A Festive Family Holiday

This year, our Minnesota Christmas was blessed with a full house of family visitors. On the 19th, Annie, Terry, Don, Roz and Laila arrived from Seattle and Aspen, respectively. Kim and Grammie arrived on the 22nd. Our week stayed busy with lots of Hockey. Auntie Annie took over 1,000 pictures for his team. We also enjoyed knee hockey in the basement, cookie making with Grandma Harriet, and two concerts (one concert at the famous First Avenue). Fun family festivities.

Christmas Season Begins

This year it was Canyon's turn to put Santa on top of the tree. We enjoyed decorating the tree over several days as a family.





Grandma Harriet arrived on December 16th. On her first night, we took her downtown to check out the Holidazzle parade for it's last night of the season. Fun start to the busy holiday season.

Ron's Surprise 46th Birthday

Ronnie had an amazing surprise for this birthday. Two of his very best buddies, Mike and Terry, surprised him (shell shocked him) by showing up at a local holiday party on Saturday, December 8th for his birthday. And then on the 9th, he enjoyed a snowy day at the Bears/Vikings game with his best buddies. Although the Bears didn't come out on top, Ron declared this one of his best birthdays ever. Thank you Mike and Terry for making it so special!!

California Thanksgiving - Final Day

Our final day in California is always a special tradition. We were excited to share the day with Marta and Cristina but Marta was not feeling well that morning and they were not able to join us.

Our day starts with a beautiful drive from Cambria to the wine tasting town of Paso Robles. This year, we hit three new wineries -- Tablas Creek, Justin, and DAOU -- enjoying and buying wines at each of the wineries. We also enjoyed a nice picnic lunch at Tablas Creek.







We always try to add one new thing to our trip every year. This year, we stopped by Killer Ridge Olive Farm for an olive oil tasting and tour. Canyon and Ava really enjoyed the tasting. Canyon announced that the Tuscan 2012 blend was his favorite.



We then headed to Paso Robles for the Christmas Lighting ceremony. This is a wonderful tradition where the town gives out hot cocoa, warm cookies, and Mrs. Clause lights the town square after a big countdown. We all have our Christmas candles, which we light at the countdown. And then the entire town sings Christmas carols while the little kids walk around the square with the elves. A great tradition that feels like the traditions of many years ago.





And no trip to California would be complete without a visit to In and Out burger. On our way to the airport, we made a stop to In and Out burger for the very best burger and fries in the United States!

Thanksgiving Day

It was a beautiful Thanksgiving Day in Cambria, California. We started our day with a drive up the coast to see the Elephant Seals. There were hundreds and hundreds of elephant seals sunning along the coast and swimming near the shore. We enjoyed a hike along the ocean and Ava, Presley, and Estelle did gymnastics in the sand near the seals. A beautiful morning.









Eric prepared a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner with a juicy Turkey, scrumptious popovers, sweet cranberries. Mom made the green beans and the cheesy potatoes. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset and took some nice Thanksgiving day pictures. We did have a bummer though because Canyon came down with the stomach flu the night before and spent the entire day in bed and Presley came down with the stomach flu after dinner. However, overall it was a fun night with lots of thanks for all the blessings, wonderful friends and family, and general health in our lives.

California Thanksgiving - Day 4

Mom and Dad started day 5 in Morro Bay with an early morning hike in Morro Bay State park. We hiked to the top and enjoyed the early morning fog over Morro Rock.



We said goodbye to our charming hotel on the water and drove North to the famous Hearst Castle. The castle was socked in with fog, creating a bit of a majistic quality. It was truly an amazing site to see and great to learn about the 28 year history to create this place. Thank you Hearst Family for sharing it with us.









We ended our day and came to our final destination, Cambria, to meet our dear friends the Grays. Presley and Ava caught up like it was yesterday and we started our visit at Medusas, the neighborhood Mexican restaurant.

California Thanksgiving - Day 3

We left our charming hotel, Brisas Del Mar, in Santa Barbara today to head up the coast to Morro Bay. On our way, we went hiking along the sand dunes in Montana De Oros State Park. The hike was filled with beautiful views and coastline.









We then headed into Morro Bay with the beautiful Morro Rock. We enjoyed a late lunch seaside with some live music at Tognazzini's Dockside Too and then headed to Morro Rock to enjoy the beautiful sunset.

California Thanksgiving - Day 2

Day 2 of our California Thanksgiving brought us to Santa Barbara. We started our day at the famous Santa Barbara Mission, founded by the Spanish Franciscans about 225 years ago. The mission represents 1 of 21 established along the California coast.





We then headed to the Santa Barbara Zoo. Presley got up close and personal with Michael, the giraffe. And Canyon enjoyed blowing the whistle on the local train. Lots of great animals and a great view of the ocean.





We had a late lunch at the Wharf. Mom and Dad enjoyed fresh as fresh can be lobster. We walked the wharf, had some great ice cream and then enjoyed some time on the beach. It was beautiful afternoon.

California Thanksgiving - Day 1

We headed to California for our annual Thanksgiving tradition, this year with Cristina and Marta, from Spain, as well. We started our adventure with our dear friends, the Hanson girls. We spent a busy, full day with the Hansons in Beverly Hills and Hollywood.



Our day started with a tour of Rodeo Drive, the Beverly Hills sign, and trip to the hotel where they filmed Pretty Woman.





We enjoyed brunch at the famous Jewish Deli, Nate and Al's, where Larry King is seen most mornings.



We stopped by Niketown, where Canyon, exhibited an early desire for nice cars.



We then checked many of the famous sights in Hollywood, including the the famous Kodak Theatre (now Dolby Theater), where the academy award nominees walk the red carpet. It is also a place where we can get a great view of the famous Hollywood sign.



We also checked out Mann's Chinese Theater, where the kids put their hands and feet into the famous people's prints, and looked for famous starts on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.



On the way towards the ocean, we stopped by UCLA, where Mom showed the kids where she went for graduate school.



We ended our day with a nice dinner at Sagebrush Cantina in Calabasas with the extended Kohls family. It was so fun to see the cousins play together. We also got to meet Mark, Jamie's new husband. Great night before heading off to Santa Barbara!