Anniversary, Christmas Eve, Christmas, and Sea World

We arrived safely in Southern California on December 22, and since arriving we have been extremely busy. This is what we have been up to:

Anniversary

Stacy and I celebrated our 4th anniversary. So that makes four great years and two wonderful kids. For our anniversary we went to the Embassy Suites at Mandalay Bay—the place where we got married. We had dinner at their restaurant, Capistranos. I ordered the scallops. It was a great treat, because I love scallops and I haven’t had them since I was spoiled this past summer at my law firm. Stacy ordered the filet mignon—well done. I gave her a hard time, but she really liked it. Thanks Lydia for watching the kids.

Christmas Eve

Keeping with tradition, on Christmas Eve we went to Grandma Adams’ house in Culver City. Besides the horrible Los Angeles traffic we had a great evening. First, we had a lasagna dinner. Second, we played the guessing game—chocolate chips are placed in a jar and everyone guesses how many there are. This year’s winner was Allen. He only missed by ten. Third, we opened presents. Fourth, we played the white elephant game. There were some funny gifts, but Stacy and I made out alright with a Dodgers’ Santa hat and the board game Chutes and Ladders. Next, we heard a new rendition of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Lastly, we had ice cream. Again, keeping with tradition, an almond was hidden in one of the bowls of ice cream, and whoever had the almond would receive a prize. This year’s winner was Micah. Thanks grandma for letting us come over and for the great gifts.

After arriving back in Oak Park, we had the first ever Christmas Eve basketball game. Micah and I met up with some of my friends and played basketball from 10PM to 12:05AM. Thanks Stacy for letting me play.

Christmas

For Christmas morning we woke up and opened presents at the Adams’ house. Reagan and Merrick must have been good kids this year, because Santa was very genrous. Among other things, Reagan got her own little kitchen, and Merrick got a dump truck. Not keeping with tradition, instead of buying gifts for a member of the family, we each had to make gifts for someone. I made Cameron a painting of Gandalf’s rune. Stacy made Kelda a bracelet and necklace inspired by the movie Twilight. Stacy got a necklace and jewelry box (the box had a picture of Edward Cullen and her) from Chelsea. And I got a game board for my favorite board game, Settlers of Catan, from Dustin. We then had a great breakfast of pancakes and fruit.

After breakfast everyone played with their new toys, and we watched the Lakers dominate the Celtics. After that, we went to Ventura to have dinner at Stacy’s cousin house. Dom and Anna made a great prime rib dinner. We also played Wii and the kids opened more presents. Reagan got her own digital camera and Merrick got a dinosaur from grandma Lydia. Thanks everyone for a wonderful Christmas.

Sea World

On December 26 we played the first ever Day After Christmas Bowl in Oak Park. We had a great turnout, and played a competitive 5 on 5 game. The final score was 10 to 9. The winning team was comprised of Dustin, Cameron, Cory, Micah, and Chase. The losing team was Steve, Jim, Derek, Phil, and me. Everyone agreed that Cameron was the MVP. He rallied his team back from a 2 point deficit with a key touchdown and interception. The play of the game was when I tipped a pass on defense and Steve caught it and ran 99 yards for the touchdown.

After the football game we drove down to San Diego. We stayed at the Town and Country resort, which is the same hotel we stayed at for Cameron and Kelda’s wedding. After arriving at the hotel, we met up with Stacy’s cousin, Art, and his fiancé. Art works at Sea World and is Shamu’s trainer. After that Moe, Jamie, and Lydia arrived at the hotel and we had dinner.

The next day we went to Sea World. Art was gracious enough to give us some of his free passes. The kids loved Sea World. Merrick and Reagan were mesmerized by all of the sea creatures. Reagan was brave and touched a sting ray. She also had a fun time running around the Sesame Street play area.

For lunch, we went to the Dine with Shamu experience. Again, Art was able to get us free passes to the lunch. During lunch Shamu would do some of his tricks. The best one was when we were eating, Shamu jumped up right next to us on a little platform. Reagan was sitting right next to the water so it gave her a little fright, but she loved it. After lunch, we went to Shamu’s stadium to see the show. Art was the head trainer for the show and he did a great job.

The next day we went to Dustin and Chelsea’s church to see Lilah’s baby blessing. And after that we all got together at my parents’ house for some soup and sandwiches. We watched some good NFL football games. I cannot wait for the playoffs. I want everyone to cheer for the Ravens this Sunday.