Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Yes, I know it's been a month but here at last is our Christmas post.

We had a wonderful, if low-key, Christmas. As you will recall from the previous post, we spent December 23rd at Disneyland, not getting to bed until 11 pm. Needless to say, we were all exhausted the next day (Christmas Eve). Catherine even fell asleep in the car on the drive home from LA, a very rare occurrence!

With her beloved Pillow-Pet (I'm still wondering how Colleen Nicklos knew!)

Making Catalina's new bed

Ta Da! (Now if Catherine could just make her own bed like that!)

Since Catherine has been asking for a guitar every year since she was 3 years old, we thought it was time to finally buy her one. Lessons to follow...

We still can't get used to this SoCal "winter" weather, but Richard at least is giving it a good try! Yes, this really was Christmas Day!

Disneyland!

On the day before Christmas Eve, we went to Disneyland with my friend, Colette, and her family. It was so much fun! Disneyland was decorated so beautifully, with more lights than usual, garlands everywhere and wreaths shaped like Mickey Mouse ears. Sleeping Beauty's castle was dazzling, especially after dark when the lights came on and it looked like it was covered in shimmering snow! It even snowed on Main Street! It was so beautiful and I loved every minute of it.

With Rapunzel and Flynn Rider.

We asked her where her tiara was and she said it was in Flynn's napsack because it keeps slipping off her head.

With Colette on It's a Small World

Riding the Mad Hatter's Tea Cups with Mommy & Colette

The King Arthur Carousel

Waiting in line for one of my favorite rides - the Matterhorn!

It's a Small World after dark

See how beautiful Sleeping Beauty's Castle is!

Come Sail Away

A few weeks ago we all got to go sailing during a Sunday race. The weather was perfect and it was a great race, although it was a bit windy and Mommy and I got stuck down below with two other non-sailors, so we wouldn't get in the way on deck. I can't wait to learn how to sail so I can stay up top and help.

Summer Vacation

Okay, time for a little post-summer vacation clean up.  Let me bring you all up-to-date on my super vacation in Sunriver.  Papa and Nana came for a few days and we celebrated Papa's birthday with him.  My friends from Seattle, Colin and Alexa, were there, too.  We played tennis, swam in the pool a lot, rode our bikes a lot and saw a lot of deer - one night they crossed right behind the house!  One of the most fun things we did was rent a canoe and paddle down the Deschutes River.  The people at the marina only gave Mommy and Daddy paddles but I commandeered Mommy's paddle and helped Daddy out for most of the journey so Mommy could put her feet up and enjoy floating down the river.  A family of deer right alongside the river stopped and watched us go past.

Hanging out at the pool with Alexa & Colin

Look - no hands!

On the trip up we stopped at Crater Lake and I got a junior ranger badge for participating in a Park Ranger talk.  I couldn't believe how blue the water is.  Crater Lake is the deepest lake in North America and it is so blue because of its depth and because it filled with fresh water, just rain or snow melt.  There are no rivers that feed into or out of Crater Lake.  A huge volcano, Mount Mazama, collapsed and created the caldera that is Crater Lake (see, I learned a lot!)


Posing with Wizard Island in the background



Earning my ranger badge





Saying Good-bye to Colin



Playing Catch-Up

Yes, I know: it's been ages since I've posted anything new. I thought with summer I would have some extra time to play catch-up. I was wrong. Here are a few photos of what Catherine has been up to so far this summer.

Saying good-bye to beloved Mrs. Perkins on the last day of school. Mrs. Perkins was everything you could ever wish for in a kindergarten teacher and we feel so lucky to have been in her class. She'll definitely be a hard act to follow!
More tennis lessons this summer.

And some nights Catherine is so tired she falls asleep in the middle of a story!

Jog-A-Thon!

Last month was the Peabody Jog-A-Thon. We had been practicing in PE for months and my goal was to run 20 laps in 40 minutes. I took Papa's advice and didn't run too fast, I stopped for water breaks and to take a picture every time I passed Mommy. I ended up beating my goal and ran 21 laps. I raised $360 and won a ticket to Disneyland. My class raised the most money out of all 5 kindergarten classes and won an ice cream party!

With my tally sheet

Carah and me approaching the finish line - whew!

Colette, her little sister Ava and me before the race

Mrs. Perkins' Class aka The Blue Lightening Bolts

Disneyland - Part 2

On the King Arthur Carousel with Mommy

We squished into a teacup with Eric, Tristan, St. John and Rohan. We spun it around as fast as we could!

In Toon Town with Auntie Shaunmarie

I loved driving the Autopia car. Mommy rode with me because I couldn't reach the gas pedal but I got to steer all by myself!