background was so neat.

Then we drove around Hollywood checking out the sites. Matt made sure I got a good picture of the Hollywood sign.

Then we headed to the hotel in Pasadena and checked in. It was a really nice hotel and room. We walked to a small pizza place for a small snack, then got wonderful mini cupcakes from Dots. They were delicious. Even Isaac loved them. Afterwards, we went to take a swim before getting ready for dinner at Mastro’s. I was shocked when we went outside to swim, in December, crazy. The pool was heated and the hot tub was nice. We cleaned up for dinner; our reservation was at 8pm.

Mastro’s was a great high class restaurant in Beverly Hills. The bathroom was fancy with an attendant. I didn’t know what to think. I asked for my steak Medium but it was too red for my taste but tender and delicious. The waiters and staff were in white tux jackets and fancy place settings. We got sides of crab gnocchi, potatoes, and broccoli. They had great pretzel bread to start us off. The salad fork and plate were brought to us chilled. There was a guy that stood just a few feet from our table that just refilled drinks in that area. I never had a dirty dish or less than a full glass of water. When the food came just the steak was on the plate and like 6 servers went around the table and put the food on the plates for us. It was crazy. Dessert was breathtaking. It was a cake with fruit and whipped topping. The atmosphere of the restaurant was neat. We were seated in the bar area so there was music and it was a bit loud, but I heard the other area was so quiet you whispered to talk. It had a really different red fire tongue chandelier when you first walked in. I didn't bring my camera with me or I would have taken a picture of it.

We then drove back to the room and crashed. It was a wonderful first day!

Friday we went to Universal Studios.