Meanwhile, outside.

 

 

 

Of course the big star of our visit was the weather. Yay california sun. We took many a walk.

White elephant

 

 

 

We also met at the grandpas assisted living, and had a white elephant gift exhange with the extended family. Beth snagged moisturizing socks. We also learned that trucks are still a big hit with the younger set. Who would have known?

Christmases

 

 

 

We celebrated several different Christmases in order to get the job done well. Amelia made a terrarium for the grandpa, and we even had surprise visitors on Christmas eve.

Kids with guns

 

 

 

For some reason the gentle Puffins ended up at the shooting range this visit, and it was really fun. It was really scary, but also exhilerating. Noone got hurt, but emotions ran high enough that we had to go to Oceanside afterwards and climb a carob tree to harvest seedpods as a calming aftermath.

A new year

 

 

 

Well, here we are! A new year has come, and we spent the last part of it in San Diego to rest up and have some Christmas fun. Beth and Bobby graciously hosted us for a long ten day, and we loved it. We missed a giant snowstorm in Portland, and had no desire to be anywhere else than in a really sunny California. The weather has been crazy lately!