'Tis the Season

'Tis the season! The holidays came upon us so fast this year. Santa and Mrs. Claus made a special visit to Mommy's work for a Christmas breakfast. The kids wrote and gave letters to Santa and are hoping for some nice surprises under the tree. We selected and decorated our Christmas tree the first weekend of December. It was Presley's turn to top the tree. The kids are now fully engaged in the decorating activities. This month, Mom also surprised Dad on his birthday with a trip to Vegas to see an acoustic Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds show. And the surprises continued when we arrived. Sister Annie came to help her brother celebrate another great year! Thanks Grammie for watching the kids!

In Cambria with Our "Kaukana" Pals

Our week finished with a wonderful visit with friends. Unfortunately, the kids still struggled with health. Upon arrival in Cambria, we got Presley started on antibiotics for her cough which lingered on. And Canyon started getting sick (so we started him on the oral steroids). Nevertheless, our kids were troopers. In Cambria, we enjoyed many great walks along the beach with our pals, a great Thanksgiving dinner that our pal Eric prepared for us, wine tasting in the Paso Robles region, and a kick off to the Christmas season with a lighting ceremony in downtown Paso Robles with christmas carols and the "real Mrs. Claus and real elves".

The Beauty of Big Sur

After Monterey, we continued down the wild and rugged stretch of Highway 1 to Big Sur, where we stayed in a cute little cabin along a river. Our day was filled with hikes to the beach, where the kids took off their pants to traverse bone chilling knee deep water to get to Andrew Molera State Beach. We also enjoyed the most amazing sunset at Pfeifer State Beach, where the sun set between two amazing rock croppings. The kids played on the sand dunes while Ron played his guitar. While in Big Sur, we also took in the views and a cocktail at Nepenthe with a patio that is suspended 800 feet above the surf.

Taking in the Best of Monterey

After San Francisco, we began our drive down the coast. The road trip kicked off well with an awesome lunch at Gazo's Grill on Highway 1, where we enjoyed live music and breakfast for lunch. In Monterey, we enjoyed an evening fire on the beach (you can still do fires on the beach up there). And we stayed at the amazing Mission Ranch Inn, staying in the Bunkhouse with a great view and a relaxing setting. Presley's cough peaked this night but we got her started on oral steroids, which helped her make it through the night. In the morning, Mom and Dad enjoyed a nice game of tennis. And then Canyon and Mom spent the morning at the amazing Monterey Aquarium. We finished off our time in Monterey with the beautiful 17-mile drive along the coast.

Thanksgiving Along the California Coast

The kids had the entire week of Thanksgiving off. We continued our 2008 tradition of connecting with friends in Cambria, CA for the holiday. To kick off the trip, we enjoyed the weekend before Thanksgiving in San Francisco, staying with our friends Marc and Elaine. The weekend got off to a rough start because Presley was under the weather. However, she rallied as we enjoyed the San Francisco sights. We took the famous cable cars down to the Fisherman's Wharf, playing games in the old fashioned arcade, checking out the original Boudin Sourdough Bakery, watching the seals and enjoying the views of Alctraz, and listening to street music while having fresh steamed dungeness crab. Our days ended with great conversations with our friends. And the kids favorite highlight was playing Guitar Hero with new pals Erica and Damien late into the night.