Yesterday we went with Grandma Barbara to the Beach and Tennis Club in La Jolla to celebrate the holidays. This has become tradition. It is a very upscale celebration with "free" refreshments and a personal meeting with Santa (each child's name is called when it is their turn) and Santa gives each child a wrapped gift. While waiting, the children can watch a movie or sit and listen to Mrs. Claus who reads many books. Everything is beautifully decorated and elves are everywhere. The excitement of the children makes the adults festive and friendly. The girls were very excited to give Santa their letters - though Roxy refused to sit on his lap. Dillen, however, was quite the opposite. She promptly jumped onto his lap to have her "talk" with him. ;)

After the girls had their time with Santa, we went back to Grandmas to decorate cookies (both Channukah and Christmas!) and to have dinner. After we had dinner and cookies, we played Dreidel. I looked the rules/directions up online and actually busted out in song. I had no idea I knew it! I think I learned it years and years ago (from a friend from high school?) and it just came out of a small little crack in my brain. Not that it's a long song or very difficult to sing, but I remembered it! :)

Today, I braved a shopping trip to Target with the girls. I needed to get the girls some new pajamas - ones with long sleeves!! We run our heater at night now but there is still a chill in the air when we first wake up in the morning. And I refuse to turn the heater up past 75 degrees!

Then we went out to dinner with some friends who have two girls the same ages as Dillen and Roxy and then walked down to Solana Beach's Tree Lighting Ceremony. It was great - free refreshments; free light up red/green glow sticks; and Santa arrived on a fire truck! Gotta love small town events with the Mayor. :) We'll see if we make the local newspaper this time... (Roxy and I were in the Fletcher Cove Park opening ceremony article some months back!)

Sean got lots of pictures from yesterday that I will share soon... :)

Next up? Dillen's Nutcracker performance this Friday!! She's a beautiful little flower - determined to be front and center. lol.