Birthdays and Christmas

Three of my grandchildren were all born on the same day, each four years apart.  This year they turned 10, 6 & 2.  To celebrate, their Mom and Dad planned a fabulous surprise, and they invited us old Grandparents to come along for the ride.

We met them at the airport bright and early on a Tuesday morning.  The kids were told that we were going to Idaho to visit their sick aunt, because she wouldn't be able to come home for Christmas.  Before take-off, the pilot came back into the cabin of the airplane and explained to everyone that we should have a smooth flight, arriving on-time in Idaho (he quickly added that he would explain that destination to everyone, later).  He then asked the "Thompsons" in row 13 to raise their hands, so we all did.  He proceeded to say, "Emery, Easton, Ezek we aren't really going to Idaho, we are going to Disneyland!"  . . . and the whole plane cheered.

We arrived at the Long Beach Airport at 8:00 a.m. and quickly rented a van and drove to Huntington Beach.  It was a little cold, but that didn't stop the kids from putting on their swimsuits and spending the morning playing in the water and building sand castles.  We spent some time on the pier too, watching all of the surfers and getting fun balloon creatures.  Note Easton's funky balloon shark hat.  That evening we went to a street fair there at the beach and ate some fabulous fish tacos.  There were some guitar-playing surfers there too, who were great entertainment, while we ate our dinners.

We stayed in a great hotel, that had bunkbeds and a miniature table and stools for the kids.  On Wednesday morning, we walked over to California Adventure, where we spent the entire day, riding rides, sketching Disney characters, and watching some fun shows.  We especially liked "It's a Bug's Life".  We were a tired bunch, walking back to the hotel, and we all fell into bed, eating cereal, candybars, and apples for dinner.

On Thursday morning (the kid's birthday), we walked to the Disneyland Hotel for a special birthday breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen.  Lots of Disney Characters were there to celebrate with us.  The food was great, and we all left full, and covered in badges.

Our "little 10-year-old Princess", posing with Sleeping Beauty. 

Once he got used to them, Ezek loved the characters.  He kept chasing "Pluto" around the restaurant, hugging his legs. 

We spent the rest of the day in the Disneyland Park.  That Easton is sure a crazy driver!  The entire park was really decked out for Christmas.  Even "It's a Small World" was playing "Jingle Bells".  It was a really fun trip.

I thought I would get a lot of knitting done on the trip, but I was always too tired at night to knit.  I had to knit these Hot Water Bottle Covers for all of my co-workers and neighbors.  I was only able to knit one while I was gone, so Christmas is only 2 days away, and I still have 2 to finish.

I even recruited my Mother to help me this year.  She knit 6 of the 12 I needed.  Thanks Mom!  She is the greatest.  She is the one who taught me to knit, way back when I was about 8 years old.  She is still a fabulous knitter, and she has started helping me to test-knit some of my newly designed knitting patterns.

BE A WINNER!

I WILL BE DRAWING A WINNER FROM THE FOLLOWERS OF THIS BLOG, TO WIN ONE OF THESE "HOT WATER BOTTLES" ON JANUARY 31, 2012.  Be sure to sign-up, if you would like to have one, and tell all of your "knitting" or "non-knitting" friends.  If you want to knit your own, you can find my free pattern at:  Knit-Zilla Hot Water Bottle Cover - free pattern.

I want to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas, and . . . happy knitting!

Thanksgiving 2011

I've been so wrapped up with Christmas preparations, that I haven't had a chance to blog about the fabulous Thanksgiving Holiday, we spent at my daughter's house in Idaho Falls.  So . . . a little late, but here it is:

We arrived the night before, and all met up for dinner at "Bubba's BBQ".

The BBQ was delicious, and we hurried back to Carissa's house to start the preparations for our Thanksgiving Dinner.  It was cold, but the roads were dry, so it was smooth sailing on the drive up.

Hunter and Laura made the most yummy sweet potato pie.  She is a really good cook.

We all spent Thanksgiving morning preparing the dinner.  My sister, Carolyn, arrived with her family at noon.

My nephew, Charlie kept Nola entertained reading books and making faces at each other in the bathroom mirror.  She spent a lot of time giggling.

Great appetizers were served at 1:00 p.m.  They were so good, and we were all so hungry, that we ate too many of them, kind of spoiling our appetites for dinner.

The table was set and we were all ready for dinner at 3:00 p.m.

Everything was so delicious.  We all wished we had more room in our stomachs, as we were full much too fast.

Grandma Joan made the pies.  They were yummy too, however, I think Charlie had his whipped cream without the pie.

This was when Charlie told Carolyn and I that we were too old to wear "bling".  I think he may have received such a "talking too" from us, that his ears were burned off.

We were all a little tired, at the end of the day.

Especially me . . . you can see I wasn't getting much knitting done, after all the cooking and clean-up.  Right after this picture was taken, I changed into my pajamas and coat, gearing up to hit the "door crasher" sale at Target at midnight.

It was a wonderful day.  I am so thankful to have a healthy family and plenty of food on my plate. 

Our alpaca herd has grown.  We just acquired 5 adult male alpacas.

Meet Waffles, Spud, Melvin, Apple Jack, and Butterscotch.  Cocoa, Licorice and Chip were not there this day, as they had been sent to the farm to get Cocoa bred.  Such a hard life for these girls.  Always pregnant, even when still nursing a baby.

This is Butterscotch.

These are Waffles and Apple Jack.

This is Spud.  He has extremely high grade fleece, but he is not the sharpest tool in the shed.  However, he is the only one who will fight with Melvin for food.  Melvin seems to be in charge of everything.

I just made my first trip to the mill, to see how our fiber would be milled into yarn.  It was fascinating to see the process, and so exciting to choose the weight, and other fibers to be combined with the fleece sheared from Cocoa and Licorice, last Spring.  I can't believe I forgot my camera, but I'll be sure and take lots of pictures the next time we make the trip.

Christmas knitting has me so bogged down, that I can hardly think of anything else.  Happy knitting!