Reindeer Games

Follow the Star was so beautiful. It is such a wonderful and touching tradition. We got there early and had plenty of time to admire the hundreds of crèches on display. Judy Goodfellow was there too and it was so great to see her and compliment her on her massive contribution to the nativity display. Jon and his family met us there, too, and we sat together and drank hot chocolate as we watched the live nativity.

We drove back home and I dropped everyone off before heading to LAX with Parker. Pro tip: don’t fly out of LAX on Sunday. It was so incredibly backed up. We were grid locked 1.5 miles away from his terminal and after not moving more than 10 feet in 45 minutes, Parker just got out and walked. I crept along as best I could, but he was able to walk to the airport, find his terminal, check his bag, and get through security all in the time it took me to drive around to his terminal. NUTS! By the time I made it, it was 10pm. We left at 7 so I’d spent 7 hours in the car already by that time with all of the driving I did all over SoCal. So I texted Shelley to see if she was home and if I could stop by to use the bathroom. What a fun, spontaneous visit!

We chatted for about 2 hours and Tanner called all worried about me at midnight. I realized I really needed to be responsible and go home and go to bed. I am really trying to keep this holiday season simple and I keep being so busy with late nights and little sleep! But I definitely don’t regret my visit with Shelley!

I had to deal with Tanner’s displeasure with my choices the next day but we worked it out. I got about 5 hours asleep and then had to get up and get the kids to the dentist on Monday morning. They did great and it was actually a good time. Thankfully I had energy!

The kids helped me wash my car and I wrapped the last of my gifts and did laundry. That night, I had a super fun dinner out with my Rondo moms. Shannon was so generous and treated everyone to Olive Garden and even gave us all little gifts!! She is such a sweetheart! It was so good to be together and we sat and talked for almost 4 hours. Made my heart happy!

Parker is alive and well in NYC! The red eye flight didn’t seem to bother him much and he even got his own Lyft to Lincoln Center where Emerald and her mom are living at the moment. They exchanged gifts and Parker accompanied her to a photo shoot. They’ve been shopping around Chelsea Market and out to eat and are going to see the Rockettes! He’s soooo happy and I’m so happy for him! I’m sure proud of that boy!!!

Tuesday, the littles and I met my mom at the Spectrum to see Moana 2 in the nice lay down seats. I love the Spectrum! It’s so nice and had all my favorite stores and restaurants! Tanner had a meeting and is pretty much nailed down a deal to start working and build his company! So proud of HIM, too! After the movie, we said goodbye to my mom and killed some time by shopping around until Tanner could meet us for ice skating. The kids beg to ice skate at the Spectrum all year long and I have to constantly remind them that it’s only a Christmas time thing. But they had a blast and did SO well skating! Jack tried to go as fast as he could and Ray helped all the people who were struggling and even shared her gloves with a stranger. After skating we had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and it was so yummy! It really hit the spot!

Wednesday, Parker and Emerald got to see the Rockette’s at Radio City Music Hall and they were so impressed! Parker said they incorporated a live nativity into the show, too! So cool! He’s having the time of his life in NYC!
Tanner and I took the kids to LA for the day. We ate lunch at a place called Alcove Cafe and it was so good! Then we headed up to the Griffith Observatory. I’ve been wanting to take Jack up there ever since he started his science project on observing the night sky. We got in and check out all of the exhibits and were able to be on the roof to watch the sunset. I told the kids we should start clapping when the sun went down and it was so funny! We clapped and everyone started laughing. It was a good moment. We watched a live show in the planetarium about the discoveries of the universe throughout time. It was so cool!! And the lady narrating had the best voice. We waited in line to look through the telescope and watched Family Switch with Jennifer Garner which was perfect because in the movie, the family visits the Griffith Observatory and looks through the telescope. Since it was such a clear (and warm) night, we were able to see Jupiter and its moons! It was a really cool day!

Thursday, I had my physical at the doctor (all is ok) and then the kids and I went to Newport. We ran around Roger’s Gardens which was beautiful and then we inched our way onto Balboa Island. The traffic was crazy! Tanner met us there and we lucked out with a parking spot and then ran into the Brown Family!!! It was such a pleasant surprise and like a Christmas miracle! It was so fun to sit and watch the parade with them and get caught up while watching the super cool boat parade. It’s crazy to look back 5 or so year and realized we’ve had at least a dozen stellar families move out of our ward and had ZERO move in. Our ward is small and sad. But instead of being sad about the state of our ward and friends, I want to look back with joy on the amazing ward we had and how lucky we were to make such wonderful friends.

 Life goes on a long time and I’m hopefully for a big family ward in the future. And I’m grateful for the fun week we’ve had so far! It’s been a delightful Christmas vacation!