Scott and Trina Visit!

2015 came to an end with one of the best gifts ever when Scott, Trina and the kids came to visit.  I really feel that life was meant to be lived close to family.  Unfortunately we live far from all family members on both sides! But we cherish the times we have together and I am so grateful that Scott and his family came to visit us.  We loved every second of having them in our daily lives.

Life as it should be with cousins gathered close around.

I think these two cousins look so much alike.  And both so cute!

Andrew holding the babies.  Luke is 3 weeks older than Ellie, but looks much bigger!

The babies going on a jog with Trina

We went to the beach and could have stayed all day except it was so windy!  That didn't stop the kids from having fun splashing in the waves

And climbing on the rocks

And splashing in the waves again.

We went out to eat at Padaro Grill

And played in the sand

We hiked in the butterfly grove

And climbed in the trees along the bluff

Both babies were crying, so here we are trying to make each other's baby happy. It didn't work.  They both kept screaming.  

We went to the Natural History Museum and put on a dance show.

We made Christmas ornaments

And ate lots of meals together

All of this messy fun necessitated numerous crowded baths that left truly muddy water behind!

We went to see the new Star Wars movie at the drive-in theater and it was so fun.  Andrew was able to use some sort of magic (maybe the force?) to get Ellie to fell asleep in the stroller shortly after we arrived, so we were able to really enjoy our evening out!

Sometimes I think William needed a break from all the girls! 

The kids LOVED wrestling with Uncle Scott.  He is such a fun uncle and my kids adored him.

Like I was saying....what a fun uncle.

And an awesome brother too.  He helped me fix my dryer while he was here. Who knew a PhD in accounting made you smart enough to figure out how to fix dryers too!

Cousin duet :)

I loved nightly story time snuggling with all these sweeties.

William showing how we all felt about being together.  

Christmas Eve

For Christmas Eve we had a Jerusalem dinner of pita bread, hummus, tomatoes, zucchini and roasted chicken.  I don't know if that is even close to a true "Jerusalem dinner" but it was yummy and memorable!

The kids put on dress-up and did their own play of the Christmas story.

What a perfect and wonderful way to spend the holidays.  Please come back and visit soon!