The Getty Villa in Malibu

Ken has wanted to go to the Getty Villa since we moved here in 2007 and a few days ago we finally got to go. It's an amazing museum of antiquities, mostly Greek and Roman but a few things that go back farther than that. They don'tbreally allow any photography in the galleries but we managed to take a few shots of the grounds outside.

It was great to get away without the kids. They would not have enjoyed this place and we wouldn't have been able to look around as well as we did (or for as long as we did). Ken's and my favorite artifacts were things related to the Trojan War.

We enjoyed a very Mediterranean lunch at the cafe: feta cheese, hummus, olives, tabouleh, etc. Yum!

The Getty Villa is connected with Getty gas in that oil tycoon Paul Getty (also founder of Getty gas) provided the funds for the holdings and the buildings, etc. It really is an amazing place and I'm so glad that we got to go and check it out.

A Season of JOY

We have so many reasons to be joyful this Christmas!

First and foremost, we are so incredibly grateful to the Lord for sending his perfect Son to our imperfect world in order to bring us the most amazing hope and joy that can be experienced.

We are also thankful for our health, a home to call our own, a wonderful job for Ken, 3 great kids, a loving, supportive extended family, friends who love us and treat us as family, and the chance to live life with a purpose. We don't count any of these things as small. And we give all of the credit to God. Just thought we'd share some of the many things that bring us joy. Merry Christmas!

A Really Fun Weekend

If you know me, you know that I love parties. This past Saturday I got to attend 3 parties! In the morning, my MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) group had a pancake breakfast with lots of fun activities for the kids. We had a blast there.
Then, I helped put together a surprise birthday tea party for my friend Lois. These pictures are from that party. It was held in a beautiful home of a woman who has hosted many tea parties.
That night we attended a surprise birthday party for my good friend Jolene. That was a really nice night because we had a babysitter for the kids so we all got to really chat without interruptions.

I put together this crazy-looking fruit thing. I saw an example of it in a magazine. In the magazine it looked like a Christmas tree. Mine looked more like a fruit explosion. But it still tasted good.

Some of the tea cups of the woman who hosted the party. Tea parties are a really big deal out here.

Lois (the birthday girl) is in the middle and the hosts are on either side.

What did I do today? I took a nap!

A Midwinter's Eve Frolic

On Saturday night we had a blast at a family-friendly event at Ken's school, A Midwinter's Eve. They had face painting and Brad looked awesome as Batman. Sky had already had her face painted from a birthday party earlier that day at which Snow White showed up and painted the kids' faces.

Lila found a pinecone that was almost as big as she is and she was determined to eat it.

They had a really cool canvas that the kids could paint anyway they liked. Sky really enjoyed that!

But my favorite part of the night was when Brad saw the "pin the lips on Mona Lisa" game. He declared, "I don't like that weird-looking lady". Hilarious!

This is not the best picture but it is the BIOLA Christmas tree which is actually really beautiful in person.

The Queen Mary

One of the things we did while my mom and Bill were here was to visit the Queen Mary in Long Beach. The Queen Mary has had a very interesting history and we enjoyed learning more about it through the free audio tour.

Bill decided to take the ship out for a spin.

Next to the Queen Mary is an old Russian submarine.

We enjoyed lunch on the Queen Mary at a restaurant called the Hollywood Deli. There were lots of movie posters of movies that were filmed (or partially filmed) on board the Queen Mary.

Gingerbread Houses

We have a tradition of making gingerbread houses. The kids basically get to eat ungodly amounts of candy and pretty much get covered in frosting. Then I put the houses on display which tortures them as they look at the candy and frosting everyday.

My mom and Bill's houses always come out so nicely.

At one point Brad decorated the roof of this house, ate all the toppings off, and then redecorated it.

And here you can see the effects of the sugar setting in.

Huntington Gardens

A few days ago we went to Huntington Gardens, 217 acres of botanical gardens. Above Bill is showing us a sensitive plant that closes up when it is touched. The kids thought that was really cool. Below is a picture taken in the Chinese garden.

Brad and Lila had a blast crawling around the gardens.

Ken and Bill in the bamboo forest.

Sky found a snail in the children's garden.

Lila preferred the leaves.

Unfortunately it was actually pretty cold while my mom and Bill were here. Below you can see ice in our bird bath! That's about as cold as it gets here!