Christmas Eve

Winter break has finally arrived! We managed to finish all of our shopping by the 23rd, while at the same time fitting in a number of fun family events. Last weekend, Everett had his last music class of the year, which we all were able to attend. This was followed by a pair of birthday parties for two of Tony's buddies, on Saturday and Sunday. I gave my last final exam on Monday, and then it was just a matter of grading and shopping.

Most of both were complete by Thursday evening, which we spent with Pappy and Alisa as they awaited the late-night arrival of Alisa's younger daughter and family from Israel. This proved to be the first of several nights of overindulgence: a big meal at The Kettle in Manhattan Beach, followed by dessert at Cold Stone.

On Friday, we rode the trains into downtown, where we introduced the boys to ice skating, outdoors in Pershing Square. While not anyone's definition of a quintessential ice-skating experience--certainly not Rockefeller Center nor some frozen pond up in Saskatchewan--it was still a lot of fun and really a very nice setting. We learned that Everett is a few years away from embracing the ice, but Tony is eager for more. And with the Culver City Ice Arena not too far away, we'll have to dust off the old skates from Wisconsin which are buried somewhere deep in the garage. Both before and after the skating on Friday, we walked a bit around downtown, treating ourselves to food at both Grand Central Market and Little Tokyo and checking out the children's books at the main library.

Then yesterday, Saturday, I finished my shopping in the morning, before we all packed up the family truckster for Diamond Bar. There we enjoyed our first Christmas celebration of the season with Grammo and Woody, Lisa and Jon, and Kelly and Lucas. After some rather excited gift opening, and a little trivia challenge--inspired by one of the gifts--we sat down to yet another delicious meal. This included multiple courses of food, wine, and (especially for Tony) cookies and fudge! Talk about an iron stomach. We all were expecting a "Bailey almond rocha" moment, but Tony just kept packing the sugar-filled treats away. It is perhaps telling, though, that his appetite for the sweet stuff has been unusually subdued today.

For those keeping tabs of Santa's progress, as of 7 PM California time, his sleigh was last sighted by NORAD leaving Peru and turning north for the USA! I hope you all have been good this year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!