Happy new year, all!
Are you back in the swing of your usual weekly routine after Christmas? My three kids returned to school on Wednesday so I’m back in the thick of it. Except (shh) I still haven’t yet taken down the holiday decorations…
The good about our usual weekly routine: quiet hours in which to work. The bad: very early mornings and having to badger my kids into doing their homework at night.
I LOVED our Christmas vacation days. Thus, I thought I’d take a fond look back at the trip we took to southern California to visit my mom and dad, my sister, and my sister’s family.
The minute we arrived my 6 year old asked my dad if she could make homemade lemonade. My parents have a lemon tree, an orange tree, and a simple circa 1980s juicer. All ten of their grandchildren have come to love making and drinking fresh orange juice or lemonade.
My hometown of Riverside is just a 45 minute drive from Anaheim. So, on the 23rd, we took our kids to Disneyland.
The view from the carousel. Can you see Sleeping Beauty’s castle in the background?
We signed our youngest up for the interactive ‘Jedi Training Academy’ show and she was able to fight Darth Vadar (and lived to tell about it!).
The Frozen Show was a personal highlight of the day for me. See Elsa and Anna there? At the end they led a sing along of Let it Go. So much fun!
Christmas morning, my kids waited in the same hallway I once waited in on Christmas mornings while the adults got a fire going in the fireplace, plugged in the Christmas tree lights, and turned on the music. Once we were ready, they rushed into the living room and went straight for their stockings.
Happy chaos!
My favorite part of the celebration is my mom’s traditional Christmas morning breakfast: egg casserole (the most delicious one ever), blueberry muffins, sausage, and fruit.
After Christmas, we spent a few days relaxing in Palm Springs. Palm Springs is known for its golf courses, hotels, and mid-century modern architecture. It enjoys some of the sunniest, mildest weather anywhere in America. In December and January average daily highs hover in the high 60s and low 70s. Rain? What rain? It’s located in the desert.
The hiking trails at Indian Canyons are wonderful!
My adventure boy.
We visited a botanical garden full of the most amazing cacti. I was like, “Look at that one! Ooh. Check out that strange one! What that?!”
On the night before we returned to Dallas, a friendly passing lady snapped this group shot for us. Later, when my sister and I checked the photo, we saw that the friendly passing lady had cut off my sister’s husband. Do you see a tiny bit of him, over on the far right? Ha!
That’s it! The highlights of our California Christmas.
Did you travel or stay home for Christmas this year?
P.S. Are you someone who loves to read on your e-reader? The first e-book in my Porter Family series of contemporary romances is currently free at all online retailers! Books #2 and #3 are priced at $4.99. If you haven’t yet met my strong-willed group of Texans, now is a great time to make their acquaintance! Her One and Only, the 4th and final novel, will release in May.
Becky Wade
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Nice pictures, I especially liked the ones from PS as I grew up there in the desert! Christmas is a great time to be there. My must-do stop is the date gardens in Indio (Laughlins’) for a WONDERFUL date shake. And of course, to bring her the dried date sugar to make my own!
Yes, Sonja! I’m very familiar with the date shake. They’re delicious!!
My grandmother and grandfather had a time share condo in Palm Springs and so I often traveled back and forth to Palm Springs with my grandmother. I have sweet memories of her taking us to visit the big dinosaur statues near the date shake place. 🙂
Becky, thanks for sharing your California Christmas. I enjoyed the family photos. Blessings to you and your family. 🙂
Blessings to you and your family, Caryl! Happy 2016.
I enjoyed your California pictures, Becky. Our son lives in Pasadena but he came home to Michigan for Christmas to see us. I think I have that backwards! Maybe we should celebrate with him in sunny California next year.
It might be fun to enjoy a bright California Christmas next year, Lynn! You could catch the New Year’s Day Rose Parade while you’re there. Watching the parade live is tremendous.
Loved all your pictures. I grew up in Buena Park and lived in Riverside while my husband attended UCR and our son was born there.
What a neat connection, Loraine! Riverside isn’t that big of a place, so it’s always fun to meet someone who’s familiar with it.
Really enjoyed seeing your Christmas photos. I bet y’all have a great time together. Hate your brother-in-law got cut out of the picture, but sometimes what you see in the viewfinder is not what shows up in the picture (personal experience).
Our best laid plans to get just ONE photo of all of us went to waste. 🙂 In all honesty, we’re a family who likes to laugh. So the fact that we got quite a bit of laughter out of the cut-out brother in law photo ended up making the picture more special to us than it would have been otherwise. At least that’s my look-on-the-bright-side take on it.
We stayed home this year
Becky, I’m so glad you had a wonderful Christmas. We leave for Disney World pretty soon. I can’t wait. And I can’t wait for your new release this year! You know I’m a fan. I’ve started on a new work … you are such an inspiration to me. Xoxo