Christmas in SoCal

 A visit with Santa & Mrs. Claus in Del Mar Village

 Enjoying one of many trips to the beach with Mimi & Papa

 In the heart of Del Mar

 A special delivery from the Elf...jammies!

 Blake helping Mimi with a present

 Papa with the littles 

 Santa knew one of Blair's loves!

 And cowgirl boots from Mommy & Daddy

 Pure joy with her Peek-A-Boo bear from Mimi & Papa

 Remote control ATV's from Mimi & Papa!

 Enjoying the new toys and sunshine

Sand sledding with Daddy!

~

We had such a fun Christmas here in Del Mar and San Diego area! My parents were able to be here for an entire week, which was wonderful. It was a fun-fulled week of playtime at the beach, exploring at the Safari Park, and simple holiday fun at home with the family. Wishing you and yours a Happy New Year!

Winterfest!

 Dane's class with him giving me *that* look

 My little reindeer after his performance

 Blake's class

The best moment...Blake tucked his hands in his pocket and smiled at his friend while singing :)

~

Del Mar Heights Elementary celebrates the holiday season with Winterfest! Today proved to be as close to Winter as possible in Southern California...rainy and 58 degrees. Brrrr! All of the classes gave fantastic performances and we enjoyed yummy food at the potluck afterwards. One more day of school until Winter break!

Another SoCal Christmas Tradition!

 At the Seaport Village pier. The Coronado Bay bridge in the distance.

 Patiently waiting...

 The sunsets here are like beautiful art!

 A sailboat...

 A cruiser all decked out!

A couple of the many large boats covered in decorations!

~

Last night we stayed out past the night before school bedtime to enjoy another San Diego Christmas tradition! The San Diego Bay Parade of Lights wowed us with lights, decorations, music, and even a pirate ship explosion! We secured a spot in a park at Seaport Village, a fun area downtown full of shops and restaurants, with thousands of others. We even enjoyed a slice of pizza and carried hot chocolate along for the chilly night...yes, we have been in warmer climates a little too long! Although we all yawned a little bit more this morning it was so worth going to experience this fun tradition while we are on the West coast!

Not a Fake

I have to inform all who read this blog that the above picture is not a fake. This Christmas scene was there when we arrived at the beach this morning. And we went sand sledding with friends...say what? The city uses large bulldozers to grade the sand into large mounds to protect the remainder of the beach from Winter tide (which happens to bring significantly larger waves and tide), which in turn brings out kids - and their parents! - to sled down these large mounds on boogie boards. I must say this form of sledding was much better since it could be done in shorts and did not result in frozen body parts! We are definitely soaking in the Southern California culture while we are here!

Channeling Top Gun

Today we spent a couple of hours at the Flying Leathernecks Aviation Museum on the Miramar Marine base here in San Diego. It was amazing! A friend at the boys' school told us about this free attraction, and we got to see so many planes and helicopters. We also met a lovely gentleman, a volunteer at the museum (also an ex-Marine), who shared so much history with us. I could have listened to him all day. What a unique experience we will all treasure! 

Hollenbeck Thanksgiving

We were so thankful Matt's Dad and Stepmom joined us in San Diego for Thanksgiving and a week full of exploring! We enjoyed the zoo, Safari Park, beaches, fun restaurants, shopping, Christmas decorating and so much more. Matt and I even had a night out thanks to Papa Steve and Grandma Sonya...terrace seating at George's at the La Jolla Cove overlooking the ocean and listening to the seals sing in the distance. So amazing! We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family where you are.

Pinch Me

~

Sometimes I just can't believe the pure beauty of Del Mar.

~

So Very Thankful

I just spent four days with two amazing ladies and friends. I am so grateful for their friendship that began long ago...Mendy and I have known one another since preschool; Kelly and I since fifth grade. These are lifelong friendships that I feel are so rare these days. Although we parted ways physically after high school attending different universities, achieving different dreams and settling down (well, sort of) at different points in this country, we have always been there for one another. From traveling to have weekends together to being support for break-ups, big job decisions and even those fun decisions of what to wear and where to eat! We take comfort in knowing that in less than two years we will all live within 3 hours of one another, instead of days. Nothing was different this weekend as we enjoyed a hike in the Torrey Pines Reserve, good food and conversation at various locales, shopping and laughing and more shopping and laughing, and sharing moments with my family. I can hardly wait to be close to these ladies and their families, and for the reality that we can get together so much more and raise our families together.  

 

 

Boo from the Beach!

 The astronaut, elephant & shark are ready!

 Blake with his friend, Mateo

 A shark tale...

 The only (and blurry) shot I got of Dane during the school parade

 Blake showing off his costume with his class

 Marching in the Halloween parade!

Off to meet up with friends for a fun-filled night of trick or treating!

~

Wow! Halloween in Del Mar is one big PARTY! It started off bright and early at school with an 8:00am Halloween assembly, performance and parade. Every single child was in costume, every single teacher and administrator were in costume and the majority of the parents. It was awesome. The children were never allowed to do this in South Carolina and I found out how important it is for the kids to have this experience...so much fun! Matt was able to make it home to leave around 6:00pm to head over to a friend's house for trick or treating in their neighborhood. It was a big neighborhood extravaganza! Parties at many of the houses...all of the houses decorated better than I have ever seen with smoke machines, music, the whole nine yards. We met up with our new friends then met up with even more until there were several kids from the boys' classes and their families all trick or treating together. All of the kids had a blast and we have a ton of candy and tired kiddos on this day after Halloween. It was SO worth it and I can only hope we find friends and a neighborhood like this in Wichita.