Christmas in California.

 We drove down to California on Thursday afternoon.  The next day we got together with all of the Stephens' cousins at a park.  Some of the kids we hadn't even met!  It was great to see everyone and re-connect.

Mae, Abby, Robby, Savannah, Kate, Charlotte, Sam & Will

 The kids were not thrilled with having their pictures taken but had a lot of fun with the ducks.
These are the Stephens' cousins... or the ones who could make it, anyway.

Megan, Heidi, Cory, Matt & Ryan

 It was such a beautiful day!

Will, Robby and some kid that wouldn't get off for the picture.  oh well.

 That night we went to The Mission Inn in Riverside.  They have a carnival atmosphere.  We watched dancer, ate Chinese food, had fresh, hot doughnuts and went on a carriage ride.

 The driver asked if the girls wanted to sit up front.  They were so excited!

 Will felt a bit left out so I had him climb up for a picture... that seemed to make everything better.

On Christmas Eve we went with all of Apffel cousins to Pump It Up.

Mae, Emma, Sam and Savannah

 I guess I mainly took videos there but it is a fun place with slides, obstacle courses and other stuff... all the blown up things you jump on.  The kids had the best time (and the adults were exhausted)!

Will and Robby

 Afterwards we went to lunch at David & Heather's house for lunch and a baby blessing.

Savannah, Emma, Luke, Mae and Kaaden

Mae and baby Lincoln

 That night we got home and got ready for Santa to come.  We did a cousins gift exchange and exchanged other gifts between each other.  We ate tamale's and had a little birthday celebration for Will and the other birthdays that are coming up soon.  Then, the doorbell rang...

 I just love this tradition!  The kids are just in awe over Santa Claus and his elf.

After writing letters to Santa it was time to go to bed.  The kids didn't even wake up until 8:00!  That was a wonderful Christmas gift.

 All morning Mae and Will played with their new toys.  Then, it was time to go to church.
It was so warm and beautiful!  The weather was just what I needed to thaw out.  I felt like i hadn't seen the sun in weeks.  After church we had lunch and went on a walk to the park.  Then, we went over to the Steadman's house to play games and eat some more.  It was a wonderful Christmas day spent with our family.

Savannah, Mae and Penny

On Monday we went to a movie while the Grandma's watched the kids swim all day.  We had such a fun time and drove back home on Tuesday.  We definitely would have stayed much longer if we didn't have commitments to get back home to, like work, primary stuff, etc.  It was a fabulous week!