A Very Merry Christmas in California

We had such an AMAZING Christmas holiday spent in California. Well not every moment was amazing. First we had to get there and that meant driving well over 1,000 miles. There are a couple of routes we could have taken but we decided to go through Salt Lake so we could stop in Sacramento and spend a night with Daddy's sister and her family. We made it to Elko, NV the first day which was super grand. After eating at a local pizza joint for dinner, we had a nice swim in the hotel pool and settled in for the night. I love hotels but apparently Damon was not impressed because he was up a TON during the night. With a grumpy Damon and a grumpy Mama, the next day was much harder. A stop in Reno with an hour of playing games at Circus Circus Hotel helped but the fact that Damon is pretty much incapable of sleeping in the car, made it a very long day. From Grand Junction to Sacramento (over 16 hours), Damon slept a grand total of 50 minutes! Not cool.

The miracle below was very short lived. Check out the activity that mom and I made on the roof. Each day we had stops and destinations that we could move the car to. This really helped to break the trip up and give us things to look forward to.

But as you can imagine, once we made it to Sacramento and got to spend time with Auntie Andi, Uncle Adam and cousins Marin and Troy, we were all super happy and grateful. We even got to see Marin perform at her Christmas piano recital! The next afternoon we drove the last stretch to Alameda which is where Grandma Cari and Granddad live.
This is cousin Marin trying to teach us really how to travel (she came with us to Alameda).


One extra awesome thing about this holiday was that we not only got to see Daddy's side of the family, but Grandma, Papa Schlenker and Uncle Derek as well. They flew in the night we drove to Alameda and were able to stay just down the street in G&G Coopers extra bedrooms. Because of their visit, we got to do many fun things that we might not normally have done.
Oakland Temple with Christmas Lights:



Taking a ferry to Alcatraz Island and enjoying a tour of the old prison:



Golden Gate Bridge:

We missed a picture of this, but Damon actually slept on daddy's shoulder during our walk on the Golden Gate Bridge. He won't sleep in nice, quiet, comfortable car but he will sleep on a cold, extremely windy, loud bridge. Crazy man!

San Francisco Ballet's Nut Cracker performance:

Getting babysat and eating ice cream while the Women (and Granddad) were at the ballet.


The night that Uncle Derek and Papa Schlenker went to an epic San Francisco 49's game, many others went to a San Jose Sharks Hockey game. Damon and I got to stay back with Auntie Andi and the cousins while mom and Grandma Schlenker walked Park Street in Alameda and browsed the fun Antique shops.

Here are a few shots from Christmas morning:


Uncle Derek, Grandma and Papa Schlenker really enjoyed all the traditional family celebrations as well as their touristy experience. It was really special sharing Christmas with both sides of the family at the same time. Feeling the universal family love is what Christmas is all about!

Fun times skating at a parking lot skating rink.


Attending BYU's bowl game (which they sadly lost) at AT&T Park where the San Francisco Giants play.


My first long bike ride around Bay Farm Island.


For most of the trip, mom and Damon slept at G&G Coopers down the street. Damon always looked forward to these rituals before going to bed. His attachment to them was so sweet!

Damon and I sure love our older cousins and how much they take care of us!


On New Year's eve, Grandma Cari and Granddad offered to watch the kids so that mom and dad could go out with Auntie Andi and Uncle Adam. They celebrated by eating the yummiest pizza at Zachary's in Berkley and then going to see the second Hobbit movie.

We had a pretty perfect beginning to the New Year. We spent the day at San Francisco Zoo and then watched the sun set at the beach near by.





On our last night, we made a trip to Fenton's with the whole family to score some amazing ice cream!


As the end to our trip approached, the drive home was seeming less and less appealing. However, we were lucky enough to obtain some buddy passes for mom and Damon so their trip (and in turn daddy and my trip) was made easier. Since daddy and I had to make the long drive back, we made it as fun as possible. Luckily getting a Nintendo DS for Christmas helped entertain me for a lot of the trip. Plus the fact that I could nap without Damon's screams interrupting me also helped. We took the route through Las Vegas this time and boy, was that ever a good idea. We stopped there to stay the night and ended up partying at Circus Circus hotel until midnight playing games and riding rides. During our very last game, we won a Dolphin with Flames on it. I have grown very protective and attached to it and call him "Firey". He is a great momento of Daddy and my adventure half way across the country.