To Grandmother's House We Go (week 261)

Since we are going to stay home and wait for Santa Claus to come down our chimney this year, we went to see Grandma and Grandpa (both sets) the week before Christmas. While Mama went to New York for work and to see Dubby, dada took us north for a long weekend to open presents, play with our cousins, and hang-out with our grandparents. Cousin Eli and Cousin Sophie had to go to New York this year but we got to spend Friday afternoon and Saturday with them. We went to the beach, exchanged Christmas presents, and explored the fields together.

Eli and I haven't seen each other as much as we should lately. Since we are both four, we have our ups and downs when we first get together. It is a sort of a feeling-out period at first. Since I like to play sports and like everyone to follow the rules, it can be a tough match to find the right game to play with Eli. He likes to run, jump, tackle, and play more freely...and I like sports. After a few hours together we usually find some games that we can both play together and end up having a lot of fun. Sophie is still pretty little. While she likes to chase us around, Christopher is much more interested in the big boys that he is in his little Cousin Sophie.

We are pretty lucky that we also have fun grandparents. With Grandpa John, we go to Cal Poly to see the new soccer fields, hit golf balls at Laguna Lake, and play with his giant train set. With Grandpa Mike, we play harmonicas, feed the chickens, and hit him with the giant exercise ball. With Grammy, we eat pizza and macaroni cheese, go to church, and unwrap our presents. With Grandma Paula, we watch the sun rise, watch Shaun the Sheep on the computer, and go to church together. I had so much fun that I wanted to stay much longer. When we had to leave, I was very upset and tried to run away and hide so that dada couldn't put me in the car. It was pretty dramatic but dada says it is normal for four year olds to get fired-up because we don't have the tools to deal with our emotions.

It was a long car ride home with lots of crying, traffic for the holidays, and dada spilling hot coffee in his lap. We made it back to Long Beach though, and mama was there waiting for us. She had flown-in to Long Beach just a few minutes before and Christopher was pretty excited to see her!