Daddy Daughter Trip

What a unique opportunity to take Heleyna with me to San Diego. Heleyna is such a great traveller, and just so much fun to be around.

And to top it off we had Vance, LuDean and Kathy at the condo with us. It was exciting to sit on the couch and look around at four generations in that room. Of course Heleyna loved the attention. She kept Vance and LuDean busy the whole week playing Go Fish, Chase, Hide & Seek, puzzles, and "What Do I Want For Dinner Tonight?". My favorite is the last. Heleyna will come up with some exotic food she thinks she wants to eat, and Vance and LuDean fix it for her.

So a HUGE thanks to Vance and LuDean for allowing us to spend just a few days with with them in San Diego. It gave us the opportunity to spend time with them and for me to spend invaluable time with Heleyna.

Wish We Were There

The holiday's can be a crazy time. And this year we were way over on the east coast. So what do the Garner's do? They throw a HUGE Christmas party with the whole family, except us.......

That's not completely true, we got to see and talk with everyone over Skype. It was great to see everyone, even if it was just over the internet.

Hanukkah!

We are very fortunate to not only be on the east coast this year, but we have great extended family around us. Eric and his parents invited us over to the first night of Hanukkah this year. It was a great experience! Friends, family, food, and fun. You can't go wrong with that combination.

Hopfully they'll invite us back again next year!

Snow time.

Braden and Heleyna really enjoyed the snow and lights. Check out how cute they look all bundled up in their snow gear. We were surprised Braden could even walk with his big heavy snow coat.

Christmas In The City

What a beautiful time to visit New York. Snow, lights, family and holiday spirit all bring the city to life during this time.

We were lucky to have Eric and Jennifer as our guides through the lights and window displays. They know how to get around and what is fun to see. Thanks Eric and Jennifer!

We saw many exciting things but the funnest for Heleyna and Braden were the store windows. Heleyna and Braden just couldn't get enough. Saks had a story on their window and Heleyna and I spent an hour watching the story unfold. Truthfully it took us an hour to go a block because of the crowds. But Heleyna didn't even notice.

What surprised me was that the lights were on during the day, and you can see them. Those buildings sure cast a dark shadow. Luckily Elmo was there to brighten the day.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Definitely Brad's son

Check out Braden laughing. He is definitely Brad's son with his infectious laugh. And the cause of all this hilarity....my dancing. Yes, apparently it is truly comical. Must be why I don't do it in public.

Look Who's Walking

Braden is ready to rock and roll now. He is mastering the art of walking and having a great time at it. Heleyna likes to help him practice and often pretends she's a baby just learning how to walk too. They are both pretty excited about it.