December: An action packed month

Well our first semester married we have conquered Kipp ended up will all A's and I received a 3.5 gpa. So we did well. After the semester ended we began our first Christmas holiday season together. This year we went with the Stodtmeister's and the whole family went to San Diego, California. Gay and Rod rented a house where we could all stay and it was wonderful to spend time with the family.

California: Part 1 of Christmas Vacation

Our first day of fun in San Diego was on Tuesday when Rod, Gay, Kipp and myself went to Disneyland/California Adventures. It was a long day of walking, but worth it. We went on the classic rides like Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean  and Splash Mountain (this pictures doesn't do justice of just how wet Rod was.)

We enjoyed the afternoon Christmas parade. And Kipp was hit-on by the ugly stepsisters, who really were nowhere near ugly. Unfortunately, I was laughing and didn't get a picture. But it was a fun parade!

We stayed all day at the theme parks, enjoying all the different things. It was a good day with the parents.

 It was a good day with my sweetheart! Eating yummy food, riding rides, and just walking around enjoying each other. The fireworks at night were one of the favorite things of the day, along with the salty goodness that is a soft pretzel with cheese in the shape of Mickey Mouse and who could forget the churro's.

The castle at night was so beautiful with its  icicles  and lights!

Next we took the family and went to the San Diego Zoo. I had no idea just how large this Zoo was. It was huge! But we got to see all the animals that were of interest. 

We thought the Galapagos tortoises were by far the coolest. 

 The different dear were cute.

The next day was Legoland. Can you tell which person isn't made of legos?

 In it he was Darth Vader and I was Anikin. There was an entire area of starwars lego scenes. This was a big hit with the family.

There wasn't only Star Wars lego creations, but there were miniature cities, and world recognized buildings, a few rides ( that are cool if you're under 8) But all in all it was amazing how many things can be done with legos.

Later that night most of the family went to go race go-carts. These weren't any little go-carts, they could get going up to 40mph if on a straight away, So we were told. The course didn't let anyone get that fast we don't think. But it was fun. Even though I was the slowest time, I did enjoy the small need-for-speed.

Kipp and I took the time one of the nights to go see the San Diego Temple. Sadly it was closed on Saturday and that was when we had planned on going in. But walking around at night was still beautiful. 

Kyle, Kipp and myself took a day to go to a music museum. It had some interesting exhibits, but it also allowed you to play certain instruments. I heard Kipp play the drums for the first time ever, he is not to bad for having not played in a while. And it was just fun to see Kyle and Kipp get to spend some time joking around together. 

Christmas Eve was a bit different for me this year. I am not use to so many people around for the holidays and it allowed a lot of fun. We had a "mexican" celebration almost. Dinner was a chicken enchilada cassarole. There was a pinata full of candy It was hit from youngest to oldest, and didn't make it past Kyle. They had to use their non-dominate hand, and be spun 20times before taking a shot. Amusing is a good word to describe what I witnessed.

 and nothing would complete this fiesta like...mustaches. The whole family took a group pictures with them on. 

So this brings us finally to Christmas. Our First Christmas has a married couple...magical right? Wrong, well partly. I ended up with the flu that had been passed around the family the entire vacation. But even though I was ill, Christmas was great. And the vacation was magical. We received so much and are grateful for our gifts, and the chance to be in San Deigo with the family. Rod and Gay, it was so fun! Great memories were created. Thank you!

Before Kipp and I left we went to the Gaslamp district of San Diego, and did some after christmas sales shopping, and just walking around to waste time before we got on a plane. It was so nice to have the warm weather of California to walk around in. 

Oregon: Part 2 of Christmas Vacation

After California we flew in to spend the rest of our vacation with mom. It was relaxing and nice. Poor mom got the tired kids, who slept most of the time trying to recover from California. But it was neat to have a second Christmas. Mom was good to us, as well as, Rory/Emily, Dad/Sherri. We have increased our camping gear, and wardrobe and came out with a few fun toys, movies, books and more. And my family had some great news to share. Rory and Emily are pregnant! I cant wait until this summer, when Kipp and I have another niece or nephew to learn on before we have kids, that way we know what not to do with our kids...haha just kidding. But it will be fun. 

I enjoyed the time with mom, to go shopping, spend time talking and eating the traditional ham and potato salad I grew up with. It was nice to fall back on my childhood traditions after experiencing the new ones from the Stodtmeister's. But since Rory and I are both married, mom has started to create a few new traditions. And it will be fun to see what we come up with next year when Christmas is with Mom, Rory, Emily, the unknown child, and us. It should be fun.